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Financial Aid and Scholarships

TEACH Grant High-Need Fields

The high-need fields listed below are a combination of those identified on a nationwide list by the U.S. Department of Education and those specifically approved for teachers in the state of South Carolina. Students planning to teach in a state other than South Carolina should confirm whether or not their intended teaching field is either on the U.S. Department of Education high-need list or the high-need list for the state in which they plan to teach.


U.S. High-Need Fields

You may be eligible for the TEACH Grant if you intend to teach in one of the high-need fields listed in the left column below. To be eligible you must also major in a program of study listed below that corresponds with your chosen high-need filed. Teaching obligations for this list must be carried out at a low-income school within the United States.

Corresponding USC-Columbia Program of Study (Major)

High-Need Field Degree Classification USC School/College Major Degree Minor or Emphasis
Mathematics Graduate Education Secondary Education Master of Teaching Mathematics
Mathematics Undergraduate Education Middle Level Education Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science Math/Science, Math/Social Studies, Math/English
Mathematics Undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences Mathematics or Statistics Bachelor of Science N/A
Science Graduate Education Secondary Education Master of Teaching Natural Science
Science Undergraduate Education Middle Level Education Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science Math/Science, Science/Social Studies, Science/English
Science Undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Physics, Geology Bachelor of Science N/A
Foreign Language Graduate Interdisciplinary Program Foreign Language Master of Arts in Teaching N/A
Foreign Language Undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Bachelor of Arts Francophone Studies PK-12 Teacher Certification Concentration, German PK-12 Teacher Certification Concentration, Classics Latin PK-12 Teacher Certification Concentration, Spanish PK-12 Teacher Certification Concentration
Bilingual Language N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
English Language Acquisition Graduate College of Arts & Sciences Linguistics Master of Arts Enrolled in certificate program in TESOL
English Language Acquisition Graduate Education Language and Literacy Master of Education English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
Special Education Graduate Interdisciplinary Program Special Education Master of Arts in Teaching N/A
Special Education Graduate Education Special Education Master of Education N/A
Special Education Undergraduate Education Special Education Bachelor of Arts N/A
Reading Specialist Graduate Education Language and Literacy Master of Education Multi-Literacy

S.C. High-Need Fields

You may be eligible for the TEACH Grant if you intend to teach in one of the high-need fields listed in the left column below. To be eligible you must also major in a program of study listed below that corresponds with your chosen high-need field. Teaching obligations for this list must be carried out at a low-income school within the state of South Carolina.

Corresponding USC-Columbia Program of Study (Major)

High-Need Field Degree Classification USC School/College Program Degree Concentration
Agriculture N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Art Graduate Interdisciplinary Program Art Education Master of Arts in Teaching N/A
Art Undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences Art Education Bachelor of Fine Arts N/A
Business Education N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Career and Technical Education N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Computer Science N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Dance Undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences Dance Bachelor of Arts Dance Education
Driver Education N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Early Childhood Education Undergraduate Education Early Childhood Education Bachelor of Arts N/A
Elementary Education Graduate Education Elementary Education Master of Arts in Teaching N/A
Elementary Education Undergraduate Education Elementary Education Bachelor of Arts N/A
English Graduate Education Secondary Education Master of Teaching English
English Undergraduate Education Middle Level Education Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science Math/English, Science/English, Social Studies/English
English Undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences English Bachelor of Arts N/A
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) See English Language Acquisition on chart above.
Family and Consumer Science N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Gifted and Talented N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Health N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Industrial and Technology Ed N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Literacy See Reading Specialist on chart above.
Mathematics See chart above.
Middle Level - Language Arts Undergraduate Education Middle Level Education Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science Math/English, Science/English, Social Studies/English
Middle Level - Mathematics See chart above.
Middle Level Science See chart above.
Middle Level - Social Studies Undergraduate Education Middle Level Education Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science Math/Social Studies, Science/Social Studies, Social Studies/English
Montessori Education N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Music Education Graduate Interdisciplinary Program Music Education Master of Arts in Teaching Music Edu. - Choral, Band
Music Education Undergraduate School of Music Music Bachelor of Music Music Edu. Choral, Instrumental
Physical Education Graduate Interdisciplinary Program Physical Education Master of Arts in Teaching N/A
Physical Education Undergraduate Education Physical Education Bachelor of Science in Physical Education Teacher Certification
School Counselor Graduate Education Counselor Education Education Specialist K-12 School Counseling
School Librarian Graduate College of Information and Communications Library and Information Science Master of Library and Information Science Need verification of school track from advisor.
Science See chart above.
Social Studies Graduate Education Secondary Education Master of Teaching Social Studies
Social Studies Undergraduate Education Middle Level Education Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science Math/Social Studies, Science/Social Studies, Social Studies/English
Social Studies Undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences African American Studies, Geography, History, Political Science, Sociology, or Psychology Bachelor of Arts N/A
Speech Language Pathologist Graduate Public Health Speech Pathology Master in Speech Pathology N/A
Speech Language Pathologist Graduate Public Health Communication Disorders Master of Communication Disorders in Speech-Language Pathology N/A
Special Education See chart above.
Theatre Graduate Interdisciplinary Program Theatre Master of Arts in Teaching N/A
World Languages See Foreign Language on chart above.

***For undergraduate English, Math, Science, and Social Studies (African American Studies, Geography, History, Political Science, Sociology, or Psychology) majors, the Secondary Education MT continuation is assumed. ***


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