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§1036 Graduate Fellowships to Prepare Faculty in High-need Areas at Colleges of Education

Title 20 › CHAPTER 28 — HIGHER EDUCATION RESOURCES AND STUDENT ASSISTANCE › SUBCHAPTER II — TEACHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT › Part B — Enhancing Teacher Education › subpart 5 — graduate fellowships to prepare faculty in high-need areas at colleges of education › § 1036

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Education must give grants to colleges or groups of colleges that offer post-bachelor programs leading to a doctoral degree. Colleges apply to the Secretary in the way the Secretary requires. Grant money must pay graduate fellowships for people training to become college teachers in programs that prepare K–12 teachers. Fellowships fund doctoral study (and may include a master’s as part of that study) in STEM for those who already have a master’s in math or science, in special education, or in teaching students with limited English, including language instruction programs. Fellowship recipients must plan to teach at a college with a teacher‑preparation program and must study full time and make good academic progress. Stipends match the level of National Science Foundation graduate fellowships but can be reduced to the student’s demonstrated financial need. For each year of fellowship support, a recipient who earns a doctorate must teach one year at a qualifying college. Recipients must sign an agreement before getting the award and each year it is renewed. If a recipient breaks the agreement, the fellowship amounts become a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan that must be repaid with interest. The Secretary may waive or change the teaching requirement for permanent disability or serious hardship under rules the Secretary sets. A college may keep up to ten percent of its grant to help fellows with academic or career transitions and to meet its duties to check fellows’ plans. Grant funds cannot be used for the college’s general operating costs.

Title 20, §1036

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(a)Grants by Secretary

The Secretary shall make grants to eligible institutions to enable such institutions to make graduate fellowship awards to qualified individuals in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(b)Eligible institutions

In this section, the term “eligible institution” means an institution of higher education, or a consortium of such institutions, that offers a program of postbaccalaureate study leading to a doctoral degree.

(c)Applications

An eligible institution that desires a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

(d)Types of fellowships supported

(1)In general

An eligible institution that receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to provide graduate fellowships to individuals who are preparing for the professorate in order to prepare individuals to become elementary school and secondary school mathematics and science teachers, special education teachers, and teachers who provide instruction for limited English proficient students, who meet the applicable State certification and licensure requirements, including any requirements for certification obtained through alternative routes to certification, or, with regard to special education teachers, the qualifications described in section 1412(a)(14)(C) of this title.

(2)Types of study

A graduate fellowship provided under this section shall support an individual in pursuing postbaccalaureate study, which leads to a doctoral degree and may include a master’s degree as part of such study, related to teacher preparation and pedagogy in one of the following areas:

(A)Science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, if the individual has completed a master’s degree in mathematics or science and is pursuing a doctoral degree in mathematics, science, or education.

(B)Special education.

(C)The instruction of limited English proficient students, including postbaccalaureate study in language instruction educational programs.

(e)Fellowship terms and conditions

(1)Selection of fellows

The Secretary shall ensure that an eligible institution that receives a grant under this section— (A)

(B)may not provide a graduate fellowship to an otherwise eligible individual—

(i)during periods in which such individual is enrolled at an institution of higher education unless such individual is maintaining satisfactory academic progress in, and devoting full-time study or research to, the pursuit of the degree for which the fellowship support was provided; or

(ii)if the individual is engaged in gainful employment, other than part-time employment related to teaching, research, or a similar activity determined by the institution to be consistent with and supportive of the individuals’s progress toward the degree for which the fellowship support was provided.

(2)Amount of fellowship awards

(A)In general

An eligible institution that receives a grant under this section shall award stipends to individuals who are provided graduate fellowships under this section.

(B)Awards based on need

A stipend provided under this section shall be in an amount equal to the level of support provided by the National Science Foundation graduate fellowships, except that such stipend shall be adjusted as necessary so as not to exceed the fellowship recipient’s demonstrated need, as determined by the institution of higher education where the fellowship recipient is enrolled.

(3)Service requirement

(A)Teaching required

Each individual who receives a graduate fellowship under this section and earns a doctoral degree shall teach for one year at an institution of higher education that has a teacher preparation program for each year of fellowship support received under this section.

(B)Institutional obligation

Each eligible institution that receives a grant under this section shall provide an assurance to the Secretary that the institution has inquired of and determined the decision of each individual who has received a graduate fellowship to, within three years of receiving a doctoral degree, begin employment at an institution of higher education that has a teacher preparation program, as required by this section.

(C)Agreement required

Prior to receiving an initial graduate fellowship award, and upon the annual renewal of the graduate fellowship award, an individual selected to receive a graduate fellowship under this section shall sign an agreement with the Secretary agreeing to pursue a career in instruction at an institution of higher education that has a teacher preparation program in accordance with subparagraph (A).

(D)Failure to comply

If an individual who receives a graduate fellowship award under this section fails to comply with the agreement signed pursuant to subparagraph (C), the sum of the amounts of any graduate fellowship award received by such recipient shall, upon a determination of such a failure, be treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D of subchapter IV, and shall be subject to repayment, together with interest thereon accruing from the date of the fellowship award, in accordance with terms and conditions specified by the Secretary in regulations under this subpart.

(E)Modified service requirement

The Secretary may waive or modify the service requirement of this paragraph in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary with respect to the criteria to determine the circumstances under which compliance with such service requirement is inequitable or represents a substantial hardship. The Secretary may waive the service requirement if compliance by the fellowship recipient is determined to be inequitable or represent a substantial hardship—

(i)because the individual is permanently and totally disabled at the time of the waiver request; or

(ii)based on documentation presented to the Secretary of substantial economic or personal hardship.

(f)Institutional support for fellows

An eligible institution that receives a grant under this section may reserve not more than ten percent of the grant amount for academic and career transition support for graduate fellowship recipients and for meeting the institutional obligation described in subsection (e)(3)(B).

(g)Restriction on use of funds

An eligible institution that receives a grant under this section may not use grant funds for general operational overhead of the institution.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2015—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 114–95 struck out “highly qualified” after “become” and inserted “, who meet the applicable State certification and licensure requirements, including any requirements for certification obtained through alternative routes to certification, or, with regard to special education teachers, the qualifications described in section 1412(a)(14)(C) of this title” before period at end.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2015 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 114–95 effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive programs and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114–95, set out as a note under section 6301 of this title.