Other Federal Grants

FSEOG is a grant for undergraduate students with exceptional financial need. The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) administers this award for University of Arizona students with the most demonstrated financial need, as calculated by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

FSEOG is different than the Federal Pell Grant because this funding is limited. 

Application 

The FAFSA must be completed each year by the University of Arizona priority FAFSA filing deadline – March 1^st.

In addition to the FAFSA, newly admitted students (first-year, Transfer and Readmits) must also submit a completed a University of Arizona Admission Application for the fall semester by the University of Arizona's priority FAFSA filing deadline – March 1^st.

Renewal

Eligibility for this award is reviewed each academic year. In general, students should:

• Enroll in a minimum of 12 University of Arizona credits for each semester 
• Complete the FAFSA every year by March 1st
• Meet minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) guidelines

This award is not applicable for use in the summer semester.

The 2020-2021 TEACH Grant application is now available.

The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program became effective beginning July 1, 2008.  The TEACH Grant is offered to students who are completing, or intend to complete, coursework to begin a career in teaching and who agree to serve for a minimum of four years as a full-time, highly-qualified, high-need field teacher in a low-income school. If you are awarded the TEACH Grant and do not complete the four years of qualified teaching service within eight years of completing the course of study for which the TEACH Grant was received, or otherwise fail to meet any other requirement of the TEACH Grant, the Grant will convert into a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued and capitalized from the date of original disbursement.

Eligible students must be degree seeking, as post-baccalaureate certification does not qualify University of Arizona students for this grant. This grant provides up to $4,000 a year in grant assistance to students, with an aggregate limit for undergraduates that cannot exceed $16,000. The total amount that a graduate student may receive cannot exceed $8,000. If a student is eligible to receive the TEACH Grant, the student will be offered an estimated amount assuming full-time enrollment and the current year sequester. If the student is enrolled less than full-time, the amount of the annual TEACH Grant must be reduced according to the student’s enrollment status.

This grant will convert to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued and capitalized from the date of original disbursement if:

• A student receives TEACH Grant and does not complete the four years of qualified teaching service within eight years of completing the course of study for which the TEACH Grant was received, or
• Otherwise fails to meet any other requirements of the TEACH Grant

In order to qualify, you must:

• Have a 3.25 cumulative GPA at a post-secondary institution when applying for the grant (first year students:  use your high school GPA) OR have scored above the 75th percentile on a standardized admissions test (e.g., SAT, ACT, GRE) once. Renewal is contingent upon maintaining a 3.25 cumulative GPA in your chosen program.
• Take coursework necessary to complete teacher certification in a high-need field
• Each academic year, complete the TEACH Grant Application, TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and TEACH Grant Entrance Counseling
• Be a Bachelor's or Master's degree-seeking student.
• The TEACH Grant is only available during the fall and spring semesters. It is not offered during the summer sessions. 

Updates to TEACH Grant Funding

Beginning on October 1, 2020, the sequester changes the percentage by which TEACH Grant offers must be reduced as compared to the sequester percentage reduction that became effective Spring 2020. Specifically, TEACH Grant offers where the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 2020 and before October 1, 2021 must be reduced by 5.9 percent from the original statutory amounts ($4,000 annually). These TEACH Grant awards are covered under the FY 2021 Sequester (see table below).

During college, you must:

• Be a degree-seeking student
• Maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA at the University of Arizona
• Take coursework necessary to complete teacher certification in a high-need field
• Each academic year, complete the required application materials (see below)
• Complete TEACH Grant Exit Counseling right before graduation

In order to maintain grant status after graduation, you must:

To avoid repaying the TEACH Grant after graduation, you must:

• Serve as a full-time teacher in a low-income school, as a highly-qualified teacher, and in a high-need field for at least four years within eight calendar years of leaving the program for which you received the TEACH Grant.  For a listing of schools and teaching fields that qualify, visit  https://tsa.ed.gov/#/home/ (use Chrome/Safari/Firefox to open) for the state in which you intend to teach
• Write to the Secretary of Education (within 120 days of completing or otherwise leaving the program of study for which the TEACH Grant was received) confirming that you are employed as a full-time teacher in accordance with the terms of the TEACH Grant, or you are not yet employed as a full-time teacher but intend to meet the terms of the TEACH Grant service agreement
• Upon completion of each year of teaching service, submit documentation of that service in the form of a certification by a chief administrative officer of the school
• Comply with all other terms, conditions, and requirements that the Secretary of Education deems necessary

Teaching Obligation

To avoid repaying the TEACH Grant with interest, you must be a highly-qualified, full-time teacher in a high-need subject area for at least four years at a school serving low-income students. You must complete the four years of teaching within eight years of finishing the program for which you received the grant. You incur a four-year teaching obligation for each educational program for which you received TEACH Grant funds; however, you may work off multiple four-year obligations simultaneously under certain circumstances.

