Noyce Scholarships

The deadline for applications for summer/fall 2024 has passed.  The next deadline will be March 1, 2025 for summer/fall 2025.
  

Noyce scholarships for the ETSU Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program will be available for students with Bachelor's degrees in three high-needs STEM fields: Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics.  In Spring 2025, we may also be accepting applications from Biology majors for the Noyce MAT scholarship. These will be one-year scholarships covering tuition, fees, and some living expenses. Students with double majors in two of the targeted subject areas will be given preference for the scholarships. 

Students who receive a Noyce MAT scholarship are required to teach for two years at a high needs school after completing their MAT degree.   

The goal of the Noyce program is to recruit high-performing STEM students into the teaching profession.   With the Noyce program, we are specifically targeting students who are not already enrolled in a teacher education program at ETSU.  The MAT program is designed for students who have not yet taken courses in education.

Students must be U.S. Citizens or Nationals, or Permanent Residents, to receive a Noyce scholarship.  To be awarded a Noyce scholarship, students must have a minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0, and a minimum GPA in their major of 3.0.

For more information about the ETSU Masters of Arts in Teaching program, click here.

If you haven't already discussed the MAT program with the Director of the MAT program,  contact them as soon as possible via mat@etsu.edu to discuss the requirements for the MAT program.     In your email, include your major, your year in school, and dates and times you would be available to meet with the Director about the MAT program.    Meeting with the Director early in the MAT application process will make the process go more smoothly and will help you better plan your schedule.  If you have specific questions about the Noyce program, contact the Director of the Noyce program, Dr. Beverly Smith, at smithbj@etsu.edu.

Recipients of the Noyce MAT scholarship must have completed an undergraduate major in one of the above subject areas, AND EITHER:  1)  Have an overall GPA of 3.0 or better, a GPA in their major of a 3.0 or better, AND have passed the Praxis II exam for their subject area, OR 2) have an overall GPA of 3.5 or better, and a GPA in their subject area of 3.2 or better.   In other words, the GPA requirements for the scholarship are higher if you do not have a passing grade on the Praxis II exam.  

To learn more about the Praxis II exam, click here. We encourage all students interested in the Noyce MAT scholarship to take the Praxis exam as soon as possible.   Finalists for the Noyce scholarship will be invited for an interview, and will need to pass a background check before the scholarship is awarded.

  The next deadline for applications for Noyce scholarships is March 1, 2025.  Watch this web site for more information.

The Noyce application form will ask for the names and email addresses of two references (preferably faculty members).   Before you start the application process, ask these faculty, so they know to expect a request for a letter of reference.  This request will come from Dr. Beverly Smith (smithbj@etsu.edu), so tell them to be expecting that email.     Members of the Noyce faculty team (Drs. Beverly Smith, Scott Kirkby, Jamie Price, or Moin Uddin) will not be able to provide letters of reference for the Noyce scholarship, so ask other faculty instead.  The application form will also ask for an unofficial copy of your ETSU transcript, in pdf format.  Make sure you have that file available before you start the application form.  To get a copy of your transcript, log into Goldlink and display your transcript in the browser.   Then hit the "print" option, and set the "destination" to pdf.  Then save the file.  The application form will ask you to drag-and-drop the pdf file of your transcript in a certain location.

We encourage students interested in the Noyce scholarship to consider the ETSU Accelerated-Bachelor's-to-Masters program, however, this is not a requirement for the Noyce scholarship. Contact the Director of the MAT program well in advance at mat@etsu.edu if you are considering the ABM program as a prequel for the MAT program.  In the ABM program, students can take some of the required MAT courses in their last year as an undergraduate, before officially entering the MAT program. 

Note:  In addition to Noyce Scholarships, there are other forms of financial assistance available for students enrolled in the MAT program.  These include Tuition Scholarships and Graduate Assistantships and other scholarships.  Candidates for the Noyce Scholarship should apply for these as well.  Other scholarships for graduate students (especially note the Quillen Scholarship) are listed here. Contact the Director of the MAT program for more information about these options.   Note that some Tennessee residents might be eligible for scholarship support for the graduate program through the Tennessee HOPE scholarship program, if you have not yet used up your eligibility for this program.   Talk to your financial aid officer at ETSU about whether or not you are eligible for the HOPE scholarship. If you are a chemistry major, there are also scholarships available through the ACS-Hach Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Scholarship program.   Note also:  science/math teachers at high needs schools are also eligible for up to $17,500 loan forgiveness for federal student loans.   In addition, the state of Tennessee offers a Minority Teaching Fellowship for eligible students enrolled in a teacher education program.

Note that students cannot have both a Noyce scholarship and a regular Graduate Assistantship at the same time.  Students who are offered both will need to select one or the other. 

For more information about the ETSU Noyce program in general (including the Noyce internship program), click here or contact Dr. Beverly Smith at smithbj@etsu.edu or 423-439-8418.

For students who have been awarded a Noyce scholarship, a copy of the Scholarship Agreement/Promissory Note is available here.  Note that in accepting a Noyce scholarship, you are committing to two years of teaching at a high needs school.   If you do not complete this teaching requirement, you are required to pay the U.S. government back the entire cost of the scholarship (including both the tuition/fees and the stipend).  Before you sign this form to accept the scholarship, read it carefully.

Last updated: 6/21/2024