Federal Work-Study
Federal Work-Study is a work program that provides on-campus and off-campus jobs for students with financial need, as determined by the FAFSA (a financial aid application).
A student works in exhange for pay. A typical student award for the academic year (39 weeks) would be up to 20 hours per week, times the number of weeks you will be working during the academic year, times your pay rate. During the summer (14 weeks), a typical award would be up to 40 hours per week, times the number of weeks you will be working during the academic year, times your pay rate.
The Federal Work-Study Program (FWS) was established to provide opportunities for students to engage in part-time employment in order to meet a portion of the cost of their education. The federal government allocates Work-Study funds to educational institutions each year. Those funds are then used to pay a portion of the wages of enrolled students with the work-study employer making up the difference.
McGeorge School of Law and/or participating off-campus agencies supplement the federal share of each student employee's wages. This is a financial aid award that affects other aid eligibility and other programs. FWS is a limited resource and will only be added to a student's financial aid package per request and subject to availability.
All students/supervisors who wish to participate in the FWS Program must agree to the terms, responsibilities, and policies outlined in the individual employment contract.
Pacific McGeorge has allocated most of its work-study funds to positions which are directly related to legal studies, so that students who participate in the program not only earn financial support, but also gain valuable practical legal experience.
Some advantages to seeking part-time employment through these programs include:
- Earnings that will assist in keeping loan indebtedness to a minimum
- Valuable work experience and marketable skills to add to the student's resume
- Supervisory references for future employment opportunities.
The following pages provide information about the program, and answers questions regarding responsibilities as a student employee and employer (both on and off campus). In addition, it tells how the program works after a student has been hired.