The Federal Work Study Program (FWSP) is a federally-funded financial aid program available to US citizens and permanent residents. The goal of the program is to assist students with the cost of their college education by providing a subsidy to employers for part-time student employment. The program is dependent on the student applying for financial aid through the FAFSA and qualifying based on their financial need.
FWSP comes with rules and regulations for student and employer eligibility. To comply with the law, the University has established guidelines and processes that must be followed by both students and employers.
Many students are confused by the term ‘work-study’ and think that they are eligible for this benefit simply based on the grounds that they are working while studying at college. While all students are welcome to work during their time at Harvard, ‘work-study’ refers specifically to the federally-funded financial aid program designed to help students meet their education costs via subsidized hourly work.