Faculty & Staff

Working with Undergraduate Students

Support of Undergraduates

The Financial Aid Office has final responsibility for financial support of all undergraduates.  The University has a comprehensive need-based financial aid program  and does not award merit aid to undergraduates.  All aid awarded to undergraduates in support of standard educational costs must be awarded with financial need as the primary consideration whenever Stanford is selecting the recipients. The only exception is athletic aid, which is awarded in accordance with NCAA regulations.

If departments choose to use their own funds to support undergraduates in any way (e.g., research expenses, travel expenses, etc.), the Financial Aid Office is responsible for ordering the stipend funds for the students and ensuring compliance with our financial aid policies as well as NCAA regulations.  Contact Anabeth Ansaldo, Director of Funds Management, at anabeth.ansaldo@stanford.edu for more information.

Hiring Undergraduate Students

Part-time student jobs can be posted in Stanford’s database called Handshake. Hiring departments determine the hourly wage for undergraduate employees; our suggested wage scale may serve as a guideline. More information about hiring undergraduate employees is available in Administrative Guide 10.1.1.

Federal Work-Study

Students eligible for the Federal Work-Study program are paid by the federal government for part-time, on-campus jobs.

  • Under the FWS program the federal government pays 75% of student wages, and the Provost's Office pays the remaining 25%.
  • During the regular academic year, students must be enrolled at the half-time level or above to be eligible for FWS and must demonstrate financial need.
  • During summer FWS employees are not required to be enrolled, but must demonstrate financial need during the prior academic year and the upcoming academic year (students not returning in the fall are not eligible).
  • Students on financial aid either have FWS included in their award, or can inquire about their eligibility to federalworkstudy@lists.stanford.edu.
  • The hourly wage for FWS students must be the same as what a department would normally pay for the position.
  • International students are not eligible for FWS.

When hiring a student eligible for FWS, either the student or employer must submit an FWS Authorization Request . Upon review, our office will email the student’s maximum FWS eligibility to the employer and student, along with the FWS PTA to use in the labor distribution system. Employers should monitor that student earnings do not exceed the student’s maximum FWS eligibility; any wages earned beyond this maximum must be paid by the employer.

Please read the FWS Employer FAQ for additional information. All FWS questions can be submitted to federalworkstudy@lists.stanford.edu.

Updated on August 13, 2021 2:59 PM