Are There Any Scholarships for ESL Majors in Tennessee?
- The Transition to Teaching Scholarship Program in Tennessee receives its funding from the United States Department of Education as part of a countrywide education grant program. Fourteen programs across the country were given over $87 million dollars in grant money, with the state of Tennessee receiving nearly $3.5 million dollars to use at state colleges and universities. Since the program started, Lipscomb University is the only school in Tennessee to use the funding from the program.
- Created to encourage students and current teachers to pursue degrees in high-need areas, including ESL, the Transition to Teaching Program also helps provide quality teachers for high-need school systems in Tennessee. The Transition to Teaching Program helps Tennessee teachers obtain licenses in ESL, as well as other disciplines in high demand, like math, science, special education and foreign languages. The program also helps funnel teachers into underperforming school districts in the state by requiring scholarship recipients to work in those districts.
- The scholarship program awards $5,000 as of 2011 to students enrolled in one of two ESL master's programs at Lipscomb University. Nearly 80 students receive scholarship funding from the Transition to Teaching program at Lipscomb University each year. Additionally, students who are also teachers working full time receive an additional 26 percent discount on tuition at the school, equaling nearly $11,000. The scholarships allow full-time teachers to complete the master's program in 14 months, while still fulfilling their full-time teaching duties.
- To be eligible for the scholarship money, candidates must be current teachers in Tennessee wanting to obtain a master's level degree in ESL from Lipscomb University. Candidates can also be current working professionals with non-education degrees, wanting to get into the ESL field. In return for the tuition assistance, those teachers must commit to work in a one of Tennessee's nine underperforming and understaffed school districts for at least three years. Interested applicants can find the most up-to-date information about the scholarship program by contacting the education department at Lipscomb University.