A Minnesota state agency currently offers a scholarship program that provides financial assistance to college students who must be minorities in order to be eligible.
The Minnesota Office of Higher Education’s Aspiring Teachers of Color Scholarship Pilot Program is specifically designed for Minnesota college students who “belong to racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in the state’s teacher workforce.”
”Minnesota Aspiring Teachers of Color Scholarship Pilot Program provides postsecondary financial assistance to eligible undergraduate and graduate students who are preparing to become teachers, have demonstrated financial need, and belong to racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in the state’s teacher workforce,” the scholarship’s web page reads.
To be eligible for the program, a student must be “a person of color or American Indian,” according to the website. Students can also receive a lifetime maximum of $25,000 in financial assistance through the publicly-funded initiative.
2024 data shows that 180 students from 22 schools were selected for the scholarship out of 236 completed applications.
”There were various reasons as to why a student may be ineligible, such as: no demonstration of financial need, not enrolled, withdrawn from the institution, or did not belong to a race or ethnicity underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce,” according to the scholarship’s report.
136 women were awarded scholarships this year, compared to 41 men, and 3 individuals whose gender was listed as “Unknown.”
In total, over $1.3 million was awarded to students in 2024, for an average of over $7,500 for each recipient.
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According to its website, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education operates as a “cabinet-level state agency providing students with financial aid programs and information to help them gain access to postsecondary education.”
”The Minnesota State Grant Program is the largest financial aid program administered by the Office of Higher Education, awarding more than $210 million in need-based grants to Minnesota residents attending eligible colleges, universities and career schools in Minnesota,” the website adds. “The agency oversees other state scholarship programs, tuition reciprocity programs, a student loan program, Minnesota’s 529 College Savings Plan, licensing and an early college awareness program and initiatives for youth.”