Work-study is a financial aid program that supports you finance your education with part-time employment. With work-study, you have the opportunity to earn part of your college costs rather than increase your loans and decline and/or reduce the loan amounts offered to you.
When you take full advantage of work-study opportunities, you will:
Gain valuable job skills and work experience.
Build your resume and learn to write a dynamic, job-specific cover letter.
Find major-related work for an edge on graduate school applications or a career job search.
Meet students, work with professionals, and expand your social and career networks.
Be more confident talking to recruiters at job fairs.
Become a savvy job seeker.
Work-Study Testimony:
“I just wanted to thank you for all of your help with answering my work-study questions over the past four years and with converting my loans to work-study. Thanks to the work-study program, I am graduating debt free! Go Bears!”
How did this student do it?
She didn’t accept all loans offered.
She managed her money very carefully. (Review resources from the Center for Financial Wellness for money management tips!)
She took advantage of work-study allowing students with a fall semester award to begin working as early as July 1 (you do not have to be enrolled in summer classes). This allowed her to work up to 40 hours per week over the summer.
And the news got better. A follow-up revealed this student had a full-time job offer after graduation from the off-campus work-study employer where she worked!
The Work-Study Program is a financial aid program that promotes part-time employment for undergraduate and graduate students to help finance their education. Work-study is awarded based on financial need as determined by the financial aid application submitted, either the FAFSA or the CA Dream Act Application. Both undergraduate and graduate students may be eligible for work-study (see more in the Work-Study Eligibility section).
Work-Study Details
By participating in the Work-Study Program, a portion of your wages will be subsidized by your work-study award. The work-study subsidy is what makes work-study eligible students very desirable to employers. For example, if a department pays you $20/hour, it costs their budget a net $10/hour. You're a highly sought-after employee because work-study saves employers money!
Any earnings made with work-study will be paid directly to you via a direct deposit or a paper check; work-study earnings will not pay any fees within your student account in CalCentral. As a result, this will provide you the opportunity to control how you spend your work-study earnings. We strongly advise students to use their work-study earnings towards paying items within the student budget/Cost of Attendance, such as living expenses, food, books/supplies, etc.
Benefits of Work-Study
Participating in work-study can allow you to avoid student loans by earning part of your college costs rather than taking out student loans to fund your educational expenses. In addition, Federal work-study earnings do not count against your financial aid eligibility when you fill out next year's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or CA Dream Act Application. Whereas non-federal work-study earnings are considered “additional income” on the FAFSA or CA Dream Act and may affect your financial aid eligibility in the future.
While work-study provides several financial benefits, you can also gain valuable work experience and develop transferable skills while in school, putting you in a stronger position to pursue graduate school and/or employment opportunities when you graduate. Gaining professional experience outside of the classroom while also being paid through work-study will put you in a greater advantage both financially and professionally.
2025-26 Work-Study Program Year
7/1/2025 - 5/15/2026 is the Work-Study Program year. Any earnings outside these dates are not eligible for work-study.
Work-Study Eligibility
Undergraduate students must apply to be considered for work-study by submitting the FAFSA or the CA Dream Act. If the student has financial need, as reflected in the FAFSA or CA Dream Act application, then the student will be considered for work-study. An eligible undergraduate student with sufficient financial need can receive a work-study award up to $6,000.
Graduate students must must apply to be considered for work-study by submitting the FAFSA or the CA Dream Act. If the student has financial need, as reflected in the FAFSA or CA Dream Act, the student can request to convert up to $10,000 in loans to work-study, depending on financial need-based eligibility. To submit a conversion request, review the "Converting Need-Based Loans to Work-Study" below.
Work-Study and DACA
The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office remains committed to ensuring that undocumented students have access to the Work-Study Program. DACA students may participate in the Work-Study Program provided they applied and are eligible for financial aid under the CA Dream Act application and have a valid work permit. DACA students can request a work-study award by submitting a case to the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.
Convert Need-Based Loans to Work-Study
If a student determines that they were not awarded work-study or wish to obtain additional work-study funding up to the maximum limit available to undergraduates ($6,000) or graduate ($10,000) students, a request can be submitted to convert need-based loans to work-study in CalCentral:
Login to CalCentral > My Finances > View Awards > Loans > Convert to Work-Study.
Once you submit a conversion request, it can take 1-2 business days to process your request.
The first step to earning work-study is to find a job. Work-study jobs are listed all throughout the academic year in the Work-Study Management System (WSMS).
