Rider University recently increased the award amount of its Teacher Education Scholarship, which was introduced earlier this year to help combat the nationwide teacher shortage. Qualified, incoming undergraduate education majors may receive up to $5,000 toward their studies.
Preparing the next generation of educators is critical as the U.S. and New Jersey struggle to fill open vacancies.
“There are a number of reasons why teaching positions are difficult to fill throughout the country — large numbers of retirements and those leaving the field, and less students earning teaching degrees,” Susan Dougherty, chair of Rider’s Department of Teacher Education, said. “There can also be some financial roadblocks to becoming a teacher. By increasing the scholarship award for students who plan to dedicate their career to this vital profession, we hope to alleviate some of their financial burden.”
The scholarship is open to first-year and transfer students who enroll as undergraduate elementary education, secondary education or music education majors beginning their studies in the fall 2024 semester. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA, enroll in 12 credits per semester and remain in good academic standing.
Rider’s extensive teacher preparation programs ensure students are prepared for teaching in multiple environments including in-person, virtual and hybrid modalities. Undergraduate students participate in numerous fieldwork experiences beginning sophomore year. Students typically have at least one or multiple fieldwork experiences per semester, culminating in a full-semester, student-teaching experience their senior year.
To learn more about Rider’s Teacher Education Scholarship, visit rider.edu/teacher-scholarship. To apply to Rider, visit rider.edu/apply.
