We understand that URS Assistantship Awards can be confusing territory. In an effort to provide clarity, we've compiled a list of common questions we receive. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to ursoffice@duke.edu.
What is a URS Assistantship?
Each semester, a student can apply for a URS Assistantship to help cover the gap in wages that is not covered by financial aid for a student’s work-study award (25% of their federal work-study award, 50% of their Duke work-study award, $275-550/semester, respectively).
Links for the undergraduate student to apply for the URS Assistantship can be found on our URS Assistantship page.
Note: If a student has work-study (WS) and pairs it with a URS Assistantship, there is NO COST to the mentor/employer for the student to earn wages. For Example, in payroll, the student is hired at 75% Work-study and 25% URS (Federal WS), or 50% work-study and 50% URS (Duke WS).
A combination of a work-study and assistantship award can be good for up to $1100/semester or $450/summer term. Awards vary on a case-by-case basis.
Who Can Apply for Work-Study?
Most Duke students qualify for either Federal or Duke Work-Study despite their family’s financial status. For all students who can fill out the FAFSA, we strongly encourage you to do so to gain at least a Work-Study award.
If a student chooses not to fill out the FAFSA, even if they’re eligible, URS can only award $400 per semester during the academic year and $225 during the summer.
What if a student is not eligible for work-study?
Note: If a student is not eligible for work-study simply because they have not submitted a FAFSA form, their URS Assistantship award will be a max of $550/semester or $225/summer term.
For international students who didn’t request financial aid upon admission and/or students who are on a scholarship/award where work-study is not available, you still qualify for a URS Assistantship. Our office will award the equivalent of a Federal/Duke work-study award, which is $1,100 for a semester during the academic year and up to $900 during the summer.
What is Work-study?
Work-study (WS) only refers to the funding source of the student’s wages for the position
- Federal WS will cover 75% of the student’s work-study award wages.
- Duke WS will cover 50% of the student’s work-study award wages
The other 25-50% ($275-550/semester, $112-225/summer term) will need to be covered by other financial sources such as:
- Department’s funds
- Discretionary funds
- Grants
Note: If a student has work-study and pairs it with a URS Assistantship, there is NO COST to the mentor/employer for the student to earn wages. For Example, in payroll the student is hired at 75% Work-study and 25% URS or they are hired at 50% work-study and 50% URS. This award is good for up to $1100/semester or $450/summer term .
What is the maximum amount of work-study wages a student is eligible for and what happens when that runs out?
In general, a combination of a work-study and assistantship award can be good for up to $1100/semester or $450/summer term. Awards can vary on a case-by-case basis.
- The amount of work-study the student is awarded is determined by a number of different factors.
- The maximum work-study award for 2023 was $2,200 for the Fall and Spring semesters combined, or $1100/semester.
- The portion of student wages not covered by the work-study award (up to $275-$550/semester) will need to be covered by another financial source. This may be covered by a faculty or department’s source of funds, or students can apply for a URS Assistantship, which is available at the beginning of each semester until the funds are depleted.
- Once a student's work-study award runs out, the mentor will be responsible for covering 100% of the wages from alternative funds.
- URS asks for the name and email address of the HR Payroll representative within the department that is responsible for hiring the student on payroll and include them in the correspondence about the award. We ask them to provide a fund code that we can use to JV the URS Assistantship award amount into for use when hiring the student on payroll to cover the 25-50%.
- Financial Aid notifies the hiring manager when the student’s work-study funds are about to be depleted.
What Is the Minimum Wage for Work-study Students as of July 1, 2025?
Minimum wage for students at Duke is $16.50/hour as of July 1, 2025.
For more employer resources on work-study, visit Duke's Work-Study webpage.
How Do I Know if My Student has Work-study?
Students have received notification about their work-study award from the financial aid office and can see their status on DukeHub.
When you hire the student applicant through the Student Employment site (JobX), you will see their Work-study award verification. For more information on how to hire a student through JobX, visit our HR Payroll/Business Manager Overview of URS Assistantships page.
All that is required for a student to qualify for work-study is to follow the steps on the financial aid website. Most students will qualify, regardless of parental income.
What if My Student is Enrolled in an Independent Study?
Students are not eligible to earn WS/assistantship wages if enrolled in an Independent Study on the same project.
Can Work-Study Funds be Split Amongst Mentors?
Students can split the money from WS to multiple places, but all department business managers and mentors need to be aware that the student is sharing the funding between multiple positions. Our office tries our best to connect mentors when we catch it in our applications. We recommend chatting with the student on whether they're using their work-study for another position.
- Any wages earned above the awarded amount will need to be paid from a different source of funds
What if I’m Hiring an International Student?
- If the student is currently receiving need-based aid, they may be eligible for WS.
- Contact the Office of Visa Services to determine the number of hours based on visa status
- If the student is not receiving need-based aid, they are not eligible for WS
What is the process for a student to apply for a URS Assistantship?
- Each semester, a student can apply for a URS Assistantship to help cover the gap in wages that is not covered by financial aid for a student’s work-study award (25% of their federal work-study award, 50% of their Duke work-study award, $275-550/semester, respectively).
- Links for the undergraduate student to apply for the URS Assistantship can be found here.
- The student will fill out the application and indicate whether they are eligible for Duke work-study or Federal work-study, which helps to determine the amount of the URS Assistantship award.
- The student will also provide a brief description of their research project, upload a certificate of completion of the Research Misconduct (RCR Basic) course offered through Duke CITI Training, and provide a few other important pieces of information.
- The student will provide the name and email address of their faculty mentor so that the faculty mentor can verify that they are willing to have the student work with them on their research project.
- The faculty mentor will answer a few brief questions and provide URS with the name and email address of the HR representative or business manager that will be responsible for hiring the student on payroll.
- Award letters and further instructions are sent to the faculty, student, and HR Rep/Business manager to provide the fund code for the URS Assistantship.
- Note that if a student has work-study and pairs it with a URS Assistantship, there is NO COST to the mentor/employer for the student to earn wages. For Example, in payroll the student is hired at 75% Work-study and 25% using the fund code we JV the URS assistantship money into, or they are hired at 50% work-study and 50% using the fund code we JV the URS Assistantship money into. This award is good for up to $1100/semester, or $450/summer term.
Have More Questions on Work-Study?
Our office's assistantship awards merely partner with student's work-study award. We do not directly administer work-study for students. For more specific questions, visit the Duke’s Work-Study Website from the Karsh Office of Undergraduate Financial Support. This page is very comprehensive and will likely answer most of your questions.
For more questions on our assistantship awards, feel free to email us at ursoffice@duke.edu.