A school serving low-income students includes any elementary or secondary school that is listed on the Department of Education’s Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancelation Benefits TCLI Directory. 

Highly-Qualified, Full-Time Teacher

You must perform your teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher, which is defined in federal law in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, or, for special education teachers, in section 602(10) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. To find out if you meet the requirements to be considered "highly qualified," check with the Chief Administrative Officer at the school or educational service agency where you are teaching. You must meet the state’s definition of a full-time teacher and spend the majority (at least 51 percent) of your time teaching one of the high-need subject areas. Elementary teachers who teach many subjects would not be able to fulfill their service agreement.

High-Need Subject Areas

The following are considered high-need fields:

• Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
• Foreign Language
• Mathematics
• Reading Specialist
• Science
• Special Education
• Any other field listed in the U.S. Department of Education’s Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing at https://tsa.ed.gov/#/home/ (use Chrome/Safari/Firefox to open). A field listed in the Nationwide List will satisfy a recipient's service obligation if you plan to teach in a high-need field that is included in the Nationwide List. That field must be listed for the state where you teach either at the time you begin your qualifying teaching service or at the time you received a TEACH Grant.

To apply or renew your TEACH Grant submit the following:

Three Steps to Success

Note: If you have not yet completed at least one semester at a post-secondary institution. You will be required to submit an official, final high school transcript that shows a 3.25 unweighted cumulative GPA or documentation confirming that you scored above the 75th percentile on a standardized admissions test (e.g., SAT, ACT, GRE) once.

Updates to TEACH Grant Funding:

On August 2, 2011, Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011, which put into place automatic federal budget cuts, known as a “sequester.” Below is a summary of the impact of these budget cuts on TEACH Grants.

• TEACH Grants first disbursed on or after October 1, 2019 and before October 1, 2020 requires a reduction of 5.90 percent from the offer amount, for which the student would otherwise have been eligible.
• TEACH Grants first disbursed on or after October 1, 2020 and before October 1, 2021 requires a reduction of 5.7 percent from the offer amount, for which the student would otherwise have been eligible.

The following chart shows the FY 20 and FY 21 sequester-required TEACH Grant Program reductions as they apply to the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 aid years.

TEACH Grant Awards

TEACH Grant Undergraduate Award

 For more information and additional updates, visit studentaid.gov.

If your parent or guardian died as a result of military service in Iraq or Afghanistan, you may be eligible for an Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG) or the maximum Federal Pell Grant award.  To find out if you’re eligible, you must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  You will be notified in the comment section of your Student Aid Report once your FAFSA is processed if you qualify.  The University of Arizona will be notified of your eligibility once we receive your FAFSA. 

You may be eligible to receive the IASG or maximum Pell Grant if all three conditions below apply:

• Your parent or guardian was a member of the U.S. armed forces and died as a result of military service performed in Iraq or Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, and

• You were under 24 years old or enrolled in an institution of higher education at least part-time  at the time of your parent or guardian’s death, and

• You filed a FAFSA, were notified in your Student Aid Report that you qualify, and are otherwise eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant even if your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) exceeds the Pell limit.

If you are eligible, which grant will you receive?

• If you receive a Pell-eligible EFC on your processed FAFSA, you will be awarded the maximum Federal Pell Grant for that award year.

• If you do not receive a Pell-eligible EFC on your processed FAFSA, you will be awarded the IASG.

Additional Information

If determined to be eligible, the IASG or maximum Federal Pell Grant will be added to your aid package for the award year at the earliest of either 1) the month of July preceding the start of the new award year, or 2) after you are packaged for aid upon receiving your FAFSA (if we do not receive it before July).  You will receive an email notifying you that your aid has been adjusted when this occurs, and you should check your awards in your Student Center for the IASG or maximum Pell Grant.  You will have to fill out the FAFSA every year that you’re in school to continue receiving these grants. 

An eligible student may only receive either the IASG or the maximum Pell Grant for an award year.  A student may receive each grant in separate award years, but never a combination of both during the same year.

The policy and payment procedures are the same for both the IASG and the Federal Pell Grant.  Each apply equally towards the Federal Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) limit.  However unlike the Pell Grant, payment amounts for the IASG are subject to reductions as required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (the sequester law).  For the amount of reduction and maximum annual IASG amounts, please refer to the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant website under the sub-heading “How much money can I get?”

For more information on Federal Pell Grants, refer to studentaid.gov.