Student Employment Information & Guidelines

General information

Both undergraduate and graduate student positions fall into two categories - academic and non-academic:

Academic positions allow students to perform work for the university that is academic in nature (e.g., research, classroom or laboratory support duties, tutoring). See the Student Academic Employment page for information including eligibility, enrollment requirements, and maximum allowable work hours.

Non-academic positions are diverse and may include a wide variety of duties that are not academic in nature (e.g., clerical, customer service, and technical duties). Non-academic titles may not be used for research related to the student's degree program. See the Student Non-Academic Employment page for information including eligibility, enrollment requirements, and maximum allowable work hours.

• Note: Students who have graduated and are no longer students are not eligible for student non-academic positions, with the following exceptions:

a) Graduating student employees may remain in their student jobs until the official end of the semester in which they graduate.

b) Students who graduate at the end of the spring semester and who worked in a student non-academic position or an undergraduate academic position during that semester can remain in the student title until August 31 of the year they graduate. High school students who graduate at the end of the spring semester may be assigned to the Non-Affiliated Student Worker title until August 31 of the year they graduate.

A student who is admitted to UT Austin but does not meet the minimum enrollment requirements without including extension or online course is only eligible for the Non-Affiliated Student Worker title. To count toward the enrollment requirements for that title, the extension or online course must be taken through University Extension.

Notes

For detailed information on graduate student employment, see Graduate School: Student Employment.

Student Hiring Process (for Supervisors)

For the College of Education Dean’s Office, IPSI, ERC, and CCCSE:

Supervisors are required to complete the New Student Hiring Request Form before initiating any new student employee hire (right click the link to the form to download). Email the completed form to COE-HR@austin.utexas.edu. If you are hiring a work-study student, please also include a copy of the student’s work-study verification when you complete the form.

Students will NOT be able to start work until a background check is cleared, an i-9 is complete, and their appointment is processed in Workday. Please allow at least two weeks for processing.

For all other units, please contact your HR Partner about the student employment hiring process.

Hiring Work-Study

When hiring a student into a work-study position, the supervisor must obtain a copy of the student’s work-study verification and provide that to their HR Partner. For more information about hiring a work-study, please refer to the Hiring and Managing Work-Study Students page.

Student Compensation

The rates for Assistant Instructors, Teaching Assistants, and Graduate Research Assistants are established annually by the College of Education. These rates may be found on the COE graduate student salary minimums page.

A list of student titles and pay rates for all other positions may be found on the Student Compensation page. The rates for student academic titles are established each fiscal year by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. The rates for student non-academic titles are established each fiscal year by Human Resource Services. These rates set a minimum and maximum amount that may be paid for each job title, and departments have discretion to determine a pay rate within the established range.

Notes:

• Hourly-paid employees must submit timesheets for payment.

• “Tuition Waiver Eligible” indicates titles eligible to apply for a Resident Tuition Waiver. See Resident Tuition Entitlement > “Eligibility on the Basis of Student Employment” and Job Titles Qualifying for Entitlement to In-State Tuition.

• Teaching Assistants, Assistant Instructors, and some Graduate Research Assistants are also eligible for a Tuition Reduction Benefit (TRB).

Work-Study Job Profiles

The job codes for work-study profiles begin with W. There are multiple job codes for each work-study student and the correct title is determined by the student’s job duties. For example, there are four job codes for work-study student assistants. W005 (customer service), W006 (admin/general). W007 (food service), and W019 (lab) HR Partners may use the job profile catalog in Workday, or RPT0286, to identify the specific work-study job code that should be used.

Titles and rates

*Job codes beginning with G = graduate, U = Undergraduate, W = Work-Study

Minimum enrollment requirements

Minimum enrollment requirements (in semester credit hours) for both undergraduate and graduate academic and non-academic job titles. Source: Enrollment Requirements for Student Job Titles PDF.

Click on image below to enlarge.

