Summer Work Study

During summer quarter students may be participate in one of two summer Work Study programs depending on eligibility. Students may participate in the full-time summer Work Study program, or the part time summer Work Study program. Please review the two programs below to determine which program may be an option for you.

Part-time employment summer - maximum 19.5 hours/week

If you are enrolled during summer quarter, you may be eligible for part-time Work Study. You may work a maximum of 19.5 hours per week when classes are in session. Your Work Study award will be included in your Summer Financial Aid package. If you were offered summer aid but did not receive a summer work study offer, please reach out to our office at workstdy@uw.edu.

To qualify for Part-time Summer Work Study:

 *Part-time enrollment will be on an exception basis. Please inquire with the Work Study Office.

Full-time employment summer - 40 hours/week

If you are a continuing student returning for autumn, winter and spring quarters but not enrolled summer quarter you may be eligible for Full-time Summer Work Study. You must work 40 hours per week during the employment period, July 1 to the day before the autumn quarter starts.

To qualify for Full-time Summer Work Study:

Contact the Work Study Office if you wish to participate in this option. We will place you on a list for consideration, and you will be contacted early June to sign an award letter and obtain an Award Verification Form. You will go through the same hiring procedures described for the academic year.

Savings

If your position is funded with Federal Work Study, you are expected to save a portion of your earnings to help with the cost of attendance for the academic year. Your contribution (savings) from Summer Work Study earnings will be based on your total expected earnings. The minimum amount which must be saved is the difference between total expected earnings and job-related costs. This award works best for students who have low costs during the summer such as students living at home for the summer and can save most of their earnings to use for school year expenses.

Expected Earnings – Job related Costs = Academic Year Aid Expected Savings Amount

State Work Study does not require a savings component and this funding applies mostly to off-campus private for profit companies. In order to qualify for State Work Study you must be a Washington State resident.

Expected earnings

The expected earnings for this period are determined after you are hired in the job based on the formula below. The expected earnings will be shown on a revised Financial Aid award letter for the school year.

Expected Earnings =  # working days in the period x 8 hours/day x the pay rate.

If you earn more than we anticipated, your expected earnings will be revised to actual earnings after the end of the summer.

Job-related costs

Part of your Summer Work Study will pay for job-related costs, such as transportation. A standardized allowance for these costs will be determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid and is approximately $1,900 for most students.

Job-related costs include the following:

  1. Transportation
  2. Personal expenses (i.e., meals away from home, clothing, etc.)
  3. Taxes (including FICA or Social Security deductions).

Additional expenses incurred because of your Summer Work Study job, which are not included in the categories above, will be considered on an individual basis. These may include expenses such as childcare, unusual transportation, union dues, or other direct job expenses. You must specifically request consideration of and list these expenses.

The total amount allowed for job-related costs will be shown on your award letter.

Changes to eligibility

Students awarded Full-time Summer Work Study who decide not to attend autumn quarter are required to report this to the Work Study Office and will lose eligibility for Summer Work Study. All earnings will be 100% the responsibility of the employing department.

If you are unable to earn your expected summer income due to illness or other reasons beyond your control, you may request a reduction of your expected earnings by submitting a request to the Work Study Office specifying the reason you were unable to work, the dates involved, and the amount of “lost” wages. This may reduce the amount you are expected to save for the academic year. However, no aid can be awarded during the academic year to help meet your summer expenses. If you decide not to work part of the summer (for example, because of vacation time), you will not be awarded extra aid in the academic year to make up for lost summer income.

Full-time Summer Work Study students do not take classes during summer quarter. If you are required to take a class, you should request consideration or an exception to this policy from the Work Study Office prior to the beginning of summer quarter. In a very few cases, exceptions may be made. Awards for students who enroll in a class without approval are subject to cancellation.

For additional details and information about Full-Time Summer please review this PDF.