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Federal Work Study Research Assistantship Program (FWS-RA)

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) in partnership with the Financial Aid office is pleased to support 12 Federal Assistantship Grants through the Federal Work Study program (FWS-RA). This program allows faculty from across the university to request an eligible undergraduate or graduate student as a research assistant to advance their research/scholarship.  

The specific responsibilities of the student will vary based on discipline but are intended to be more task-oriented (e.g. data entry, literature searches, grant proposal support, routine lab or studio work) than research appropriate for independent study credit or summer research supported through grants. Several faculty within a department or across disciplines are encouraged to apply together for a single Undergraduate or Graduate Research Assistantship position. This is a pre-matched Federal Work Study (FWS) position, so faculty will be asked to identify students that will be assigned for the full academic year unless they cease to be eligible financially or academically.

Summary for Faculty

Application Process

This is a pre-match program in which faculty are expected to identify an eligible student as part of the application. This may be achieved by advertising a position to recruit interested and eligible students. The Financial Aid Office determines student eligibility by submitting FAFSA data for each academic year. Only students that qualify for the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program will be eligible for the undergraduate research assistantship. This program will support students for five to 10 hours per week during the academic year.

  1. A student's Gross Need should be checked by them via myOswego before you apply.
  2. For eligibility questions, contact Jennie Hoffman-Smith, Senior Associate Director of Financial Aid, at [email protected]. Please provide the student's ID number and make sure that your question is detailed and specific.
  3. Submit your FWS Research Assistantship application (FWS-RA) via the button below.
  4. Completed applications will be accepted until September 17. You must be signed in your SUNY-Oswego mail or Laker Apps to complete the application.
  5. To apply for FWS-RA, you will need the following information:
    • Personal information about yourself and any co-applicants
    • Student ID number, major, credits, and eligibility for the student
    • A detailed description of the student's expected duties
    • Project goals
    • Expected effect on your professional career

FWS Research Assistantship application

Requirements

Participating faculty are to supervise and mentor FWS students and submit appropriate paperwork, such as timesheets, throughout the academic year. 

Duties assigned to the FWS research assistant must be directly related to and advance the faculty's research/scholarly agenda.

Faculty members are required to submit a report summarizing the experience by May 15. A missing report disqualifies you from future FWS-RAs.

Evaluation Criteria

The submission of an application does not guarantee a Federal Work-Study RA student. The Financial Aid Office and ORSP will evaluate the applications based on the merit of proposed student duties and how the student will advance the faculty's research/scholarship agenda. To eliminate any bias and potential conflict of interest, the recommendation to fund/not fund shall be made to the Financial Aid Office and ORSP by faculty serving on the Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee's Student Subcommittee. 

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

210 Sheldon Hall

8am - 4pm

Phone: 315-312-2888 

Email: [email protected]