If: 1) you plan to teach at a nonprofit Illinois public, private, or parochial preschool, elementary school, or secondary school, for which the Illinois State Board of Education has determined that no less than 30 percent of the enrolled students are African American/Black, Hispanic American, Asian American, or Native American; and 2) you are of African American/Black, Hispanic American, Asian American or Native American origin or are a qualified bilingual minority applicant, then you may qualify for the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program. Funds from this program may be used to pay for tuition, fees and room and board, or commuter allowances, if applicable. This scholarship may be received for a maximum of the equivalent of four academic years (eight semesters or 12 quarters) of full-time enrollment.
To be eligible for the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship, applicants 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 GED certificate; be 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; have a 2.5 GPA; not be in default on any student loan; be pursuing studies in education; and have not received this award before.