What is the Teaching Fellows program?
Administered by the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA), the University of South Carolina-Columbia’s Teaching Fellows program is a student-centered organization designed to promote personal and professional growth within each Fellow. Programming offered through the Teaching Fellows program, in combination with the high quality education that each Fellow receives at the University of South Carolina-Columbia, prepares members to become emerging teacher-leaders within their school communities.
The University of South Carolina-Columbia is one of only eleven institutions in the state of South Carolina identified as a Teaching Fellows Institution. Our program's mission is to develop Teaching Fellows into the future teacher-leaders of South Carolina and to enhance their ability to directly and positively impact the students and school-communities where they will serve.
How does the program work?
Our program serves students seeking education degrees and certification in almost every content area and level. The Teaching Fellows program provides up to 200 outstanding South Carolina high school seniors with a $6,000 scholarship/loan each year for up to four years. Each fellow will then repay the scholarship/loan by performing one year of service in a South Carolina public school following graduation for each year the scholarship was received.
This scholarship comes with expectations and obligations, and you will need to meet these each semester/academic year in order to maintain the fellowship.
Will I have any special activities in the program?
Teaching Fellows participate in a variety of activities and service opportunities in addition to the required standard curriculum of the University of South Carolina College of Education and other programs.
These activities and service opportunities are structured to allow you to complete academic course work without interference while giving you the greatest opportunities to prepare for your career. You will also meet every month for professional development opportunities and organization business meetings. These meetings allow for communication and networking with other Fellows in a professional atmosphere and the ability to work collaboratively towards advancing one’s own personal and professional growth within the program.