College Research Education and Teacher Excellence (CREATE) Opportunity Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the research tax credit permanent.
Makes 100% of a taxpayer's expenditures for qualified research at an institution of higher education eligible for the research tax credit. (Currently, 65% of those expenditures are eligible.)
Considers research in the social sciences to be qualified research, eligible for the research tax credit.
Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow the Secretary of Education to award a student two Pell Grants during a single award year if the student is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate program at a junior or community college on at least a half-time basis for the equivalent of more than one academic year during the Pell Grant award year.
Treats a Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant as a Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan only in proportion to the extent to which its recipient fails to comply with the Grant's service obligation. (TEACH Grants are provided to students who agree to teach for four years in a high-need field at an elementary or secondary school that serves a high number or percentage of low-income students.)