Student Employment at UChicago provides students with meaningful opportunities to advance their academic and professional goals. Student Employment offers a wide variety of on-campus jobs, internships, and research positions as well as several opportunities with local off-campus organizations. Federal Work-Study and non Work-Study positions are both available. The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans employer.
Please email studentemployment@uchicago.edu with any questions.
Students with questions about their Federal Work-Study eligibility should contact the Office of College Aid at 773-702-8666 if they are an undergraduate and the Student Loan Administration at 773-702-6061 if they are a graduate student.
Under federal law, all new employees must complete Form I-9 and submit documentation to verify their identity and their eligibility for employment. You can find more information about the I-9 process on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
Your I-9 documentation requirements will vary depending on your citizenship status and place of residence. Please review this table to determine which documents you will need to submit and ensure that you have these documents ready before you start your new on-campus job. Be prepared to present original documents in person.
You must complete Form I-9 and submit the required documentation on or before your first day on the job. Students who do not complete this process within the required timeframe will not be able to continue in their student employment position.
In addition, undergraduate students are required to complete a new student employee orientation. Student Employment will contact all new hires with detailed information about the orientation.
If you have any questions, please contact your supervisor or studentemployment@uchicago.edu.
New for 2024-25, posted student positions must contain a payscale and benefits information to comply with Illinois pay transparency legislation. If you have any questions, please contact studentemployment@uchicago.edu.
Career Advancement can assist undergraduates with identifying and applying for on-campus jobs that meet their interests and goals. Students can request an appointment through UChicago Handshake or by calling (773) 702-7040.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is now mandatory for all students to access Workday. To Check if you are registered for 2FA, or for more details regarding this program, please visit Two-Factor Authentication.
All on-campus employment opportunities for undergraduates are posted in UChicago Handshake.
Depending on the instructions in the job description, students should apply by uploading their materials to UChicago Handshake or e-mailing the employer directly.
Please see this detailed guide for more information on how to find Student Employment positions.
Federal Work-Study is a federally funded program that provides part-time jobs to students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay educational expenses. Students must be awarded Federal Work-Study as part of their financial aid package to be eligible for the program. If you have questions about the Federal Work-Study program or your eligibility, please review the Federal Work-Study FAQ or contact the Office of College Aid at 773-702-8666.
It is required for each Federal Work-Study student to bring a copy of their Employment Authorization Form and their Federal Work-Study award letter to each Work-Study interview. If you hold more than one job, you must have a completed Employment Authorization Form for each job held.
You can access your form as follows:
Students who are interested in participating in the Federal-Work Study Program for Summer Quarter must complete a Summer Aid Application in their UChicago portal. More information can be found at financialaid.uchicago.edu. Students will be notified of eligibility close to the start of the summer term.
All on-campus student employees need to complete the Student Employment Orientation within 30 days of their hire date. This orientation provides training on professionalism, workplace communication, and how students can succeed in their role at the University. Student Employment will contact new student employees with details about registering for the orientation.
Under federal law, all new employees must complete Form I-9 and submit documentation to verify their identity and their eligibility for employment. You can find more information about the I-9 process on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
Your I-9 documentation requirements will vary depending on your citizenship status and place of residence. Please review info on Form I-9 Acceptable Documents to determine which documents you will need to submit and ensure that you have these documents ready before you start your new on-campus job. Be prepared to present original documents in person.
You must complete Form I-9 and submit the required documentation on or before your first day on the job. Students who do not complete this process within the required timeframe will not be able to continue in their student employment position.
In addition, undergraduate students are required to complete a new student employee orientation. Student Employment will contact all new hires with detailed information about the orientation.
If you have any questions, please contact your supervisor or studentemployment@uchicago.edu.
Student employees get paid on the bi-weekly payroll cycle via Workday. Payroll is distributed via direct deposit. Paper checks will be issued during 1-2 pay cycles for students who have just begun working at the University for the first time, while their direct deposit information is processed through Workday.
To access payslips, simply log-in to workday.uchicago.edu using your CNET ID and password and take the following steps:
Click here to access the bi-weekly pay schedule.
Student employees can have their biweekly paycheck deposited directly into their bank account. To sign up for direct deposit, simply log-in to workday.uchicago.edu using your CNet ID and password and take the following steps:
Please allow one biweekly payroll cycle for your request to be processed.
To ensure that they have sufficient time to dedicate to their academic responsibilities, undergraduate students may work for a maximum of 20 hours per week during the academic year. Undergraduate students who are NOT enrolled in classes during the Summer Quarter may hold a student position for a maximum of 37.5 hours per week. A student may hold more than one job, but the cumulative number of hours worked per week cannot exceed the limits outlined above. Any exceptions to these policies must be approved by the Dean of Students.
