The Federal Work Study Program (FWS Program) enables undergraduate and graduate students to work a part-time job during the academic semester and earn money to pay for their expenses. The FWS Program is part of a student’s financial aid award. To apply, students must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and specify in the appropriate area that they are interested in work-study opportunities. The FWS amount is based on need and eligibility, though the final FWS amount issued to the student can be modified by the office of financial aid at the student’s school.
FWS jobs are paid on an hourly basis, and money earned by the student is considered taxable income. FWS hourly wages cannot be lower than the federal minimum wage. Typically, FWS students work between 10-15 a week. They are not permitted to earn work-study money in excess of the amount specified in their financial aid award. FWS jobs are usually available both on and off campus, and must be approved by the school before they are commenced.
The FWS Program grows in popularity each year. Today, over 3,000 postsecondary institutions offers FWS awards. There is one great advantage to working at a FWS job over a regular job: money earned from a work-study job will not be included in the calculation of a financial aid award for the following academic year, whereas the salary earned from a regular job will count as a new source of income, and therefore might lower the student’s financial aid award. Besides this, work-study jobs are good résumé builders, and offer a convenient source of income during the academic semester.
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