JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

MTI – Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible, you must:

  • 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, or a qualified bilingual minority applicant
  • Be a high school graduate, or hold a General Educational Development (GED) certificate
  • Be enrolled on at least a half-time basis as an undergraduate or graduate student at an Illinois institution of higher education, and:
    • Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment 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; or
    • if you are already licensed to teach, be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a course of study leading to an additional teaching endorsement or a master’s degree in an academic field in which you are teaching or plan to teach; or
    • if you are not yet enrolled in an educator preparation program, have received one or more College and Career Pathway Endorsements and commit to enrolling in a course of study leading to teacher licensure, 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
  • Complete the application process by:
    • submitting a fully-completed Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program Application/Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note, and completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) or (if applicable) Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid – in order to receive priority consideration for an award, both complete applications must be received on or before the March 31 immediately preceding the academic year for which the scholarship is requested,
    • being certified as meeting eligibility requirements by the college at which you will use the scholarship, and
    • accepting the scholarship (if one is offered)
  • Sign the Application/Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note promising to fulfill the teaching commitment or repay funds received, plus interest
    • The teaching commitment for this program must be fulfilled
      • 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, Asian American, Hispanic American, or Native American, or
      • if you received the MTI Scholarship as 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
    • the percentage of an Illinois school's enrolled students meeting minority status requirements can be found at ISBE's Illinois Report Card by using the “IL Interactive Report Card” function and typing in the school's name.
  • Not be in default on any student loan, nor owe a refund on any state or federal grant
  • Not have previously received funds from the MTI Scholarship Program for the equivalent of four academic years, which is the program maximum
  • Not receive funds from Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Program or the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program during the same term(s) for which you receive funds from the MTI Scholarship Program