Federal Grants

Grants on this page
Federal Pell Grant
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
TEACH Grant

Federal Pell Grant

The Pell Grant is a need-based program that awards funds to undergraduate students who are seeking, and have not already earned, a bachelor's degree. Once a student earns a bachelors degree, or completes all the requirements at UMSL for a bachelors degree, the student is no longer eligible for the Federal Pell Grant.

The grant amount is based on your Expected Family Contribution, your enrollment status, and your attendance for the academic year. Students can receive the Pell Grant in multiple years, but they must apply each year by submitting their FAFSA. The current schedule for Pell eligibility, based on EFC and enrollment, can be found on our Forms pages under Pell Schedule. To use this schedule, you will need to know your EFC and your enrollment status.

You are eligible to receive a Pell Grant for up to 12 semesters or the equivalent. If you have exceeded the 12-semester maximum, you will lose eligibility for additional Pell Grants beginning in 2012-13 school year. Equivalency is calculated by adding together the percentage of your Pell eligibility that you received each year to determine whether the total amount exceeds 600%.

For example, if your maximum Pell Grant award amount for the 2010-2011 school year was $5,550, but you only receive $2,775 because you were only enrolled for one semester, you would have used 50% of your maximum award for that year. If in the following school year, you were enrolled only three-quarter time in each of two semesters, you would have used 75% of your maximum award for that year. Between these two, you would have received 125% out of the total 600% lifetime limit.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

The FSEOG is a grant for undergraduate students seeking their first bachelor's degree who are considered to have exceptional financial need. In order to qualify, students must qualify for a Pell Grant. Unlike Pell funding, FSEOG funding is limited, and awards are made as funds are available with priority given to those students with lowest EFC (zero) who applied by the priority deadline of April 1preceding the academic year.

Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant

A student who is not eligible for a Pell Grant but whose parent or guardian was a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and died as a result of service performed in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, may be eligible to receive the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant. A student must be under 24 years old and be enrolled at least part-time at the time of the parent’s or guardian’s death.

For more information regarding the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, visit the U.S. Department of Education website.

TEACH Grant Program

The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program provides grants of up to $4,000 per year to students who intend to teach in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families.

In exchange for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must agree to serve as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students. As a recipient of a TEACH Grant, you must teach for at least four academic years within eight calendar years of completing the program of study for which you received a TEACH Grant.

IMPORTANT: If you fail to complete this service obligation, all amounts of TEACH Grants that you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. You must then repay this loan to the U.S. Department of Education. You will be charged interest from the date the grant funds were disbursed.

TEACH Grant funds are awarded based on student enrollment. Below is a listing of corresponding TEACH Grant eligibility for various enrollment status.

Full-time enrollment		$2,000/semester
Three-quarter enrollment		$1,500/semester
Half-time enrollment		$1,000/semester
Less than half-time		$   500/semester

Students are reviewed for TEACH Grant eligibility at the beginning of each semester. In order to qualify for the TEACH Grant, students must meet the following requirements:

1. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and submit it to UMSL.  Students will be considered if they indicate on the FAFSA that they  are/will complete coursework necessary for becoming a teacher.
2. Be enrolled in a degree program in the College of Education that will lead to a career in teaching.
3. Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 or scored above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test.

If a student meets these requirements, they will be sent further instructions via their UMSL e-mail address on completing a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Entrance Counseling session.   

For more information or a listing of high-need fields or schools that serve low-income students, please visit The Federal Student Aid Website.