Eligibility Requirements

Student Eligibility Requirements

Scholarship recipients must be U.S. citizens or nationals, or permanent resident aliens.

Early Start Students: Candidates for the Noyce Early Start Program will normally be rising juniors with or exceeding a 3.25 GPA but other students who can accommodate 9 hours of education electives before graduation may also apply.

There is a formal application process, and successful applicants will have the following credentials:

  1. Candidates will have an overall 3.25 GPA and a 3.0 science or mathematics GPA.
  2. Candidates will have two letters of recommendation from STEM professors and one from a professional colleague, preferably one who can write about the candidate’s work with children.
  3. Candidates will provide a plan of study for their Noyce years that will lead to STEM content certification.
  4. Candidates will provide a 500-600 word autobiographical statement that will inform the selection committee with a sense of the student as a person and a potential teacher.
  5. Candidates will be interviewed by JCPS and have passed the background check required of all JCPS teachers.
  6. Candidates will have a C or better in oral communication and in English 102.
  7. Candidates will have signed the professional code of ethics document required of Kentucky educators.


Career Changers: Candidates for Noyce support for the MAT will meet items 1, 4, 5, 7 and provide three letters of recommendation, preferably one which addresses the candidate's work with children.  If the candidate has scored in the 76th percentile or higher on at least one national-normed admissions test (SAT, ACT, GRE) the requirement for a 3.25 cumulative GPA can be waived.

Noyce Scholarships will be awarded for the Spring Semester 2010 and each semester thereafter through 2015.  Application materials are due one week after the deadline for the MAT.  Students awarded a Noyce Scholarship must sign a promissory note agreement before receiving a Noyce scholarship.  This agreement is a legally binding document that defines teaching service obligations and specifies repayment obligations if students do not successfully complete their training.  This promissory note is subject to cancellation for an appropriate portion of the note for each year of teaching. 

Students will maintain the scholarship for the duration of their EARLY START program if they maintain a 3.25 GPA and a 3.0 science or mathematics GPA.  During the junior year they must attend one of the monthly information sessions provided by the College of Education and Human Development for aspiring MAT students.  Entry to the MAT program will be automatic for students who hold Noyce Scholarships and have a combined GRE score of 1000 or above and have registered for or passed the PRAXIS.  MAT students, whether early start or career changers must maintain a 3.25 GPA.