What is Work Study?
Work study is a part-time employment option for students with unmet financial need. The federal government subsidizes the pay for work-study positions.
Why Choose Work Study?
Work study has many benefits, including:
- Take out fewer loans
- Work in your field of study
- You may be able to find a work-study job directly related to your degree.
- Earn job experience
- Gain access to campus jobs only available through work study
- Work around your schedule
- Work-study positions are required to work around your class schedule.
Eligibility
- Have at least $7,000 in need (with at least $1,000 of unmet need)
- Have a current FAFSA/WASFA on file by the WSU priority date
- Be in satisfactory academic progress standing with WSU and the Student Financial Services office
- Submit verification documents (if necessary) on file by the priority date.
- Enroll in at least 6 credits per term
Getting a work-study job may reduce your offered loans, but will never reduce your grants or scholarships.
For more information view our infographic
Awarding process
1. Eligibility & Employment
After receiving your notification of eligibility, you will need to visit Handshake to apply for a WSU student job. Once hired, you must inform your employer of your work study status.
2. Work Study Authorization
After processing the WSA, we will add the work study to your financial aid offer and notify both you and your employer of the update.
3. Hourly Position and Paycheck
You will receive your work study funds in the form of a twice-monthly paycheck, in accordance with how many hours you actually work (maximum of 19 hours/week).
Visit Jira for more information on assigning work study. Additional reference guides are available from Human Resource Services.
More Information
For work study, you are generally required to have $7,000 in need and $1,000 in unmet need. We will do these calculations for you and alert you if you are eligible after the semester has begun. However, you may estimate whether you will qualify for work study as soon as your financial aid offer is ready.
How to Determine Financial Need
- Find your total Cost of Attendance (COA) for WSU.
- Subtract your Student Aid Index (SAI). SAI is determined by the FAFSA or WASFA and can be viewed in your FAFSA or WASFA account.
- Any remaining amount is your remaining financial need.
How to Determine Unmet Financial Need
Start with the financial need calculated above. Next subtract any scholarships, grants or loan offers currently listed in your aid package (view your aid package in myWSU: myWSU/Student Center/View Financial Aid).
What remains is “unmet” financial need.
Work Study FAQ
Sometimes.
A student can only be offered financial aid up to the cost of attendance. Any work-study award must fit within your financial aid package without causing your total aid to exceed the cost of attendance. You may see a reduction in your offered loan funds to accommodate the work-study award. This will automatically occur when the WSAF is approved and work study is awarded.
There is no separate application process. As long as you have a current FAFSA or WASFA on file, you will be automatically considered for work study.
If you are eligible, you will be notified via your WSU email account at the end of the spring semester (typically by the end of April), after receiving your financial aid package for the academic year. Begin looking for work as soon as possible, since funding is limited and awarding does not occur until your employer submits their Work Study Authorization Form.
Work study award amounts range from $1,000-$4,000 for an academic year (maximum of $2,000 per semester).
You cannot earn work study beyond your cost of attendance.
Awards are placed on student aid packages during the fall semester as employers complete the hiring notification process to Student Financial Services. Work study awarding is on a first-come, first-serve basis until funds are exhausted.
If funds become available again, occasionally spring work-study awards are given to a limited number of students. In general, work study is not awarded for summer term.
Any on-campus job through WSU can be turned into a work study position. Even if the job description does not mention work study, apply!
Some jobs are work study only. These positions will be clearly labeled in Handshake, the online job platform WSU uses to post student positions.
Yes.
Work study is available to both graduate and undergraduate students who have a current FAFSA or WASFA on file and have remaining unmet need.
Work study positions are limited to 19 hours per week.
Work study funds are paid out by your employer as a regular paycheck twice a month, and will match the actual number of hours you worked during that pay period.
Yes!
Work study is not a requirement for students to work on campus. Many students are employed in part-time positions without work-study funding. Some positions are work study only, but they will be clearly labeled as such.
If you’re interested in part-time employment, you can locate open positions by inquiring at any campus locations where you would like to work, by checking Handshake, or by visiting the Academic Success & Career Center.
No.
If you are a global campus student, you may only receive work study if you are working at a physical WSU campus (Everett, Pullman, Spokane, Tri-cities) and have submitted a successful appeal.
Contact our office for help with this process.