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About the Charles Butt Scholarship

About the Charles Butt Scholarship for Aspiring Teachers

The Charles Butt Scholarship for Aspiring Teachers is available to prospective teachers who are currently enrolled in, or plan to enter, an eligible teacher preparation program at a Charles Butt Foundation Raising Texas Teachers partner university.

Application Open Now!

Applications for the Charles Butt Scholarship are now open! Click the button below to apply. Keep in mind, the scholarship is offered at specific programs at each of the 27 partner universities. Each university also has a unique deadline. All this information can be found below.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be committed to teaching in the Texas public school system in either a Title 1 or majority economically disadvantaged school or in a priority subject area (math, science, special education, or bilingual). Applicants must also exemplify the knowledge, skills, and values listed below. Preference is given to Texas residents.

Aspiring teachers can apply in the fall of any year between their senior year of high school and junior year of college, or prior to entering an eligible master’s program.

Click on the partner universities listed below to view eligible programs.

Application Deadline: January 30, 2026
  • Any residency program for undergraduate teacher certification including:  all EC-6 Core Certification programs (Bilingual, ESL, and Special Education), 7-12 certification programs in history, mathematics, ELAR and life science with additional certification in bilingual, ESL, and/or Special Education, and all level certification in music, Spanish, art, or PE with additional certification in bilingual, ESL, and/or special education.

 Participation in Year-Long Residency program is required

Application Deadline: March 13, 2026
  • Planning to teach in a Texas public school
  • Maintain a 3.0 GPA
  • Seeking certification in the following areas:
    • EC-6 with STR certification area:        
    • 4-8 Certification areas:
      • Math, Science, English/Language Arts with STR, Social Studies, & Core 4-8 with STR
    • 7-12 Certification areas:
      • ELAR, Math, & Science
    • Music EC-12
    • SPED EC-12
    • Health EC-12
    • Physical Education EC-12
  • Participation in Year-Long Residency program is required
Application Deadline: TBD

Willingness and commitment to adhere to university courses and teaching requirements.

  • Undergraduate Teacher Certification
  • Undergraduate 5-Year Master of Arts in Teaching*
  • Master of Arts in Teaching with Certification ($10,000 available)*

* Participation in Year-Long Residency program is required

Application Deadline: January 1, 2026
  • Early Childhood (EC)-6 Core Certification*
  • EC-6 Bilingual Certification*
  • EC-6 Special Education Certification*
  • 4-8 All Programs Certification*
  • Pre-K-3 Certification*
  • 7-12 Secondary Double Majors Certification*

* Participation in Year-Long Residency program is required

Application Deadline: January 30, 2026
  • Master’s of Education with Certification
  • Educational Studies Major

Participation in a year-long residency program and a commitment to pursuing a teaching career in Texas is required

Application Deadline: January 30, 2026
  • EC-3 with/without ESL and/or with/without Special Education
  • EC-6 Core Subjects
  • EC-6 Core Subjects with ESL
  • EC-6 Core Subjects with SPED
  • EC-6 Core Subjects with SPED and ESL
  • ELAR 4-8
  • ELAR 4-8 with ESL
  • ELAR 4-8 with SPED
  • ELAR 4-8 with SPED and ESL
  • ELAR/SS 4-8
  • ELAR/SS 4-8 with ESL
  • ELAR/SS 4-8 with SPED
  • ELAR/SS 4-8 with SPED and ESL
  • ELAR 7-12
  • History 7-12
  • Life Science 7-12
  • Math 4-8
  • Math 4-8 with ESL
  • Math 4-8 with SPED
  • Math 4-8 with SPED and ESL
  • Math 7-12
  • Math/Science 4-8
  • Math/Science 4-8 with ESL
  • Math/Science 4-8 with SPED
  • Math/Science 4-8 with SPED and ESL
  • Science 4-8
  • Science 4-8 with ESL
  • Science 4-8 with SPED
  • Science 4-8 with SPED and ESL
  • Science 7-12
  • Social Studies 4-8
  • Social Studies 4-8 with ESL
  • Social Studies 4-8 with SPED
  • Social Studies 4-8 with SPED and ESL
  • Social Studies 7-12
Application Deadline: January 21, 2026

For students planning to teach in a Texas public school, seeking certification in the following areas:

  • Elementary EC-6
  • EC-6 with Special Education
Application Deadline: January 30, 2026
  • Bachelor of Science in Education:
    • Middle Grades 4-8 
    • Math/Science (including McAllen Middle Grades 4-8 Grade Math/Science cohort) 
    • Early Childhood-6th Grade Generalist 
    • Middle Grades 4-8 English/Language Arts & Social Studies
  • Special education program
  • Bilingual Education
Application Deadline: January 31, 2026
  • Early Childhood Education (EC-3) 
  • Elementary Education (EC-6) 
  • Bilingual Education (EC-6)
  • Special Education (EC-12)
  • Mathematics (4-8)
  • Physical Education (EC-12)
Application Deadline: TBD
  • Admission into East Texas A&M University’s undergraduate teacher preparation program
  • Planning to teach in a Texas public school
  • Seeking certification in the following areas:
    • EC-6 certifications (eligible for an additional $2,000 for summer courses):
      • Generalist
      • with SPED
      • with bilingual
    • 4-8 Certification areas:
      • Math
      • Science
      • Math/Science
      • ELAR
    • All-Level SPED
    • All-level Physical Education
    • Early Childhood Education
    • 7-12 certifications
Application Deadline: January 30, 2026

Students desiring to be admitted into TAMUT to become certified teachers in Texas.

