Eligibility to Work
Before you start applying to or working as a student employee at UNC, review the following criteria to ensure that you meet the necessary eligibility requirements.
Any student is eligible to work if they are enrolled full- or part-time in a degree-seeking undergraduate or graduate program – which includes Master’s, Ph.D., and Professional programs.
If questions arise regarding your student status, contact the UNC Registrar.
It is important to keep in mind that your status as a student may change from semester to semester, most commonly over the summer. If you are not enrolled in classes but continue to work during the summer, you will not maintain your student status and will therefore NOT be considered a student employee.
If this is the case, your classification may change automatically without warning, which could impact your paycheck and FICA tax exemption status. For instance, if you graduate from your undergraduate program in the spring and plan to start a graduate program at UNC in the fall, if you work on-campus over the summer, you will not hold student status and therefore will not be considered a student employee. This is not to say you aren’t able to work on-campus, you will just hold a different classification which could impact your paycheck and FICA tax exemption status.
International students are permitted to work on-campus as part of their immigration status. There are different types of work authorizations depending on the purpose of employment and the student’s immigration status. Visit the International Student Employment Guide for more information.