Undergraduate Financial Aid
Source: https://finaid.brown.edu/aid-types/student-employment Parent: https://finaid.brown.edu/
Undergraduate Financial Aid
Student Employment in Financial Aid Packages
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Student Employment in Financial Aid Packages
Brown provides opportunities for students to contribute to their indirect (non-billed) educational costs by working during the academic year.
Many undergraduate students have an academic year work component as part of their financial aid package, referred to as Federal Work-Study or Campus Employment.For Work-Study or Campus Employment, we generally recommend students aim for earnings of approximately $2,950, which typically involves working 8-10 hours/week during the academic year.
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- A Work-Study or Campus Employment offer is a work opportunity, not an obligation.
- Students are not assigned to jobs. Instead, students apply for jobs based on their interests, skills and schedule.
- Students receive paychecks for work hours. Funds are not credited to student bills.
- The amount of the offer is an estimate and is based on a student working 8-10 hours per week to earn funds to cover non-billed educational and miscellaneous expenses.
- Students may earn more or less than the offer amount. And, there is no penalty if a student opts not to work.
- A Work-Study or Campus Employment offer is not required to work on campus. Both aided and non-aided undergraduate students are eligible to work.
Learn more about expected student earnings
Student Employment Administration
Brown University employs students in various administrative and academic departments. The Center for Career Exploration and the Department of University Human Resources work in collaboration to oversee and manage student employment.
- The Center for Career Exploration provides Campus Job Exploration information, including strategic advice on starting your search and Commonly Asked Questions related to Student Employment.
- University Human Resources' Student Employment Job Hub provides the technical information students need to search for available jobs, submit applications, complete necessary paperwork, submit hours, and more.
Minimum Student Rate
The current minimum hourly wage rate paid to students is $16.00/hour (as of 01/01/2026). Since pay rates vary depending on the type of job and skills required, many students earn hourly rates that are higher than the minimum. Having a job on campus should not adversely affect academic or personal activities. The recommendation is that students work no more than 8 to 12 hours a week.
Brown University offers a work component to eligible students as part of their financial aid package. Students are not required to work or to earn the full amount of their work award. Instead, the work offer provides a student the opportunity to work and earn funds that they can use towards their daily expenses. It is not expected that these earned funds will be paid back to Brown to cover tuition, fees or other billed educational fees. Students who are able to cover their personal and book expenses by other means, and therefore do not earn any or all of their employment opportunity, are not penalized in any way. Federal Work-Study or Campus Employment is a work opportunity—not a requirement.
The Federal Work-Study or Campus Employment portion of the offer will not appear as a credit on the billing statement from the University. These funds are paid directly to working students. While eligible students receive an offer up to $2,950, the actual amount of money each student will earn depends on the number of hours worked each week and the wage rate paid by the employer. Students who work receive a biweekly paycheck from the Brown Payroll Office.
The Federal Work-Study Program was established by the Higher Education Act of 1965. The intent is to encourage and promote the employment of students in order to help them meet their educational costs. Eligibility for Federal Work-Study (FWS) is determined from the information students provide on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Brown University receives an annual allocation of FWS funds from the U.S. Department of Education. These funds are used to help subsidize the wages of students with a Federal Work-Study offer. Therefore, the wages earned by students who have a Federal Work-Study offer are paid by a combination of federal funds and University funds. Students with Campus Employment in their financial aid offer are paid entirely with University funds.
If you have any questions or concerns specific to your Federal Work-Study or Campus Employment offer, or other components of your financial aid package, please contact us in Financial Aid.
For all other Student Employment inquiries, please contact Student_Employment@Brown.edu .