JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

MTI Eligibility Requirements

{ISAC Rules, Part 2763.20}

To qualify for the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship, an applicant must:

  • be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen (FSA Handbook Volume 1, Chapter 2) or meet the “undocumented student” criteria of the RISE Act;
  • be a resident of Illinois;
  • be a minority student or a qualified bilingual minority applicant (more information regarding “qualified bilingual minority applicants” is provided in the MTI Certification Data Definitions document) who is enrolled or accepted for enrollment 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, including alternative teacher licensure, which upon completion will qualify the student to be licensed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) as a preschool, elementary or secondary school teacher, or
    • if 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 they are teaching or plan to teach, or
    • if not yet enrolled in an educator preparation program, have received one or more College and Career Pathway Endorsements (more information regarding College and Career Pathway Endorsements is provided in the MTI Certification Data Definitions document) and commit to enrolling in a course of study leading to teacher licensure, including alternative teacher licensure;
  • be a high school graduate or a recipient of a General Educational Development (GED) Certificate;
  • have earned a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent) if enrolled at the sophomore, junior, senior or graduate level;
  • not be in default on any student loan nor owe a refund or repayment on any state or federal grant;
  • meet the satisfactory academic progress standards at the school;
  • have not received 8 semesters or 12 quarters of the MTI Scholarship; and
  • not be awarded an Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) or the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program for the same academic period for which the MTI Scholarship is requested.

The definitions for minority students are as follows:

  • African American/Black – a person having origins in any of the black racial groups in Africa;
  • Asian American – a person with origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan, and the Pacific Islands, including among others, Hawaii, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia;
  • Hispanic American – a person of Spanish or Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race;
  • Native American – a person who is a member of a federally or state recognized Indian tribe, or whose parents or grandparents have such membership, including the native people of Alaska.

A qualified bilingual minority applicant is a qualified student who demonstrates proficiency in a language other than English by receiving either:

  • a State Seal of Biliteracy from the State Board of Education; or
  • a passing score on an educator licensure target language proficiency test.

The award year for this scholarship does not include the summer term.

Qualified applicants may receive MTI Scholarship funds only up to the amount by which their cost of attendance exceeds the amount of their Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant, if applicable.