Federal Work-Study Program
On this page:
About the Federal Work-Study Program
The Federal Work-Study Program is a federal employment program for undergraduate, graduate, Boonshoft School of Medicine, and School of Professional Psychology students. Student applicants must meet eligibility requirements for federal student aid, such as Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements. Students must also have financial need.
Students typically work for a department or organization on-campus at Wright State University. Federal Work Study earnings are not applied to the student's account to pay toward their balance owed to Wright State. Like most jobs, the wages earned are given to the student to spend at their discretion. Generally, students are paid bi-weekly and earnings are directly deposited into the student's personal bank account. The amount of hours a student employee can work per week is determined by Career Services. Typically, students work between 10 and 20 hours each week. The student will receive a W-2 Form at the end of the calendar year and the student is responsible for reporting necessary wages earned to the IRS as taxable income when completing a federal income tax return.
Participation is contingent on you applying for and being hired by an on-campus employer who participates in the Federal Work Study Program. Students can contact Student Employment by email for more information on current student employment opportunities.
Participation Benefits
Students are not required to participate in the Federal Work-Study program to secure a job as a student employee, however there are benefits to participating in the program. Many employers prefer to hire Federal Work-Study students because the federal government subsidizes 75% of the student's wages.
Another benefit to participating in the program occurs when filing the FAFSA for a future aid year. The U.S. Department of Education will exclude any wages earned by the student in a Federal Work-Study position from the student's total earned income. This can potentially increase the student's financial need for the future aid year.
Earnings
On the student's Award Notice, the Office of Financial Aid will offer a maximum amount of wages the student can earn in a Federal Work-Study position for the aid year. Students earn at least the current minimum hourly wage, however the hourly wage may be higher depending upon the position.
An automated program monitors a student employee's wages earned against the amount of their Federal Work-Study award, and will notify the wright.edu email address of both the student employee and the timecard approver when the earned amount is approaching the limit of the award. Depending on their budget allowances, hiring departments may then notify Student Employment to end the employment or convert the remainder of employment for that aid year to be compensated 100% by the departmental budget.
Enrollment Requirements
Students must be enrolled at least half-time each term to participate in the Federal Work-Study program.
How to Apply
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by Wright State University's FAFSA priority deadline date and have financial need, as determined by the FAFSA. When completing the FAFSA, you must also indicate interest in employment. Funds are awarded as available.
View your financial aid Award Notice and accept your Federal Work Study via WINGS.
Access Handshake, your on-campus student employment job search portal. Your student Handshake account is automatically created when you register for classes. If you have difficulty accessing the Handshake account, contact career_services@wright.edu for assistance.
Log into Handshake using your WINGS username and password. Follow instructions in the Handshake Login guide. We recommend that you deselect public profile until you have reviewed and updated your profile. You are able to apply to jobs whether your profile is public or private.
Upload your résumé.
Search and apply for on-campus student employment in the jobs module. Jobs are continuously posted in Handshake throughout the entire year, as positions become open. Review each job description to learn if the job is a student employment position type that will utilize your Work-Study Award.
- Do not select the "Work study" filter in the Handshake filter options.
- Instead, identify the position type by reviewing the job posting's Company Division field and the Description field to learn if the position type is Regular Only, Work-Study Only, or Regular or Work-Study.
Select the link to apply for jobs that interest you. You may apply to all position types, but only those jobs identified as Work-Study Only, or Regular or Work-Study, will utilize your Work-Study award. Application may require a résumé and may also require creating and uploading additional documents. Required documents will be described in the job description and application process.
Familiarize yourself with Wright State student employment policies, procedures, and protocols while you wait for a reply to your on-campus job applications.
