As summer comes to a close, 80 aspiring teachers in the UC Santa Barbara Teacher Education Program are busy working alongside professional educators to prepare classrooms for the thousands of K-12 students that will head back to school this week.
In public schools across Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpinteria, the graduate students in the UCSB Teacher Education Program (TEP) provide invaluable support every year to educators and more than 2,000 students. The teacher candidates will complete uncompensated fieldwork by spending up to five days a week working four to eight hours per day at their assigned schools, while also attending their courses in the evening at the UCSB campus. UCSB’s TEP is an intensive, 12-month program through which candidates earn a California teaching credential along with a Master in Education degree.
Working during the day and studying at night can be a tough balancing act. Fortunately, state funding has made it possible for half of the TEP candidates this year to get full tuition support while they complete their studies and fieldwork.
A total of $6.4 million in funding over four years through the Teacher Residency Implementation Project (TRIP) grant—awarded by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to UCSB and the Santa Barbara County Education Office—has been available to support graduate students seeking teaching credentials in the high-need areas of special education, bilingual authorization, and secondary STEM subjects. The funding also encourages the diversification of Santa Barbara County’s teaching workforce by supporting teacher candidates whose backgrounds and experiences reflect California’s multilingual, first-generation, and culturally diverse student population.
Students eligible for the grant receive approximately $38,750 in financial assistance. The total pays the full cost of the TEP tuition of approximately $21,000, plus it covers additional support for housing, transportation and other living expenses during the intensive, year-long program. By the end of the 2026–27 academic year, the four-year initiative will have supported 147 teacher candidates.
Recipients of the grant commit to teaching for at least four years in a Santa Barbara County school or another California public school after earning their credential.
“Given the severe reductions of federal financial aid and the current attacks on education and diversity, this grant is essential to support the growth of the teaching workforce in California,” said Victoria “Tory” Harvey, director of UCSB’s Teacher Education Program.
“The impact of the TRIP grant on our local schools has been transformative,” said Amber Moran, a teaching professor in TEP. “It has enabled our candidates—many of whom reflect the diverse backgrounds of the student population in local schools—to remain dedicated to the Santa Barbara community.
“They aren’t just learning to be teachers,” Moran added. “They are actively supporting our district partners and teaching in local schools. Our candidates are filling critical gaps in special education, bilingual education, and STEM classrooms.”
