Scholarship details
Maybe it’s a four-year degree, or maybe it’s a certificate or vocational school. Maybe you take a gap year or step into a job. ISAC can help you discover what’s possible for you—and we can help provide the support and resources for you to carve a path to get there. In addition to the state grants and scholarships we administer, the ISACorps provides direct services to students and parents statewide in helping them navigate the process of education after high school, financial aid, college search and admissions, and more. This Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program aims at bringing more teachers assistance and valued educational rights.
Eligibility and Requirements
- If you plan to teach at a nonprofit Illinois public, private, or parochial preschool, elementary school, or secondary school, for which the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has determined that no less than 30 percent of the enrolled students are African American/Black, Hispanic American, Asian American, or Native American.
- You are of African American/Black, Hispanic American, Asian American, or Native American origin, then you may qualify for up to $5,000 per year as part of the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program.
- Funds from this program may be used to pay for tuition, fees and room and board, or commuter allowances, if applicable. This scholarship may be received for a maximum of the equivalent of four academic years (eight semesters or 12 quarters) of full-time enrollment.
- As part of the application process, you must agree to the terms and conditions that are outlined in the application’s Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note (available for the 2017-18 academic year and later via the Program Requirements page). By receiving this scholarship, you must teach in Illinois. If this teaching commitment is not fulfilled, the scholarship converts to a loan, and you must repay the entire amount plus interest.
- Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen or meet the “undocumented student” criteria of the RISE Act.
- Be a resident of Illinois.
- Be a minority student of either African American/Black, Hispanic American, Asian American, or Native American origin.
- Be a high school graduate or hold a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment on at least a half-time basis as an undergraduate or graduate student.
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment at an Illinois institution of higher education in a course of study which, upon completion, qualifies you to be licensed as a preschool, elementary, or secondary school teacher by the Illinois State Board of Education, including alternative teacher licensure.
- Have earned a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale if enrolled at the sophomore, junior, senior, or graduate level.
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by your college.
- Comply with federal Selective Service registration requirements (see the note at the top of this section for possible exceptions).
How to Apply
The Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program Application/Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note, which must be submitted each academic year in order to apply for the MTI Scholarship, is currently available online via the Program Applications & Status Checks area of the ISAC Student Portal. After entering and submitting your data, follow the on-screen instructions to print the completed application, sign it, and mail it to ISAC. Important: Please note that the application is not complete until the Application/Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note, with an original ink signature, is received at ISAC.
If you are unable to access the online application, you may instead download and print a PDF version and submit the completed application to ISAC.
Reward
The scholarship amount reward will be issued out in full to the recipient who is chosen.
Deadline & Annual
The priority application consideration date for the 2021-22 academic year was March 1, 2021. However, complete applications received after this date will continue to be considered for the MTI Scholarship Program for as long as funding remains after all timely qualified applicants have been awarded.
Correspondence regarding the status of your application will be mailed to you within three weeks after the date your application is received at ISAC. Awarding is anticipated to take place after the 2022 fiscal year state budget has been finalized.
