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News Release

Last modified: Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Scholarship incentives added to IU School of Education’s Direct Admit Program

New offer designed to enhance successful program attracting top students

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 12, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The relatively new, but already successful Direct Admit Scholars program at the Indiana University School of Education is adding scholarships that could mean as much as $12,000 in additional funding for qualified students over four years. The new Direct Admit Education Scholars Award offers new scholarships in addition to previous awards for highly qualified undergraduate students seeking an education degree and poised to become future teachers.

"It is clear that the quality of students entering our teacher education programs is a major factor in their ability to succeed academically and professionally as teachers," said Gerardo Gonzalez, dean of the School of Education. "This program will help us bring more of the best and the brightest into teaching and support them to be successful."

The Direct Admit Scholars program is designed to recruit promising future teachers and prepare them at one of the nation's finest schools of education. Direct Admit Scholars take rigorous courses in their subject area and preliminary education coursework starting their first semester. They also have additional access to alumni and other educational mentors, and, once they complete minimum state and institutional requirements, are guaranteed admission to the major program of their choice.

The IU School of Education admitted its third highly selective class of Direct Admit Scholars this fall. Students admitted to IU intending to complete an education major who have very high GPA and SAT or ACT scores are invited to apply. The fall 2011 class of 70 Direct Admit Scholars has an average SAT of 1254 and high school GPA of 3.85. Since 2009, 169 students have entered the program. Students from not only Indiana, but as far away as New York, Maryland and Texas, have enrolled, many focusing on math and science education, areas where more teachers are particularly needed.

Under the new award program, any Direct Admit Scholar who qualifies for an IU Automatic Academic Scholarship will receive an additional award from the School of Education. A recipient of the highest level automatic scholarships -- the IU Excellence or IU Distinction award -- will get an additional $2,000 scholarship for each of four years. A recipient of the IU Prestige scholarship would receive $1,000 in each of four years from the School of Education. Additionally, any student in the Hudson and Holland Scholars Program, a scholarship program that recruits a large number of high-ability underrepresented scholars, would also receive $1,000 per year. High school class valedictorians also get $1,000 per year. All Direct Admit Scholars receive $2,000 toward participation in the award-winning Cultural Immersion Projects student-teaching experience.

At current levels, students who qualify for the top-tier awards would receive a combined total of $46,000 in scholarships from the university and the School of Education over four years if they major in education.

"Everyone knows that people don't go into teaching to make a lot of money," Gonzalez said. "IU already offers a quality, affordable education and, for highly talented students going into teaching, we want to make sure cost is not a factor. Education students will be supported to pursue their passion and become the very best teachers they can be."

The new scholarships are intended not only to continue attracting top students into education careers, but attract top students of color into the teaching profession. The U.S. Department of Education recently estimated that less than 15 percent of the nation's teachers are Latino or black for a school population that is more than a third underrepresented.

"The state and nationwide need to recruit scores of well prepared African-American, Latino and Native American teachers cannot be understated, especially as our nation's classrooms become more diverse," said Ghangis D. Carter, director of recruitment and retention of underrepresented students for the IU School of Education. "The Direct Admit Scholarships play a vital role in this effort."

More information about the Direct Admit Scholars program is available on the IU School of Education Web site. The site includes steps in the process and key dates for applicants.

About the IU School of Education

The IU School of Education is one of the world's premier programs for preparing tomorrow's teachers, counselors, school psychologists, educational leaders, curriculum designers and educational scholars. Its mission is to improve teaching, learning and human development in a global, diverse, rapidly changing and increasingly technological society. It has more than 68,000 alumni, including the 2012 and 2011 Indiana Teachers of the Year. U.S. News and World Report ranks five of its degree programs in the top 10 nationally.

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