Work-Study

What is Work Study?

Work-Study is a federal program that allows on-campus and select off-campus employers to hire students at a reduced cost. The Federal Work-Study Program allows you as an employer to hire UCSC students at a reduced cost while providing students valuable work experience. The employer would contribute 25% of the student’s salary along with a 10% administrative fee – the program subsidizes the remaining 75% of the student's wages through their financial aid award.

Students who receive the Work-Study option are awarded a set dollar amount which their wages for the academic year may not exceed. Only students who qualify for Work-Study may apply for Work-Study positions. Students can find out more information about work-study on our student facing page.

On-Campus Work-Study Recruitment

Faculty and staff can recruit students for work-study in Handshake. Only students who have accepted their work-study award offer can see and apply to work-study job postings in Handshake.

Please label your work-study roles with the title “Your Descriptive Title - Work-Study” to ensure it is easy for students to locate your work-study jobs. Follow our posting on-campus work-study roles guide or video to learn more about how to post an on-campus federal work-study role on Handshake. We recommend you follow our guide on writing effective job descriptions when posting your work-study job.

For the 2023-24 academic year, recruitment in Handshake will not be permitted past June 1st, 2024. Student's work-study awards can only be applied to work between September 23, 2023 through June 13, 2024. Summer work is not permitted for Work-Study.