Work Study

Work-study is a financial aid award that allows undergraduate and graduate students to work part-time to earn money to pay for educational expenses. The program encourages community service work and work related to the recipient’s course of study. Students earning work-study funds are paid bi-weekly. Students may search open positions on the Handshake Job Board. In order to be awarded work study, students must submit a Work Study Authorization form once hired in a position. Funding may be limited.

Students can be awarded Federal or Colorado Work-study.

Federal Work-Study

Federal work-study is need-based financial aid awarded with Federal funding. To be eligible a student may be a graduate or undergraduate student, and must demonstrate financial need as determined by the FAFSA. Students employed in off-campus positions are only eligible for Federal work study, if they meet all other eligibility requirements.

Colorado State Work-Study

Colorado State Need based Work-study – Awarded with state funding. To be eligible a student must be an undergraduate with no prior degree, and a Colorado resident. The student must demonstrate financial need as determined by the FAFSA.

Colorado State Non-need based Work-study – Awarded without regard to need and funded by the state. To be eligible a student must be an undergraduate with no prior degree, and a Colorado resident. To be eligible the student must complete the FAFSA.

Colorado work-study is funded by the Colorado General Assembly.

How to Apply for Work-Study

Complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Check your UCDenver email for a Work Study Eligibility email from the Financial Aid and Scholarships office confirming potential eligibility. This may be shared with employers to establish work study positions.
- If you do not receive the Work Study Eligibility email, please contact studentemployment@ucdenver.edu to check your eligibility.
Search open positions on Handshake Job Board
Complete and submit a Work Study Authorization Form once you have been offered a position. You or your supervisor can submit this form to the Student Employment Office. Students are only awarded work study funds once this form is complete and received by the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.
Watch your CU Access student portal and email for updates on your award.
Once awarded, start working!

Download Our "How-To" Guide! (PDF, 184 KB)

How to Complete the Work Study Authorization Form

Once you have been offered a position, work with your employer to complete the Work Study Authorization form. This is needed to review your work study eligibility and offer an award.

Please reference our Work Study Authorization Form Help Guide for more details and clarification on how to complete this form prior to sending it to Student Employment

Work Study Forms

2026-2027 Work Study forms are to be used for any position with a start date of 7/1/2026 or later.

2026-2027 Work Study Authorization Form

2026-2027 Work Study Authorization Form (Fall 2026, Spring 2027, Summer 2027)

2026-2027 Work Study Increase Request Form

2026-2027 Work Study Increase Request Form (Fall 2026, Spring 2027, Summer 2027)

Students are generally eligible for work study by:

Completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and has demonstrated financial need*
Enrolled at least half time per semester
Maintain good academic standing
- Undergraduate: 2.0 GPA
- Graduate: 3.0 GPA

*income changes, year in school, household size, etc can impact your need.

CU Denver students who are eligible for work study are automatically sent an email detailing their eligibility. This email can be shared with prospective employer indicating initial eligibility.

There are many reasons a student may be denied work study and may be unique to your situation. Here are some of the following reasons a student may be denied a work study award:

You have not been employed or been offered employment with an on-campus employer or an eligible off-campus employer
You have not completed a FAFSA or required additional documentation
You have not demonstrated financial need
You do not have room in your financial aid package, better known as your Cost of Attendance
- additionally, you may have not selected the checkbox on the Work Study Authorization form allowing the Student Employment office to reduce or cancel loan offerings to make room in your financial aid package.
You did not meet GPA requirements
You are not enrolled a minimum of half time

Please note, we do not share the reason for denial with your employer.

If you have any specific questions on why you may have been denied that is not answered in the list above, please reach out to Student Employment.

Yes, it is recommended to apply and be offered a position before applying for a work study award. Students are notified of their work study eligibility via email prior to a job being secured.

You may search for jobs on Handshake. Once a job is secured, you can work with your employer to complete a Work Study Authorization Form to finalize a work study award as part of your financial aid package.

Work study is wages earned through work. You will be paid directly through payroll for the hours you have worked. You can use these funds to help cover education expenses, housing and food, etc.

Students are paid according their the Payroll Calendar which can be accessed here!

Yes! There are several on-campus (and off-campus) jobs that do not require work study.

Handshake is CU Denver’s platform for searching and posting student employment jobs. Students can create a profile and begin finding all sorts of jobs!

Handshake is managed by the Career Center at Lynx Connect. Please reach out to their office for additional help with Handshake.

Generally yes, students who have already been awarded work study can request additional funds. However, work study award increases are only possible if work study allocations remain for the university. There is no guarantee that if you request additional funds that you will receive more.

To request additional funds, please complete a Work Study Increase request form which can be found on this page.

Yes! However, there are some key details to keep in mind:

For Summer 2027:

Summer 2026 work-study funds begin 05/22/2027 and runs through 7/30/2027. Click here for 2026-2027 Bi-weekly Payroll Calendar.

Please note that any earned wages which exceed a student’s work-study allotment will be charged at 100% to the employing department.

In order to work during the summer, the student must:

Have a completed FAFSA for aid year 2027-2028
Be enrolled at least half time in summer

Unearned funds from the academic year do not roll over into the summer semester.

Work study funding in the summer is limited. Please note that your award request may be denied if funding is exhausted. We award funds based in the order Work Study Authorization forms are received and eligibility is confirmed. It’s recommended that you submit your forms early.

Graduating Students

If you are graduating in the Summer 2026 semester, you are not permitted to earn work study funding past June 30th, 2026.

For the 2026-2027 year, work study will cover 100% of earned wages. Departments do not need to account for 25.5% at this time. This is subject to change in future fiscal years.

100% of wages earned after a student’s work study award is exhausted is the responsibility of the employing department.