Skip to main content
Office of International Services

On-Campus Employment

On-campus employment is defined as physically on the campus of NC State University and paid through the NC State University Payroll office. This excludes private companies on Centennial campus, private tutoring, or other services provided to students or faculty even if the activity takes place on campus. 

There are many departments on campus that hire students. The most productive method of finding an on-campus job is to go to the different departments and simply ask if they have any student positions open.

Once hired, international students need to contact International Compensation and Taxation to complete a tax assessment. A tax assessment is a requirement of your employment and must be completed prior to you receiving your first paycheck. In order to get a tax assessment please contact International Compensation and Taxation at ICTquestions@ncsu.edu. 

In order to accept salary or wage payment from U.S.-based source, it is necessary to obtain a Social Security Number. 

F-1 and J-1 students by regulation are limited to 20 hours/week of on-campus employment during the semester. This is a regulatory limit. Additionally, students should maintain the 20 hour/week limit even in weeks when school is partially in session–such as the week of Fall Break and Thanksgiving Break–in order to avoid potential immigration violations.

**Provided that you are enrolled in Fall 2024, and are required to enroll in Spring 2025, you are eligible to work more than 20 hours per week on campus during the 2024 winter break. Please note that for the purposes of on-campus employment, the 2024 winter break begins 12/14/2024 and ends 01/03/2025.  You must not exceed 20 hours/week before 12/14/2024 or after 01/03/2025.

Provided that you are enrolled in Spring 2025, you are eligible to work more than 20 hours per week on campus during the 2025 Spring Break. Please note that for the purposes of on-campus employment, the 2025 Spring Break begins 03/08/2025 and ends 03/14/2025.  You must not exceed 20 hours/week before 03/08/2025 or after 03/14/2025. **

F-1 students do not need any written authorization from OIS to engage in casual part-time (not to exceed 20 hours per week) employment on campus when it is “incidental” to their status and they are maintaining their lawful F-1 status. F-1 and J-1 students are considered to be working 20 hours a week on campus if they hold a half time teaching/research assistantship. Additional appointments, supplemental pay, or additional pay for hours worked beyond the 20 hour per week maximum will violate a student’s immigration status.

On-campus employment can be full-time (greater than 20 hours per week) during Summer for students who plan to enroll for the fall semester and as long as the employment begins after the graduation date for the spring semester and ends prior to the first day of classes for the fall semester. Student visa regulations interpret any employment that exceeds 20 hours per week to be full-time.

University human resource policies external to OIS may limit student employment to 29 hours per week, even during periods when full-time employment is permitted. Employment may not result in a delay of program completion (with a need to request a program extension), loss of good academic standing, loss of full-time enrollment, etc. OIS does not approve or certify on-campus employment for students in F-1 status.

J-1 students DO need specific written employment authorization from their J-1 program sponsor. Students whose program sponsor is OIS can easily request employment authorization in one year increments by submitting the J-1 Student Employment Authorization Request Form. F-1 and J-1 students are considered to be working 20 hours a week on campus if they hold a half time teaching/research assistantship. Additional appointments, supplemental pay, or additional pay for hours worked beyond the 20 hour per week maximum during the Spring or Fall will violate a student’s immigration status. 

On-campus employment can be full-time (greater than 20 hours per week) during Summer for students who plan to enroll for the fall semester and as long as the employment begins after the graduation date for the spring semester and ends prior to the first day of classes for the fall semester. Student visa regulations interpret any employment that exceeds 20 hours per week to be full-time. University human resource policies external to OIS may limit student employment to 29 hours per week, even during periods when full-time employment is permitted. Employment may not result in a delay of program completion (with a need to request a program extension), loss of good academic standing, loss of full-time enrollment, etc.

Many students are in the process of applying for summer internships or making plans to travel home to visit family over the summer vacation. If you are going to be staying in Raleigh for the summer though, you may be thinking about getting a job on campus. Here are a few important reminders about on-campus employment over the summer semester:

  • If you are beginning your program in the summer, or completing your program in a summer semester, you are limited to 20 hours/week because you are not in a “vacation” term.
  • Unfortunately OIS has been required to terminate the visa status of students who worked more than their status permitted. Be sure to monitor your work hours to ensure that you do not exceed the 20 hour per week work limit, unless you are in a vacation term. No one can authorize you to work more than 20 hours per week on campus during a semester. This is a statutory limit. Your manager or supervisor cannot approve you to exceed this limitation.
  • J-1 students must apply for authorization for on-campus work prior to starting employment, no matter if the work is during the academic year or over the summer semester.  Find the application and more information on the On-Campus Employment webpage.  For information regarding off campus work for J-1 students, please refer to our article on Academic Training. 
  • All on-campus employment must stop if your I-20 or DS-2019 has expired or if your last semester of required enrollment has ended, which ever occurs first.
  • When in doubt, consult OIS prior to exceeding 20 hours.