UW–Madison School of Education Wisconsin Teacher Pledge FAQ

The UW-Madison School of Education Wisconsin Teacher Pledge — also known as the Teacher Pledge — is an opt-in financial aid program at the UW-Madison School of Education that provides forgivable loans to teacher education students who pledge to stay and teach at a Wisconsin PK-12 school for three-to-four school years. The Teacher Pledge is housed in the Mary T. Kellner Teacher Education Center.

Undergraduate and graduate students who meet the following criteria:

1. Be admitted to and enroll in a UW-Madison School of Education teacher education program.
2. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for each year enrolled in a teacher education program.
3. Pledge to stay and teach in the state of Wisconsin for at least three-to-four school years after graduation.

Eligible Undergraduate Teacher Education Programs:

• Elementary Education BSE
• Special Education BSE
• Elementary Education/Special Education BSE
• Music Education BM
• Art Education BS
• Physical Education BS

Eligible Graduate Teacher Education Programs:

• Special Education MS (Teacher Certification)
• Curriculum & Instruction MS (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, or World Language)

No. Eligible students can only take the Teacher Pledge once, for one teacher education program (undergraduate or graduate).

There is no application to participate the Teacher Pledge program. A student must be accepted to and enroll in a teacher education program at the UW-Madison School of Education, complete the FAFSA for each year enrolled in their teacher education program, and accept Teacher Pledge loan offers. The Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) offers eligible students Teacher Pledge loans as part of their financial aid package.

The Teacher Pledge program is designed to provide support to students currently enrolled in a teacher education program. Because undergraduates are “pre”-education students until they complete all pre-requisites, declare, and begin a teacher education program, the Teacher Pledge does not cover costs associated with the “pre”-education years (typically, freshman and sophomore year).

Yes! Teacher education students who are not Wisconsin residents (and complete the FAFSA annually) are eligible to take the Teacher Pledge.

No. Non-resident teacher education students are welcome and encouraged to take the Teacher Pledge. However, taking the Teacher Pledge does not change a student’s residency for tuition status.

The maximum Teacher Pledge loan offer any student can receive is the cost of resident tuition and segregated fees, regardless of residency status.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students may be eligible to participate in the Teacher Pledge.

Please reach out to the Teacher Pledge program manager for more information.

The Teacher Pledge is available to teacher education students who complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to UW-Madison. International students are not eligible to complete and submit the FAFSA, so cannot participate in the Teacher Pledge.

Yes! Teacher education students who receive support from the GI Bill, Bucky’s Tuition Promise, Badger Promise, Bucky’s Pell Pathway, or the Wisconsin Tribal Educational Promise may also be eligible to participate in the Teacher Pledge.

Please reach out to the Teacher Pledge program manager for more information.

Yes! Completing and submitting the FAFSA to UW-Madison is a requirement for taking the Teacher Pledge, but the Teacher Pledge is not a need-based financial aid program. All UW-Madison teacher education students who complete and submit the FAFSA to UW-Madison may receive Teacher Pledge loans.

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student) form you complete should correspond with the academic year for which you’re seeking financial aid. The financial aid cycle at UW-Madison is Fall-Spring-Summer.

Every year, the FAFSA has a 21-month application cycle that typically opens October 1 and closes June 30 (e.g. the 2022-2023 FAFSA opened on October 1, 2021, and closed June 30, 2023).

Let’s use Summer 2026, Fall 2026, and Spring 2027 as an example:

• If you are seeking financial aid for the Summer 2026 term, you must complete and submit the 2025-2026 FAFSA to UW-Madison no later than June 30, 2026. June 30 is the annual federal deadline and it is not flexible.
• If you are seeking financial aid for the Fall 2026/Spring 2027 term, you must complete and submit the 2026-2027 FAFSA to UW-Madison. You can submit it as early as December 2025 (when the application opens). The Office of Student Financial Aid recommends completing and submitting the FAFSA as soon as possible.

If you have any questions about FAFSA completion or submission, please contact the Office of Student Financial Aid, finaid@finaid.wisc.edu.

Fall/Spring Teacher Pledge offers can be accepted any time throughout the academic year, as long as the necessary steps are completed by two weeks before the final day of the Spring term.

Summer Teacher Pledge offers must be accepted by one week before the final day of the Summer term.

