Prospective Teacher Scholarship Loan (PTSL)

Created by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1957, this program was designed to provide scholarship loans to qualified individuals who are pursuing college degrees to become teachers in the public schools of North Carolina.
The Prospective Teacher Scholarship Loan is a competitive, merit-based scholarship-loan program available to full-time students who have chosen to enter the education profession. A school official such as a high school guidance counselor or principal must recommend students for this award. Recipients must have maintained a minimum unweighted cumulative grade point average of a 2.5 or better, received a score of 900 or better on the SAT or equivalent ACT score, enroll in a teacher preparation program at any of the eligible institutions, and plan to pursue a degree in teacher education to become a certified teacher and demonstrate a commitment to teach in the State's public schools.

Effective for the 2006-2007 academic year, the Prospective Teacher Scholarship Loan program will no longer provide funding assistance for the following areas of study: School Psychology, School Counseling, Speech/Language Pathology, Audiology, and Library/Media Services. Any student receiving funding for these disciplines in prior years will remain eligible for service cancellation in these areas. Contact the PTSL Manager at NCSEAA if you have questions.

The annual award will be $4,000 per year for juniors and seniors and $2,500 per year for freshmen and sophomores including community college students planning to transfer into a teacher education program at a four-year institution. One half of the award is made available to the recipients in the fall semester and the remainder in the spring semester. The scholarship-loan is renewable. Funding for the program is contingent each year upon appropriations made available to the State Education Assistance Authority by the General Assembly.

Students pursuing degrees that lead to teacher licensure may apply for the PTSL for the 2007-2008 academic year by April 6, 2007. Please note that students who are current recipients of the Future Teachers of North Carolina Scholarship/Loan, the Physical Education - Coaching Scholarship/Loan, or the Teaching Fellows Program are not eligible to apply for the PTSL program.  When the application is available the link will be provided on CFNC.org.

The PTSL recipient enters into a contract with the State of North Carolina to work full time as a teacher in the State's public schools. One year of service as a full time teacher (minimum of 9 calendar months in a fiscal year) cancels one year of funding support received. Service repayment must be completed within seven years from graduation. The interest rate for cash repayment is 10% and the cash repayment must be made within ten years of graduation. If you have questions regarding the Prospective Teacher Scholarship Loan that have not been answered on this site, please contact the NCSEAA directly at (800) 700-1775, select option "1" or locally at (919) 549-8614, select option "1".