Scholarships

Are you interested in earning your Professional Educator License? The Chicago Early Learning Workforce Scholarship is open to any Chicago resident who wants to enter the early childhood workforce. Whether you want to get a degree in early childhood education, increase your Gateways credential level or join the early childhood workforce The Workforce Scholarship opportunity is for you.

The Workforce Scholarship covers 100% of tuition and eligible fees are covered, plus up to $250 in books per course. The scholarship will serve as a “last dollar” scholarship, meaning it will cover everything that students’ federal grants and other scholarships do not cover.

The application for the 2024-2025 academic year opens January 17, 2024.

Learn more information here.

All early childhood focused students may be eligible for a scholarship from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) called the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program.

The scholarship program was created in 2021 to address the shortage of qualified early childhood educators in Illinois with an aim toward building a strong, well-prepared workforce. After graduation, recipients of the scholarship are expected to continue or return to teaching young children or direct services in the early childhood care and education field in Illinois.

The scholarship will cover the total cost of attendance for an academic year (including summer) after other financial aid is received.

Application and further information can be found here.

There are unique scholarship opportunities specifically to support pre-service teachers and practitioners in the field in pursuing their early childhood credentials.

Through the Early Childhood Education Student Support Scholarship, funded by the private gift from Marjorie Pelino, we have significantly supported more than 130 students across 5 programs affiliated with early childhood education at UIC in the College of Education. Students range from undergraduates to master’s students, to adults in the early childhood workforce who are taking classes for credentials.

The scholarship is open to any UIC student in the College of Education who is studying early childhood. We award these scholarships three times a year (spring, summer, and fall) and are also able to provide emergency funding when needed. The scholarship program has grown and developed in ways that have allowed us to concretely and significantly support individuals who might not have been able to finish their studies otherwise.

The scholarship has also facilitated entire course offerings for free to students who are getting their initial license in elementary education but want to add on the coursework and testing to obtain their early childhood education endorsement. On a very basic level, this provides the field with more teachers who are licensed to teach in early childhood settings. Yet more broadly, this provides an understanding and knowledge of early childhood education to more teachers in the field, whether they teach in actual early childhood settings or not.

https://education.uic.edu/admissions/financial-aid-tuition/early-childhood-ed-support/

The MTI Scholarship recognizes the importance of having K-12 licensed teachers who reflect the diversity of our students. MTI is open to applicants who are in an undergraduate or graduate teacher preparation program at an Illinois college or university, who are Black, Hispanic American, Asian American or Native American, and or a Bilingual applicant of color. You may qualify for up to $7,500 per year. Read more about the program and eligibility requirements here.

If you are a teacher or a student pursuing a career in special education, you may be eligible for the Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver Program. This program will exempt you from paying tuition and mandatory fees at an eligible institution for up to four calendar years, provided you have not yet obtained an initial licensure in any area of special education. By receiving the tuition waiver, you must teach in Illinois in the field of special education. You can learn more about the SETTW here.