Yes, the Teacher Pledge program provides one term of summer support for undergraduate students — the summer between their first and second year enrolled in a teacher education program (typically, the summer between junior and senior year).

The Teacher Pledge program may provide support toward study abroad fees for teacher education students who participate in credit-earning programs through the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The International Academic Programs’ (IAP) office has 250+ study abroad programs from which to choose.

The maximum Teacher Pledge offer any student can receive is the cost of UW-Madison resident tuition and segregated fees, based on credit load.

If you are a Teacher Pledge taker who plans to study abroad, please reach out to the Teacher Pledge program manager for more information.

In the final Fall/Spring or Summer term of your teacher education program, your Teacher Pledge loan offer will include an additional $400 (beyond the cost of resident tuition and segregated fees). These funds may be used toward costs associated with obtaining a teaching license.

Yes! Teacher education students enrolled in the Elementary Education BSE, Special Education BSE, Elementary Education/Special Education BSE, or the Special Education MS (Teacher Certification) teacher education programs are required to take and pass the Wisconsin Foundations of Reading Test (WFoRT) to obtain a Wisconsin teaching license.

UW-Madison teacher education students who: 1) are enrolled in one of the teacher education programs listed above; and 2) have taken the Teacher Pledge are eligible to receive one WFoRT voucher code. To redeem this benefit, the code must be entered as the method of payment when registering on the program website.

The Mary T. Kellner Teacher Education Center purchases and distributes WFoRT voucher codes via email to eligible students on the following timeline:

• Elementary Education BSE students can expect to receive their WFoRT voucher code via email in April of their first year in the Elementary Education BSE program (typically, the Spring semester of their junior year).
• Special Education BSE students can expect to receive their WFoRT voucher code via email in November of the Fall semester in which they are enrolled in RPSE 465.
• Special Education/Elementary Education BSE students can expect to receive their WFoRT voucher code via email in November of the Fall semester in which they are enrolled in RPSE 465.
• Special Education MS (Teacher Certification) students can expect to receive their WFoRT voucher code via email in April of the Spring semester in which they are enrolled in RPSE 465.

If you are a Teacher Pledge taker who expected to receive a WFoRT voucher code but you have not received one, please reach out to the Teacher Pledge program manager.

In the final Fall/Spring or Summer term of your teacher education program, your Teacher Pledge loan offer will include an additional $400 (beyond the cost of resident tuition and segregated fees). These funds may be used toward PRAXIS exam costs.

Students who take the Teacher Pledge then take time away from their teacher education program (for whatever reason, including change of major) must re-enroll in their teacher education program within one semester (not counting summer) to maintain continued eligibility for Teacher Pledge loans.

For example, if a student taking the Teacher Pledge leaves their teacher education program after the Spring 2023 term with plans to re-enroll in Spring 2024, we can resume their Teacher Pledge funding in Spring 2024, because they were gone for only one semester (Fall 2023). If the student does not re-enroll by Spring 2024, we cannot offer further Teacher Pledge funding.

If the student is dis-enrolled from their teacher education program for more than one semester, the grace period for their Teacher Pledge loans already received will have begun at their point of initial exit/withdrawal. The student will not be eligible to receive further Teacher Pledge loans, nor will the student be eligible for Teacher Pledge loan forgiveness.

If a student returns after one semester or less, the student may continue to receive Teacher Pledge loans and their grace period will begin at the time of completion of and graduation from their teacher education program.

• Complete your online Teacher Pledge loan exit interview with the Bursar’s Office.
• Obtain your Wisconsin teaching license through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI).
• Obtain an at-least 75% FTE (0.75 FTE), full-school-year teaching position at a PK-12 Wisconsin school.
• Work at-least 75% FTE (0.75 FTE) at a PK-12 Wisconsin school for three to four school years over the five-year post-graduation period.
• Complete the employment verification request annually to be considered for Teacher Pledge loan forgiveness. You will receive this request via email at the end of each school year (June) of your five-year post-graduation period.
• Complete Teacher Pledge student surveys and other research-related requests from SSTAR Lab.
• Check out the “After Graduation” section of the Teacher Pledge website.

