Federal and Institutional Work-Study for Undergraduate Students

Student Eligibility

In addition to at least $1,000 in financial need a student must:

• Have a FAFSA on file and be a U.S. citizen, a national, permanent resident of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands or the Northern Mariana Islands; or living in the U.S. with the intention of becoming a citizen or permanent resident
  • Or have a California Dream Act Application (CADAA) on file and meet Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) requirements
• Be enrolled, or accepted for enrollment at UC Davis, and be in regular attendance in an undergraduate program
• Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in coursework while under the program
• Not owe a refund on a federal or state educational grant
• Not be in default on a state or federal educational loan
• Have a Student Aid Index (SAI) of $25,000 or less

If you receive a message that a student is not eligible for Work-Study, they may not be meeting one or more of these requirements.

For undergraduates, the funding period is July 1 through June 30. Students awarded Work-Study will not be paid retroactively. Their start date must not precede the student's Work-Study Service Channel Form effective date (which will be entered when the form is requested). Departments are responsible for ensuring the Position Pool IDs have been entered into UC Path prior to any of your employees beginning their Work-Study employment. 

• Update the job vacancy to reflect the new fiscal year work period
• Request the Work-Study Eligibility Certificate from the student employee (Students can print the Certificate from their MyAwards)
• Verify student can produce required employment eligibility documentation:
  • DACA certification 
  • Acceptable I-9 documents 
• Submit a Work-Study Employment Request Form:

  • The Work-Study Employment Request Form is used by UC Davis Employers to request Work-Study for undergraduate students. You will receive an email confirmation after a request has been submitted to our office. On the form, you will provide:

    • Student’s name
    • Student ID Number
    • Title Code
    • Pay Rate
    • Departmental information
• The Work-Study Manager will confirm that the student is eligible for Work-Study and that all verification requirements have been met. 
• Once the request has been approved, the requestor will need to acknowledge rights and responsibilities in order to complete the Job Hire in the UCPath section and then download the Work-Study Service Channel Form.
• Once the Work-Study Service Channel Form has been downloaded:
  • Send the form to Service Channel and ensure Service Channel enters Work-Study Position Pool ID on the student's position in UCPath.
    • For TRS Users: It is recommended that the Work-Study appointment and distribution line should be under 50% (i.e., 24%). 
    • It is recommended that the non-Work-Study appointment and distribution line should be at 1%.
  • Ensure the student and supervisor read and understand their rights and responsibilities.

Process workflow

• The Department will submit a request for work-study for one or more students.
• The submission will create a work-study request form for each student, which will be routed to the Work-Study Coordinator for review. If the student is eligible and there are work-study funds available, the work-study award will be added to the student’s financial aid record. The form will then be routed back to the original submitter.
• The Department will then send the Work-Study Eligibility Form (pdf), available to download from the work-study form, to their service channel for completing the student hire. The service channel staff will need to add the Position Pool ID (provided on the Form) to the student Employee’s Position in UCPath.
• Once the form has been completed, an email will be sent to the student employee and the supervisor/employer letting them know of their work-study rights and responsibilities.

Please note: Work-Study funds will not be available to use until the last step in this Process workflow is completed and the “Work-Study Manager Complete” stage of the workflow shows as “Complete”.

Federal Work-Study for Graduate Student Researchers (GSR)

For graduate students, the Work-Study award period is October 1 through June 30. Students awarded Work-Study will not be paid retroactively. Their begin date must not precede the student's Work-Study Service Channel Form effective date (which will be entered when the form is requested). Departments are responsible for ensuring the Position Pool IDs have been entered into UC Path prior to any of your employees beginning their Work-Study employment. 

• Submit a Work-Study Employment Request Form (see details below)
• The Work-Study Manager will confirm that the student is eligible for Work-Study and that all requirements have been met.
• Once the request has been approved, the requestor will need to acknowledge rights and responsibilities in order to complete the Job Hire in the UCPath section and then download the Work-Study Service Channel Form.
• Once the Work-Study Service Channel Form has been downloaded:
  • Send the form to the Service Channel and ensure the Service Channel enters the Work-Study Position Pool ID on the student's position in UCPath.
• Ensure the student and supervisor read and understand their rights and responsibilities.
• Department is responsible for ensuring the student and supervisor sign the mandatory Work-Study GSR Monthly Time Record and the supervisor sends it to workstudy@ucdavis.edu on a monthly basis to comply with federal regulations by the 15th of the following month.
• For guidance as to how to calculate the GSR appointment percentages contact Graduate Studies.

Additional Information

• Work-Study earnings are taxable
• Work-Study payments are not to precede the effective date on the Work-Study Service Channel Form
• Graduate (GSR) Work-Study positions are to conduct research that the University would fund regardless of the availability of Federal Work-Study monies
• Work-Study monies cannot be used to pay students for writing a thesis/dissertation or for doing research that is only for the purpose of completing a graduate degree
• Graduate Work-Study is awarded to the department at $5,016 per unit
• It is University Policy to balance ledgers on a monthly basis
• The total amount paid to the student is deducted from the Work-Study award (not just the 75% paid by Work-Study)
•  (Scroll to TA/GSR Appointments)

GSR Work-Study Request Instructions

The Work-Study Employment Request Form is used by UC Davis Employers to request the Work-Study Eligibility Form for Graduate Student Researchers. You will receive an email confirmation after a request has been submitted to our office. On the form, you will provide:

• Student's name
• Student ID (not the Social Security number)
• Student's email
• Title code
• Quarter/unit information
• Other awards (including award amounts).

Student Eligibility

Eligible students must:

• Complete Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) annually
• Be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident.
• Be identified as eligible for Graduate Work-Study by your academic department.
• Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).
• Work with academic Program Coordinator to inquire about being hired and awarded a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) Work-Study position. Academic program staff, in conjunction with faculty, hire the GSRs and notify students when Work-Study awards are posted online.

Process Workflow

• The Department will submit a request for work-study for one or more students, including how many "work-study units" the student will be requesting each term (Fall, Winter and Spring) and any other awards including Block Grant, TA, etc.
• The submission will create a work-study request form for each student which will be routed to the Work-Study Coordinator for review. If the student is eligible the work-study award will be added to the student’s financial aid record. The form will then be routed back to the original submitter.
• The Department will need to send the Work-Study Eligibility Form (pdf), available to download from the work-study form, to their service channel for updating the students UCPath record. The service channel staff will need to add the Position Pool ID (provided on the Form) to the student’s Position in UCPath.
• Once the form has been completed, an email will be sent to the student employee and the supervisor/employer letting them know of their work-study rights and responsibilities.

Additional Resources

GSR Work-Study Process Flow

GSR Work-Study Mandatory Timesheet

GSR Cost Calculator

GSR FAQs for Employers

2023-24 GSR Work-Study Workshop presentation

Cognos Reports