There are different ways to pay for the coursework required to teach in a specific region. In many cases, our regional offices have established relationships with local universities that offer reduced tuition for corps members. In some regions, you can qualify for tuition exemption based on the fact that you're a teacher. In other regions, you must pay for classes up front.

​Explore our regions for more information.

To help ease the transition into the corps, TFA offers all corps members a baseline stipend in Transitional Financial Support, and, for those who qualify, an additional Stipend. In addition, we offer Need-Based Financial Support packages to eligible corps members who apply for this supplemental program. Our Transitional Financial Support is designed to assist with costs including travel to the community where your loved one will teach, relocation expenses, and testing and initial certification fees.

Teach For America will not directly provide housing. Corps members have the opportunity to utilize helpful resources and leverage their regional team members to locate their own housing in the community where they will teach in the fall.

Teach For America is a proud member of AmeriCorps, the national service network. Through this relationship, corps members may be eligible to enroll in AmeriCorps and therefore may be eligible for forbearance on their qualified student loans during their term of service. AmeriCorps alumni are eligible to have the National Service Trust pay all or a portion of the interest that accumulated on qualified student loan(s) during their term of service.

Teach For America offers financial support stipends for corps members as well as need-based transitional grants and no-interest loans to help corps members make it to their first paychecks. Need-based packages are based on an applicant's demonstrated need, the cost of living in the assigned region and their stipend amount.

Financial Support is awarded at the beginning of pre-service training and may be used to meet costs associated with transitioning into the corps, such as:

Most corps members receive their first paycheck between late August and late September depending on regional assignment. In an effort to ensure that qualified candidates from all economic situations are able to join the corps, we offer a few financial support options to help you make it to your first paycheck.

Our Transitional Financial Support is designed to assist with costs including travel to the community where you will teach, relocation expenses, and testing and initial certification fees.

While a background in education isn’t a prerequisite for you to apply to Teach For America, all of our partner regions will require you to complete steps to become highly qualified in the subject(s) you’ll teach in the fall. Most regions also require corps members to work toward full teaching certification during their two-year commitment.

​All of our training and support is towards the goal of developing teacher leaders who realize ambitious outcomes for students. This work is grounded in a CM roadmap of development with the following domains: rigorous instruction, strong classroom environments, learning, and relationships.

The application and training process for certified teachers is the same for non-certified applicants. If you’re admitted to the corps and are already certified to teach the subject in the state where you’re assigned, you won’t need to retake any certification exams that you’ve already passed. However, you’ll most likely need to submit a copy of your score reports.

Teach For America does not pay for your certification or master's degree, however, there are different benefits available to corps members to help pay for the coursework that you must take in order to teach in your region.

Many regions have relationships with local universities that offer reduced tuition for corps members. In some regions, you can qualify for tuition exemption based on the fact that you’re a teacher. In some regions, you must pay for classes up front.