On-Campus Employment

On-campus employment must either be performed on the school’s premises, (including on-location commercial firms which provide services for students on campus, such as the school bookstore or cafeteria), or at an off-campus location that is educationally affiliated with the school. In the case of off-campus locations, the educational affiliation must be associated with the school’s established curriculum or related to contractually funded research projects at the post-graduate level. Commercial firms or offices located on campus that are not operated by GW and which do not directly provide services to students are not considered on-campus employers; e.g. CVS, Whole Foods, a construction company building a school building, companies that rent GW office space.

Types of On-Campus Employment

On-campus work may generally be divided into three types:

• Work on the school premises, employed by GW:
  • GA, TA, RA or any work on-campus
• Work on the school premises, employed by on-campus commercial firms:
  • Chartwells
• Work done at off-campus locations, but treated as on-campus:
  • These locations are educationally affiliated locations.
    • Educational affiliation means the location is associated with your program or degree’s established curriculum. At the post-graduate level, the location must be related to research projects conducted by your school. If a company has multiple locations, F-1 students can work only at those locations educationally affiliated with your school. In any event, employment must be an integral part of the student’s educational program.
    • Example: your department has an established Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) which is written in your curriculum explaining that the department is affiliated with an outside organization and students will be working at that site to fulfill program requirements.
    • **CPT and Educational Affiliation are two separate authorizations. 

On Campus Work Authorization Requirements & SSN Processes

F-1 Students

• F-1 Students are eligible for on-campus employment as soon as their first semester, and they do not need additional authorization from the ISO to begin work. Please see the important hour limits and rules listed below for more information on how to maintain your status while working on campus.
• The ISO will issue “Social Security Support” Letters for on-campus employment.
• The ISO will issue “On-Campus Employment” letters for off-campus educationally affiliated employment, which must be associated with the school’s established curriculum or related to contractually funded research projects at the post-graduate level.

J-1 Students

• Students on a J-1 visa must obtain work authorization from the International Services Office prior to engaging in any kind of employment.
• The ISO will issue “On-Campus Employment” letters for each semester. Please do not work on-campus without receiving the On-Campus Employment authorization from ISO.
• Please see the important hour limits and rules listed below for more information on how to maintain your status while working on campus.

Work Hour Limits

• Employment is limited to 20 hours per week while school is in session, inclusive of any work undertaken under a scholarship, fellowship, or assistantship.
  • Exception 1 - Vacation Periods: An F-1 student may, however, work on campus full-time when school is not in session or during annual vacation.
  • Exception 2 - Special Student Relief: Students eligible for “special student relief” can be approved by the ISO to work on-campus full-time.
• Students are responsible for keeping track of their own hours to ensure they do not exceed the limit and will be held accountable for any hours worked overtime.
• Hours may not be averaged: e.g., a teaching assistant working 15 hours per week can only work 5 additional hours per week in another on-campus job. If 15 hours are performed in one week, 25 are not permitted the following week in order to average 20 hours in a two-week period. Working even 20.25 hours in one week is a violation of status.
• Full-time on-campus employment is permitted during summer breaks for students registered for the subsequent academic term. Eligible students may also work full-time during winter and spring break.
• GW Policy: Students participating in a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) or Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) may participate in on-campus employment other than their GTA or GRA, as long as total work hours do not exceed 20 hours per week.
• GW Policy: Graduate students receiving tuition and stipend from GW must receive permission from the Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships before working on-campus.
• If summer is your first or final term, you are not eligible for full-time employment during that term.

Other Important Rules

• All on-campus employment must cease the day after you complete all program requirements. For most students, the completion date is the last day of your final exams or the date of the dean’s approval of your thesis/dissertation.
• Students concurrently attending two institutions may work only on the campus of the institution that issued their Form I-20 and has authority over the student's SEVIS record.
• Working Internationally: GW is a U.S.-based entity and, therefore, expects and requires student employees to be on campus or perform duties at an approved U.S. location. Due to international tax and compliance issues, GW is not able to directly employ students into positions who receive compensation through the GW Payroll Office if they are physically located outside of the United States.
  • Puerto Rico Exception: students working in remote positions from PR but will remain on the US payroll may be eligible to telework depending on their job duties. Supervisors, please contact Payroll Services (payrollgwu [dot] edu) to obtain clearance for the student to work remotely from PR.
  • If you have any questions regarding working internationally, please contact the Office of Student Employment at gwsegwu [dot] edu or calling 202-994-8046.
• Please visit the Student Employment Talent Management System to check on-campus jobs at GW.
• If you have a pending Extension of Stay (EOS) with USCIS, then you may have an additional 240 days to work on campus, do CPT, or pre-completion OPT while your EOS is pending with USCIS

If you have any questions or concerns regarding on-campus employment and how to maintain your legal status, please contact the International Services Office at isogwu [dot] edu (iso[at]gwu[dot]edu) or make an appointment with your ISO advisor.