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Federal Work Study Research Assistantships

The Student Office of Research and Creative Activities (ORCA) and the Financial Aid Office fund up to twelve $2,000 Undergraduate and Graduate Research Assistantships (URAs) through the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program. This initiative allows faculty to request eligible students as research assistants to support their projects. Students gain valuable experience, while faculty benefit from additional support to advance their work. 

Faculty within or across departments are encouraged to collaborate and apply for a single FWS research assistantship. Positions are assigned for the academic year, contingent on the student’s financial and academic eligibility.

These roles are separate from independent-study research or grant-funded summer research. Student responsibilities will vary by discipline, and focus on task-oriented activities, including:

  • data entry
  • literature searches
  • grant proposal support
  • routine lab/studio tasks

Application Process for Faculty

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 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. Students should check their gross need via myOswego before an application is submitted.
  2. Additional FWS eligibility questions can be answered by Jennie Hoffman-Smith, Senior Associate Director of Financial Aid, at [email protected]. Please provide the student's ID number and make sure that questions are detailed and specific.
  3. Submit the application using the button link below. To apply for FWS-RA, faculty will be asked for information about yourself, co-applicants, and an FWS student (ID, major, credits, FWS eligibility). The application also asks about a detailed description of the student's expected duties, your project goals, and the expected effect on your professional career.

The completed application will be accepted until September 19th.  You must be signed into your SUNY-Oswego mail or Laker Apps to view and fill in this form. To inquire about an application extension or with any questions, please contact the Student ORCA Director at [email protected].

Federal Work Study Research Assistantship Application

Requirements

  • Faculty participating in this program are expected to supervise and mentor Federal Work-Study students and submit appropriate paperwork (e.g., 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.
  • The faculty members are required to submit a report to the Student ORCA office summarizing the experience by May 15th of a given academic year. Please use this link to submit your report. The lack of a report for a previous grant disqualifies you from future FWS-RA's.

Evaluation Criteria

The submission of an application does not guarantee a Federal Work-Study RA student. The Financial Aid Office and Student ORCA 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 COI, the recommendation to fund/not fund shall be made to the Financial Aid Office and Student ORCA by faculty serving on the Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee's Student Subcommittee.

Contact Us

[email protected]

360 Shineman
SUNY Oswego
Oswego, NY 13126