  • Bachelor of Science in Education & Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary StudiesEC-6 Core Contentudies
    • EC-6 Core Content
  • Bachelor of Science in Content Areas with Certification:
    • English with ELAR 4-8 & 7-12
    • Biology with Science 4-8 or Life/Composite Science 7-12
    • Social Studies 4-8 or History/Social Studies 7-12
    • Mathematics 4-8 & 7-12
Application Deadline: December 12, 2025
  • Freshmen and/or Sophomore students in Texas Tech desiring to be admitted into TechTeach to become a certified teacher in Texas 
  • Students in TechTeach LubbockLiving in, or within driving distance, of Lubbock while attending school
  • Students in TechTeach Across TexasNot living in, or within driving distance, of Lubbock while attending school
  • Students in TechTeach 2+1 ($10,000 available): Accelerated pace, 1-year program (July 2024-June 2025)
*Education Minors are not permitted at this time, even if some coursework is coded as being within TechTeach.
Application Deadline: February 15, 2026
  • Early Childhood EC-6/ESL [*Both traditional student teaching AND Residency are welcome]
  • Special Education [*Residency is required]
  • Secondary ELA, History, Math, Science, Foreign Language [*Residency is required]
  • Middle School ELA, History, Math, Science, CORE [traditional student teaching/no residency required]

Application Deadline: February 4, 2026
  • Master of Arts in Teaching ($10,000 available)
  • Undergraduate students on track for the Master of Arts in Teaching program, with completed hours in education courses and on the way to a possible Minor in Education ($8,000 available)
Application Deadline: February 28, 2026
  • Early Childhood (EC)-6 Certification
Application Deadline: March 1, 2026

Undergraduate Initial Certification Programs:

  • EC-6 Generalist
  • EC-6 Bilingual Generalist
  • EC-6 Generalist +SPED and ESL Supplemental
  • EC-12 Special Education
  • 4-8 Math
  • 4-8 Science
  • 4-8 Social Studies
  • 4-8 English
  • 7-12 English
  • 7-12 History
  • 7-12 Social Studies
Application Deadline: January 31, 2026
  • Early Childhood (EC)-6 Bilingual
Application Deadline: January 18, 2026
  • All-Level Special Education (Early childhood – 12th grade)
  • Bilingual Core Subjects/Generalist (Early Childhood – 6th Grade)
  • English as a Second Language Generalist (Early Childhood – 6th Grade)
  • UT Urban Teachers English Language Arts (7th – 12th Grade)
  • UT Urban Teachers Social Studies (7th – 12th Grade)
Application Deadline: February 22, 2026
  • Degree with teacher certification through the UTeach Natural Sciences program
Application Deadline: January 30, 2026

Certification through the UTeach Dallas Program in one of the following certification areas:

  • 4-8 Science
  • 7-12 Science
  • 7-12 Chemistry
  • 7-12 Life Science
  • 6-12 Physical Science
  • 4-8 Math
  • 7-12 Math
  • 8-12 Computer Science
Application Deadline: March 13, 2026

Undergraduate:

  • B.S. in Education Concentrations:
    • Elementary ESL
    • Elementary Bilingual
    • Special Education
    • Middle Grades Generalist 
    • Middle Grades Bilingual
    • Middle Grades Math 
    • Middle Grades Math/Science 
    • Middle Grades ELAR 
    • Middle Grades ELAR/Social Studies

Post-Baccalaureate:

  • Master of Arts in Education with initial teacher certification (Residency Apprenticeship)
Application Deadline: March 20, 2026

Applicants must be either high school seniors or UT RGV freshmen at the time of application.

  • Year-Long Residency Program
  • STEP UP Program
Application Deadline: January 31, 2026
  • 4-8 Math/ Science + BBL/ESL, 
  • 4-8 ELAR/Social + BBL/ESL, 
  • 7-12 Math, 
  • 7-12 Social Studies, 
  • 7-12 History, 
  • 7-12 Science, 
  • 7-12 ELAR + ESL, 
  • EC-12 Special Education,
  • EC-12 Physical Education 
Application Deadline: March 1, 2026

For students seeking certification in the following areas:

  • EC-12 Art
  • Core Subjects w/ STR EC-6
  • Core Subjects w/ STR 4-8
  • ELAR w STR 4-8
  • ELAR/SS w/ STR 4-8
  • ELAR 7-12
  • History 7-12
  • Life Science 7-12
  • Math 4-8
  • Math 7-12
  • Math/Science 4-8
  • Physical Science 6-12
  • Science 4-8
  • Science 7-12
  • Social Studies 4-8
  • Social Studies 7-12
  • Speech 7-12
  • Special Education EC-12
Application Deadline: February 15, 2025

For students seeking certification in the following areas:

  • EC-6 with participation in Year-Long Residency
  • EC- 6 with bilingual supplemental with participation in Year-Long Residency
  • Special Education EC-12 with participation in Year-Long Residency
  • Physical Education EC-12with participation in Year-Long Residency

Charles Butt Scholar Knowledge, Skills, and Values

The Charles Butt Foundation evaluates all scholarship applicants on the following knowledge, skills, and values:

Written communication

Oral communication

Collaboration

Leadership

Altruism

Passion for education

Equity-driven

Belief in the power of teaching

Academic achievement

Persistence and continuous learning

Support for Charles Butt Scholars

In addition to scholarship funding, the Raising Texas Teachers initiative supplements the rigorous education Scholars receive at our partner programs by providing Scholars access to ongoing professional development, mentoring from teachers and principals, and connections with fellow Charles Butt Scholars across Texas.

This combination of education and supports is designed to ensure Scholars have opportunities to practice and develop pedagogical skills in authentic classroom settings, observe masterful teaching in action, reflect on feedback from expert teachers and school leaders, and participate in a community that fosters professional growth.

Program contact information:

Christina Dunigan, Program Director for Charles Butt Scholarship

Christina Dunigan

Program Director – Charles Butt Scholarship

Other statewide programs