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Financial Aid and Scholarships

Learning-Aligned Employment Program (LAEP)

The Learning-Aligned Employment Program (LAEP) offers eligible students at UCLA the opportunity to earn money to help defray their educational costs while gaining education-aligned, career­ related employment. LAEP allows a participating student placement in an educationally beneficial position that relates to the student's area of study, career objective, or the exploration of career objectives. At UCLA, learning-aligned employment opportunities provide participating students with direct opportunities to participate in the research. The position is fully funded through work study and does not require financial support by the faculty. For general information on this statewide program visit: California Student Aid Commission.

At this time UCLA LAEP Research Work study appointments are only available during the academic year. Students may be hired for 1-3 quarters. Students will be hired for 12 hours per week for 10 weeks (120 hours total) for each quarter. All positions end in week 10 of Spring quarter. As of Fall 2023, students will be paid at a rate of $17/hour. Please note: Students cannot work during finals week, on holidays or during intersessions.

Additional Information

  • Positions managed by UCLA Health that participate in "volunteer service" are not eligible for LAEP funding. This may refer to departments in the School of Nursing, Dentistry and Medicine.
  • Student can receive academic credit for work performed in a LAEP position, such as when student enrolled in SRP 99, 196, 198, 199.
  • The funding and efforts allocated for 23/24 AY are now spent . We will no longer be accepting LAEP hiring requests for the 23/24 AY. You may inquire about this program later in 2024 summer for the 24/25 AY.

LAEP Hiring Process

  1. Complete LAEP Intern Request Form - If you would like to hire an undergraduate research intern fill out the Learning-Aligned Employment Program (LAEP) Research Intern Request form. The form is short and can be completed in 5 minutes or less. The information you provide will be used to create a job description that will be posted on the campus job portal, Handshake. It will be tagged as a LAEP work study position so that eligible students can locate these positions in Handshake. Students will be notified on their eligibility with the notation of LAEP on workstudy portion of their Financial Aid Award Notification (FAN). Only students eligible for LAEP funds as defined by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) may take the position; visit the CSAC site for more information on student eligibility in general.
  2. Approve the Job Description - Within one week of submitting the form, you will receive an email with a link to the pending job posting. Reply to the email to approve the posting or to request changes. Once approved, the posting will go live. Students who wish to apply will be asked to submit a resume and cover letter through the portal. You may share the preview link with your students if you wish. NOTE: You do not need a Handshake account to review the posting or to review students’ application materials. If you have any questions about the job posting in Handshake, please send an email to LAEP@career.ucla.edu.
  3. Review Applicants - Each time a student applies you will receive an email from Handshake with the student’s application materials. The email will come from handshake@notifications.joinhandshake.com with the Subject: Application package for LAEP Scholar Research Work Study Internship. Check your spam folder. Review applications as they come in. You do not need to wait for the position to close. NOTE: All students must apply through Handshake (for reporting requirements).
  4. Interview Applicants - Commence interviewing applicants who meet your requirements as soon as possible. Let students that you plan to interview know that they will need to show you a screenshot of their FAN that indicates that they are awarded for LAEP. LAEP is a California Work Study program, open only to California residents with financial need. The rules of the program are not flexible with regards to eligibility.
  5. Select Student(s) and Make a Soft Offer - Once you have selected LAEP-eligible student(s) for the position, and you have seen the screenshot of their FAN indicating LAEP eligibility, please make a soft offer to the student(s) you wish to hire. Note that students may be applying to more than one position, so it is important to ensure they wish to accept your position before initiating the formal hiring process. If they accept the soft offer, the UCLA Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) will hire the student on your behalf and make an official offer to the student. You may hire more than one student.
  6. Initiate Hiring Process - Once the student has accepted the soft offer, fill out and submit this form to initiate the official hiring process with the Division of Undergraduate Education. NOTE: Although the Division of Undergraduate Education will hire the student for you, you will be required to approve the student's bi-weekly timesheets. Please allow at least one week for the official hiring process to be completed. NOTE: DUE HR will close the job posting for you unless you indicate that you would like to keep it open. If you wish to close the posting without hiring, please email LAEP@career.ucla.edu.
  7. Onboard LAEP Intern - In addition to any of your own on-boarding procedures, please inform the intern that they are eligible to work no more than 12 hours per week during weeks 1 through 10 of each academic quarter. They may not work during finals week, intersession, or summer. All positions must end in June, spring quarter week 10. Please also advise the student that they are required to complete a bi-weekly time sheets (DUE will let them know how to access the online time sheet) and that you will be approving their time sheet.

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