A petition process is required for all exceptions to this policy. For guidance on the petition process, please reach out to the Career Advancement Student Employment team at studentemployment@uchicago.edu.
Effective July 1, 2017, the University of Chicago implemented an updated Sick Leave Policy, HR Policy 512, which has been revised to comply with the Chicago Paid Sick Leave Ordinance. The updated Sick Leave Policy will make paid sick leave (PSL) available to some employees who have not previously had it, including non-benefits-eligible staff employees and non-benefits-eligible academic appointees, temporary employees, seasonal employees and student employees. The new policy will also expand the permissible uses of PSL for employees, including benefits-eligible employees who already have PSL.
For individuals who use Workday and are newly-eligible for PSL, the “Time Off Module” is live in Workday, and a new time off worklet is now available on the Workday landing page. Benefits-eligible personnel will continue to use UChicago Time to view PSL balances and to record use of PSL.
To help answer any questions you may have, we have created and posted on the Workday@UChicago website a series of Quick Reference Guides, along with a set of Frequently Asked Questions.
If you have questions about the new Sick Leave Policy not answered in these FAQs, please contact Employee & Labor Relations at elrelations@uchicago.edu.
Undergraduates on a leave of absence, in general, are not eligible for employment positions that are only open to students. All students on leave of absence, regardless of the reason for their leave, are not eligible for Federal Work-Study positions.
If a student employee takes a special kind of leave known as extended status, they may continue working in a job that they already hold, provided that they are not in a Federal Work-Study position. Students on extended leave are not eligible to apply for a new job, but may stay in their current position for the period of the extended leave.
For more details about leave of absence, please visit the College’s leave of absence page.
Please contact studentemployment@uchicago.edu with any questions about Student Employment at UChicago. For answers to common Federal Work-Study questions, please review the Student Employment and Federal Work-Study FAQ.
For more information about student employment policies and procedures, please consult the Student Manual.
UChicagoGRAD can assist graduate students and postdocs with identifying and applying for on-campus jobs that meet their interests and goals. Students can request an appointment through GRAD Gargoyle.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is now mandatory for all students to access Workday. To Check if you are registered for 2FA, or for more details regarding this program, please visit Two-Factor Authentication.
On-campus employment positions for graduate students and post-docs are posted in GRAD Gargoyle. Log in to your account and do an "advanced search" for the position type "Student Employment - On Campus Job" for non-teaching opportunities. For teaching opportunities and research assistantships, please reach out to the department in which you are interested in working.
Depending on the application instructions in the job listing, students should submit their materials directly through GRAD Gargoyle or e-mail their application to the hiring manager.
Federal Work-Study is a federally funded program that supports part-time employment for students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay educational expenses. Students must be awarded Federal Work-Study as part of their financial aid package to be eligible for the program. If you have questions about the Federal Work-Study program or your eligibility, please review the Federal Work-Study FAQ, or contact Graduate Financial Aid at gradfinaid@uchicago.edu.
In order to use your Federal Work-Study award for a specific job, you must provide a copy of your Federal Work-Study Authorization Form to your supervisor during the hiring process. If you hold more than one job for which you wish to use your Work-Study award, you must complete an Authorization Form for each one.
You can access your form as follows:
Under federal law, all new employees must complete Form I-9 and submit documentation to verify their identity and their eligibility for employment. You can find more information about the I-9 process on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
Your I-9 documentation requirements will vary depending on your citizenship status and place of residence. Please review info on Form I-9 Acceptable Documents to determine which documents you will need to submit and ensure that you have these documents ready before you start your new on-campus job. Be prepared to present original documents in person.
You must complete Form I-9 and submit the required documentation on or before your first day on the job. Students who do not complete this process within the required timeframe will not be able to continue in their student employment position.
If you have any questions, please contact your supervisor or gradhelp@uchicago.edu.
Student employees get paid on the bi-weekly payroll cycle via Workday. Payroll is primarilydistributed via direct deposit. Paper checks will be issued during 1-2 pay cycles for students who have just begun working at the University for the first time, while their direct deposit information is processed through Workday.
To access payslips, simply log-in to workday.uchicago.edu using your CNET ID and password and take the following steps:
Click here to access the bi-weekly pay schedule.
Student employees can have their biweekly paycheck deposited directly into their bank account. To sign up for direct deposit, simply log-in to workday.uchicago.edu using your CNet ID and password and take the following steps:
Please allow one biweekly payroll cycle for your request to be processed.