All Teacher Pledge alumni have a five-year post-graduation grace period. During this time — also known as the “five-year window” — Teacher Pledge alumni are expected to complete their three-to-four year Wisconsin teaching committment. The five-year window begins the school year following your graduation (e.g. whether you graduate in Fall 2025, Spring 2026, or Summer 2026, the five-year window begins in Fall 2026).

Please note Teacher Pledge alumni do not have to make payments (and no interest will accumulate) during the period between graduation and the beginning of the five-year window (nor during the five-year window).

1. Successfully complete and graduate from a UW–Madison teacher education program.
2. Obtain a teaching license from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (WI DPI).
3. Be hired for at least 75% FTE (0.75 FTE), full-year teaching position by a PK-12 school in Wisconsin.
4. Maintain employment as a teacher in Wisconsin for three to four school years and complete the employment verification request annually.
5. Eligible teaching must be performed within five school years after graduation.

All Teacher Pledge loans awarded by the Teacher Pledge program can be forgiven if the student fulfills the three-to-four school year teaching commitment within the five-year post-graduation window.

For students who teach in high-need subject areas or high-need schools in the state, the loan forgiveness period requires three school years of teaching in Wisconsin.

For students who teach in a non-high-need subject and non-high-need school, the loan forgiveness period requires four school years of teaching in Wisconsin.

See schedule below for the annual rates of Teacher Pledge loan forgiveness. Forgiveness is applied upon completion of a full school year of at least 75% FTE (0.75 FTE) if the annual employment verification request has been successfully completed and submitted.

For more information on the annual employment verification request, please click here.

No. The Teacher Pledge program can only forgive Teacher Pledge loans distributed by the Teacher Pledge program. The Teacher Pledge program cannot forgive any other student loans (past or current).

High-need subject areas in Wisconsin (as defined by Wisconsin DPI):

• • Art Education
  • Bilingual Education
  • Business Education
  • English as a Second Language (ESL)
  • Family and Consumer Education
  • World Language
  • Health
  • Marketing Education
  • Mathematics (Secondary)
  • Music Education
  • Physical Education
  • Reading (Teacher)
  • Science (Secondary)
  • Special Education
  • Technology Education

High-need schools are qualifying schools within federal Title I districts in Wisconsin, as defined annually by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid. A directory of these schools can be found at the Teacher Cancellation Low Income (TCLI) Directory.

Current Wisconsin TCLI Directory Schools:

2025-2026

2024-2025

2023-2024

2022-2023

2021-2022

2020-2021

When using the directory, search by school name; not all schools within a Title 1 school district necessarily qualify. Qualifying schools must have greater than 30% of low-income students.

No. The Teacher Pledge program does not place alumni in qualifying teaching positions post-graduation. Taking the Teacher Pledge does not guarantee the alumnus a post-graduation teaching position.

If a student successfully completes their teacher education program and graduates, but does not fulfill any of their Teacher Pledge teaching commitment, they will be required to start making payments to UW–Madison for their total Teacher Pledge loan after the five-year grace period has ended.

If a student successfully completes their teacher education program and graduates, but does not fulfill some of their Teacher Pledge teaching commitment, they will be required to start making payments to UW–Madison for their remaining Teacher Pledge loan after the five-year grace period has ended.

If a student withdraws from their teacher education program and/or UW-Madison, their five-year grace period begins at the time of withdrawal. The student will be required to start making payments to UW–Madison for their total Teacher Pledge loan after the five-year grace period has ended.

Students who do not complete and graduate from the teacher education program for which they accepted Teacher Pledge loans are ineligible for Teacher Pledge loan forgiveness.

Teacher Pledge loans have no interest unless the student does not fulfill their Teacher Pledge teaching commitment. At the end of the five-year grace period, a fixed 5% interest rate will be applied to the balance. The remaining principal and interest will be collected over a 10-year repayment period.

Students who choose to participate are required to complete an exit interview with the Bursar’s Office upon graduation to ensure the terms for the Teacher Pledge loan are understood.

Beginning in the 2020-21 academic year, the Student Success Through Applied Research (SSTAR) Lab at the UW–Madison will partner with the UW-Madison School of Education to evaluate the Teacher Pledge program. The goal is to support the design and implementation of the program in order to maximize its benefits to current and future students, and to evaluate its impact on the Wisconsin teacher workforce.