Before you begin your search for a work-study job, please confirm that you have accepted your work-study offer in CalCentral. Once logged into CalCentral, click “My Finances”, then click “View awards” and locate your work-study offer. You should find a blue “Accept” button to click that will allow you to formally accept your work-study offer. You will not be able to be referred a work-study job until you have accepted your work-study offer in CalCentral.
Select "Job Listings" - located on the upper left side
2. Apply for a job
Once you have located a job that you are interested in, click on the job number
You will be able to review the Job Request which will contain the job description, qualifications, pay rate, remote work accommodations and much more.
To determine how you can apply for a job, review the “How to Apply” section and this will state the employer's preferred method to apply for their job.
There may be some employers who will provide an external link to apply to their work-study job. Please review the job description and qualifications thoroughly to determine how to apply for the job.
Tips:
Apply to as many jobs that you are interested in to increase your chances to get hired and have options.
Work-study jobs are posted throughout the academic year, but from late July to early September you will find a significant number of jobs available as employers wish to hire students as soon as the academic year begins.
3. Get Referred to a Work-Study Job
Once an employer extends a verbal/written offer to a specific job, there are a few steps that your employer must take to ensure your job is connected to your work-study award. Completion of the referral process will allow you to earn work-study.
Work-Study Referral
1. Employer Action - Your employer will submit a referral for you within in WSMS.
2. Notification of Referral - If your employer successfully submits a referral, you and your employer will receive a email notification with details on your referral.
4. Get Hired
After the referral process is complete, your employer will need to take steps to ensure you can complete the HR hiring/onboarding process to become hired as a UC employee or by a particular organization, if hired by an off-campus employer. It is important that you complete the HR hiring/onboarding process to ensure you are formally hired as an employee so that you may be able to begin working.
Important Reminder:
If you begin to work in a work-study job before the referral process is complete, your employer will not receive the work-study subsidy. Any time worked prior to your referral effective date is not eligible to earn work-study and the employer will be responsible for 100% of your earnings. Non-work-study earnings are treated as additional income on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and CA Dream Act Application.
The Learning-Aligned Employment Program (LAEP) offers eligible students the opportunity to earn money to help defray their educational costs, while gaining education-aligned, career-related employment. Similar to the work-study program, LAEP will provide a subsidy to pay a portion of the student’s wages.
LAEP Jobs
LAEP jobs offered on-campus will provide students with direct opportunities to participate in the research that is undertaken by the hiring department. Research is not limited to scientific research and can take place outside of an academic discipline. The research completed in a LAEP job will be directed and supervised by a faculty, staff or other mentor who will determine the research requirements.
If you are interested in finding an LAEP job, log into the student portal of the Work-Study Management System (WSMS) to view the job listings and filter for LAEP jobs using the “LAEP-Research” job category.
Note - only students who meet the LAEP student eligibility criteria will be able to see LAEP jobs. To confirm if you are LAEP eligible, log into WSMS and review the "Work-Study Update" section located on the bottom of the home page.
Student Eligibility
Underrepresented undergraduate students meeting all of the following criteria are eligible to participate in LAEP:
California residents
Enrolled in 6 or more units
Filed a FAFSA or CADAA and have work-study eligibility
Eligible to work in the U.S., including current DACA holders
Students who meet the eligibility requirements detailed above and are majoring in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) discipline are encouraged to participate.
Unlike the Work-Study Program, any earnings made through a LAEP job will count as income on the FAFSA or the CA Dream Act application and may affect your financial aid eligibility in the future.
Please review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for more information about LAEP. If you have a question that is not addressed in the FAQs, submit a case, select “Financial Aid and Scholarships” under area and then “Work-Study.”
UC Berkeley’s Public Service Center provides several programs for students wanting to get involved in the community and make a difference. Here are three examples, some of which are work-study jobs:
Alternative Breaks Program is a program where students take week-long trips over winter or spring break to diverse communities and learn about a range of social issues, such as homelessness, poverty, immigration, health care, sustainability, and more.
BUILD Literacy Tutoring Program is a large K-12 outreach program. BUILD is part of America Reads, a national campaign that challenges everyone to help all children learn to read, including English-language learners and students with disabilities.
Cal in the Capital is a student-managed internship program preparing dozens of Berkeley students for challenging summer internships in Washington, D.C. Before beginning your work-study journey, please read the work-study Frequently Asked Questions page. You’ll learn how to get the most out of the program!