To ensure that they have sufficient time to dedicate to their academic responsibilities, graduate students may be employed by the university for a maximum of 20 hours per week during quarters of registration. During the summer, students may work for a maximum of 37.5 hours per week. A student may hold more than one job, but the cumulative number of hours worked per week cannot exceed the limits outlined above. Any exceptions to these policies must be approved by the student’s area Dean of Students. For details, please refer to the University’s student manual.
Effective July 1, 2017, the University of Chicago implemented an updated Sick Leave Policy, HR Policy 512, which has been revised to comply with the Chicago Paid Sick Leave Ordinance. The updated Sick Leave Policy will make paid sick leave (PSL) available to some employees who have not previously had it, including non-benefits-eligible staff employees and non-benefits-eligible academic appointees, temporary employees, seasonal employees and student employees. The new policy will also expand the permissible uses of PSL for employees, including benefits-eligible employees who already have PSL.
For individuals who use Workday and are newly-eligible for PSL, the “Time Off Module” is live in Workday, and a new time off worklet is now available on the Workday landing page. Benefits-eligible personnel will continue to use UChicago Time to view PSL balances and to record use of PSL.
To help answer any questions you may have, we have created and posted on the Workday@UChicago website a series of Quick Reference Guides, along with a set of Frequently Asked Questions.
If you have questions about the new Sick Leave Policy not answered in these FAQs, please contact Employee & Labor Relations at elrelations@uchicago.edu.
Please contact gradhelp@uchicago.edu if you have student employment questions related to eligibility, pay issues, work-hour limits, fellowship requirements, and other administrative concerns.
To learn more about on-campus opportunities or discuss your career plans, make an appointment with a UChicagoGRAD career advisor.
If you have questions about the Federal Work-Study program or your eligibility, please review the Federal Work-Study FAQ or contact Graduate Financial Aid at 773-702-6061.
For more information about student employment policies and procedures, please consult the Student Manual.
New for 2024-25, posted student positions must contain a payscale and benefits information to comply with Illinois pay transparency legislation. If you have any questions, please contact studentemployment@uchicago.edu.
Student Employment collaborates with more than 175 on-campus departments and off-campus partners each year to help connect talented students with open positions.
To hire an undergraduate student, please create a posting on UChicago Handshake, the University’s primary job search resource for undergraduates.
When creating your job posting, please ensure the following details are included for all student positions on Handshake:
For additional information regarding pay transparency for student positions, please contact studentemployment@uchicago.edu.
A Handshake employer account is required to create a Handshake posting. University staff and faculty who need an employer account should follow these steps, and request to connect with the University’s main company profile named “University of Chicago.”
Requests to connect with the main company profile will be approved by a Student Employment team member within 1-2 business days. If you experience any difficulty with requesting to connect with the main company profile, please reach out to studentemployment@uchicago.edu.
Faculty who are interested in hiring undergraduate research assistants are encouraged to apply for a grant from College Center for Research and Fellowships through the Quad Faculty Research Grant Program.
If you would like your on-campus opportunity to be visible to graduate students, please post it to the GRAD Gargoyle job board, as graduate students are not able to access Handshake. For more information on hiring graduate students, please email hiregrad@uchicago.edu.
Student Employment has compiled the following reference materials for UChicago Human Resource Partners:
Federal Work-Study is an excellent way to maximize funding and provide paid research opportunities to students. As part of a student’s financial aid award, Federal Work-Study subsidizes 75% of a student’s wages, leaving only 25% to be paid by the department. Students can determine if they are Federal Work-Study eligible by checking studentemployment.uchicago.edu or by emailing studentemployment@uchicago.edu.
If you are interested in hiring a Federal Work-Study student, please reach out to your local HR Administrator, or contact studentemployment@uchicago.edu.
All paid undergraduate student employment positions (including research positions with faculty members) are required to be posted on UChicago Handshake.
For more information on how to hire undergraduate research assistants, please click on the “Hiring Undergraduate Students” tab or contact studentemployment@uchicago.edu.
If you have questions or need assistance with submitting your job listing, please contact studentemployment@uchicago.edu.
Employers can take advantage of a wide variety of UChicago services and resources to identify new talent for internships and full-time positions. To start recruiting UChicago students, employers are invited to connect with the campus department that aligns with their needs and interests.
UChicago Career Advancement helps employers connect with talented undergraduates. For personalized recruiting assistance, please contact the Career Advancement team member designated for your industry.
UChicagoGRAD helps employers connect with 9000+ advanced degree students and postdocs from over 70 graduate and professional programs. To learn more about ways that UChicagoGRAD works with employers, please contact hireGRAD@uchicago.edu.
Off-campus non-profits interested in hiring Federal Work-Study students should contact Nick Currie in the University of Chicago Civic Engagement center at ncurrie@uchicago.edu to post a position.