MTI Program Overview

The MTI Scholarship Program encourages academically talented minority students to pursue careers as teachers at nonprofit Illinois preschool, elementary and secondary schools. The program also aims to provide minority children with access to a greater number of positive minority role models.

Each institution that participates in the MTI Scholarship Program must host an annual information session about the program for teacher candidates of color and – in an effort to facilitate on-time completion of each student’s educator preparation program – require that all program recipients enrolled at the institution meet with an academic advisor at least once per academic level.

Students may qualify for up to $7,500 per year. The scholarship may be received for a maximum of 8 semesters or 12 quarters of assistance.

A student must sign an agreement promising to begin teaching within one year at:

a nonprofit Illinois public, private, or parochial preschool, elementary or secondary school at which no less than 30 percent of the enrolled students are minority students, as certified by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), or
if the MTI Scholarship was awarded to a qualified bilingual minority applicant, in a transitional bilingual education program or in a school in which at least 20 English learner students in the same language classification are enrolled.

Recipients must teach one year for each year of scholarship assistance received and shall teach on a continuous basis for the required period of time.

If the teaching obligation is not fulfilled, the scholarship converts to a loan at a 5% interest rate and the entire amount received, prorated to the fraction of the teaching obligation not completed, must be repaid.