Maximum work hours

Source: Eligibility to Work

Limits on Student Work Hours

Students in Work-Study Positions *

• Enrollment Requirements: Must be enrolled at least half-time with approved SAP

• No more than 19 hours per week in Work-Study position

• No more than 8 hours in any 24-hour period or 40 hours in one week

• Up to 40 hours per week permitted when classes are not in session

  • Work-Study funds are utilized for the first 19 hours. Earnings above 19 hours are not Work-Study Earnings.

NOTE: Students in a Work-Study position are not subject to the ACA Law.

International Students

• No more than 20 hours per week of UT Austin employment during long semesters OR summer (if the summer is their first semester or last semester)

• Up to 40 hours per week permitted during:

  • Fall and Spring Break (5 weekdays, plus the Saturday and Sunday before and after)

  • Summer (day after May graduation through day before August classes start) *Graduate Students have further limits, see below*

  • Thanksgiving break

  • Winter break (day after December graduation through day before January classes start

Graduate Students in an Academic job (0062, 0063, 0090, 0045, 0065, 0071)

• No more than 20 hours per week of UT Austin employment in a student job title during the student’s first two long semesters (fall/spring) as a full-time graduate student

• No more than 30 hours per week of UT Austin employment in a student job title during subsequent semesters, including summer

• Exception: Up to 40 hours per week during:

  • Fall and Spring Break (5 weekdays, plus the Saturday and Sunday before and after)

  • Summer (day after May graduation through day before August classes start, but no more than an average of 30 hours per week between 6/1 and 8/15)

  • Winter break (day after December graduation through day before January classes start)

Professional Students (0066, 0067, 0070, 0074, 0075, 0076, 0077, 0095)

• Professional Student Academic job profiles - No more than 20 hours per week of UT Austin employment in a student job title during the student’s first two long semesters (fall/spring)

• Professional Student Non-Academic job profiles - No more than 40 hours per week of UT Austin employment in a student job title during the student’s first two long semesters (fall/spring), subject to limits for international students

• Professional Student Academic & Non-Academic - Up to 40 hours per week during:

  • Fall and Spring Break (5 weekdays, plus the Saturday and Sunday before and after)

  • Summer (day after May graduation through day before August classes start); for students enrolled in summer classes,

  • Winter break (day after December graduation through day before January classes start)

Students in Undergraduate Academic Titles (0066, 0070, 0095)

• No more than 20 hours per week of UT Austin employment during long semesters (fall/spring)

• Up to 40 hours per week during:

  • Fall and Spring Break (5 weekdays, plus the Saturday and Sunday before and after)

  • Summer (day after May graduation through day before August classes start); for students enrolled in summer classes, Quantity of Work Guidelines recommended: Work hours + course credit hours = no more than 40 hours per week

  • Winter break (day after December graduation through day before January classes start)

Students in Non-Academic Titles

• Up to 40 hours per week, subject to limits for Work-Study, international, and graduate students

• Quantity of Work Guidelines recommended: Work hours + course credit hours = no more than 40 hours per week

Departments may impose stricter limits for the students they employ in student titles.

Benefits

For information about insurance and benefits for student employees, please see the following:

• HR: Student Employee Insurance and Benefits

• HR: Academic Graduate Student Employee Insurance Options

Note for benefits-eligible Graduate Academic employment:  finalized Workday assignments and final completion of onboarding tasks drive the activation of insurance records in the My UTBenefits portal. This activation can take up to 48 hours as information feeds from Workday to My UTBenefits and over to BCBS/healthcare providers through nightly data feeds. 

Note for students with Undergraduate and Non-Academic Graduate Jobs:  these students are always non-benefits eligible per chapter 1601 of the TX state constitution. However, they can be enrolled in UT Select if they meet Affordable Care Act (ACA) eligibility.  Also per chapter 1601, classified and student jobs never combine for benefits eligibility purposes.

Additional Resources

General Student Employment Information

Graduate Student Employment Resources

Information for Managers