Spread the News About the Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program

01/13/2026

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission encourages all financial aid administrators to share this information with students and with their colleagues in the College of Education.

The Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program, a new program for the 2025-26 academic year, is now accepting applications. Please encourage students who are interested in or currently pursuing initial teacher licensure and teachers who are seeking additional endorsements or a master’s degree to apply online today! For priority consideration, applicants should apply by February 16, 2026. ISAC will continue to accept applications after that date.

Please note, the Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program replaces the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship, which is no longer active. The Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program has a different set of eligibility criteria, so we encourage all students who were previously receiving an MTI Scholarship to review the new program and apply if eligible.

About the Scholarship:

  • Provides funds for tuition and mandatory fees
  • Available for up to four academic years (eight semesters or 12 quarters)
  • Recipients must commit to teaching in an eligible Illinois school district with persistent teacher shortages.
    (Note: Failure to fulfill the commitment converts the scholarship to a loan, repayable with interest.)

To qualify, an applicant must:

  • have been enrolled at any time during the applicant’s K-12 years in an eligible Illinois high-need public school district:
    • that had an average of at least 70% of students who were eligible to receive free or reduce-price lunch; and
    • that had a 3-year average teacher vacancy rate at or above the statewide average, excluding public school districts that had zero vacancies or in which the number of teacher vacancies in the district was at or above the statewide average number of teacher vacancies, excluding public school districts that has zero vacancies.

Applicants may learn about full eligibility requirements and apply on the Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program page at ISAC.org.

You are receiving this message because you registered for ISAC's e-Messaging service through one or more subscription groups for FAAs.

If you have any questions, please contact School Services by sending an email to [email protected] or calling 866.247.2172.