All available Noyce Scholarships funded by our current National Science Foundation grant have been awarded. No new Noyce Scholarships are anticipated at this time.

Noyce Teacher Scholarships of up to $25,000 are awarded to support successful Cal Teach interns in the MA/credential year at UCSC. All Noyce Teacher Scholars must serve two years teaching math or science in a high-need school or the scholarship is converted to a loan.

Noyce Teacher Scholars Service Obligation

For each year in which the scholarship is received, each Noyce Scholar must serve two years as a teacher in a high-need district or the scholarship will revert to a loan. All five of our partner school districts (East Side Union High School District, Gonzales Unified School District, Pajaro Valley Unified School District, Salinas Union High School District, and Santa Cruz City Schools District) qualify as high-need districts. Noyce Scholars may work at any school in one of these districts or in any other district with high-need schools.

Our partner school districts meet the high-need criteria:

See their salary schedules here (you would be a certificated, credentialed, employee graduating with your credential and M.A., with 45 semester units beyond your bachelor’s degree):

Eligibility and Criteria for Selection of Noyce Teacher Scholars

NSF requires each Noyce Scholarship recipients to:

  • have an undergraduate degree in a science, technology, mathematics, or engineering field or equivalent professional experience; and
  • be a United States citizen, national, or permanent resident alien.

UCSC Noyce Scholarship candidates must:

  • complete at least one Cal Teach internship OR an approved equivalent experience in one of our partner school districts;
  • apply and be accepted to UCSC’s MA/credential program; and
  • interview with our project’s K-12 partners (to be scheduled after application submitted).

Noyce Scholarship applicants are evaluated for acceptance into UCSC’s MA/credential program, according to the following criteria: general academic performance and writing ability, subject matter preparation, experience or coursework related to linguistic/cultural diversity, and experience with youth or children in formal or informal educational settings.

Noyce Scholars will be selected by a committee comprised of representatives from the partner school districts, the Cal Teach program, and UCSC faculty in education and STEM fields. Candidates will be evaluated based on their potential as a teacher in the high-need partner school districts; commitment to serving high-need students; academic preparation to teach in their field; and financial need. An interview with representatives from the partner districts is required (to be scheduled after application submitted). Financial need is assessed by UCSC’s Financial Aid Office using the federal FAFSA.

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Forms

The Noyce Repayable Scholarship will be forgiven based on documented teaching service in a qualified school.

You must complete a Self-Certification Form, confirming that you are eligible to receive this support and providing contact information to aid in collecting loan payments.

The Postponement and Cancellation Form must be submitted at the end of each of the two years of teaching to fulfill your service obligation. Send the completed form directly to Cal Teach so we can keep a copy for your file and deliver it to Student Business Services and the loan servicer.

The Loan Exit Interview Form must be filled out and submitted to Student Business Services during your exit interview before you graduate from the MA/credential program. Cal Teach will let you know when the exit interview is, and a copy of the form will be given to you at that time. Student Business Services will also go over your Perkins Loan information at this time, if you have a Perkins loan.

Repayable Scholarship

Because of the service requirement, the scholarship is considered a “repayable scholarship.” Accepting it requires you to sign a loan promissory note and repayment with interested is expected if you do not fulfill the service requirement. In order to receive the scholarship you must sign the promissory note.

If you do not begin teaching in a high-need school by one year after completing the MA/credential program, or if you drop out of the program, interest will begin accrue, and you will have to begin to pay back the scholarship, with interest. This is an NSF requirement for UCSC to receive the grant. Although UCSC hopes that all our Noyce Scholars will find employment with one of our partner school districts, all of which meet the “high need” requirement, you may fulfill the service obligation in any U.S. school meeting one of the criteria for “high need” (a high percentage of students from families below the poverty line, a high percentage of teachers not teaching in the field in which they were trained to teach, or a high teacher turnover rate). There is the possibility to defer or cancel the loan repayment in case of hardship.

Several legal documents pertain to the repayable scholarship:

  • 1) the Application Disclosure, which includes the interest rate for the repayable scholarship and for federal loan alternatives;
  • 2) the Approval Disclosure, specific to you as the borrower, showing the interest rate, payment total and an estimated repayment schedule, should you fail to complete the required service; and
  • 3) a Promissory Note with the detailed conditions of the loan.

If you want to accept the scholarship, you must meet with Cal Teach staff to sign the Application Disclosure, Approval Disclosure, and Promissory Note soon after the scholarship is first offered. Before receiving the first repayable scholarship installment, you must sign a Final Disclosure form, again showing the interest rate and repayment conditions, and you must complete a Self-Certification Form, confirming that you are eligible to receive this support and providing contact information to aid in collecting loan payments. No scholarship funds may be disbursed until all these forms have been signed.

As a National Science Foundation program, our Noyce project is required to document the impact of the program – this means NSF expects us to track your professional activity for several years after the scholarship period. And, it means that we have an ongoing program evaluation, with regular in-depth surveys. It is possible you will be asked to participate in one-on-one or group interviews before, during, and after your enrollment in UCSC’s MA/credential program, and you may be observed by Noyce project researchers during your student teaching and afterwards. We will continue to ask for reports on your academic and professional progress and to invite you to participate in Cal Teach and Noyce Scholars events. To remain in good standing, you must continue to update Cal Teach on your progress and contact information in the first few years after you graduate, including documenting your employment.