work-study

American  

[wurk-stuhd-ee] / ˈwɜrkˈstʌd i /

noun

1. a type of financial aid in which students are hired for part-time jobs, usually by their college, and often for work on campus.

   I was lucky enough to be a research assistant for work-study, unlike my roommate who had to work in the cafeteria.

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adjective

1. of or relating to such a job associated with a college or university.

work-study British  

noun

1. an examination of ways of finding the most efficient method of doing a job, esp in terms of time and effort

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Etymology

Origin of work-study

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

At Dartmouth, we have replaced loans with a combination of scholarships, grants and work-study options in our financial-aid packages and now offer free tuition for families earning $175,000 or less.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2026

A student who is supposed to get a $2,500 work-study award won’t get it on the first day of school — they will earn it over time.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 31, 2025

At California State University campuses, 107,000 students have taken out $861 million in federal student loans and thousands of others receive supplemental grants and federal work-study awards.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2025

I was actually a chemistry and philosophy major, and to pay for college, I was working at night for the I.R.S., where I’d started at age 16 in a work-study program.

From New York Times • Mar. 3, 2024

The original plan was to go to school from eight forty-five to noon, then work at the bank from one to five thirty, as a part of the work-study program.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds