Graduate students in the department receive financial assistance through teaching assistantships, research assistantships, tuition scholarships, University loans, and Louisiana Board of Regents Fellowships.
Research assistantships are provided by a student's faculty research advisor, and are available at the advisor's discretion. Stipend amounts and durations are decided by the advisor, although the resaearch assistantship is normally accompanied by a tuition waiver.
Teaching assistantships for 2016-2017 carry a stipend of $19,400 for approx. nine months, plus a waiver of the Graduate School tuition and part of the health insurance supplement. They normally require about six hours of teaching in undergraduate laboratory classes per week plus grading of laboratory reports. The total time required usually does not exceed 15-16 hours/week, so that teaching assistants are able to carry a full load of graduate work.
In most cases, Ph.D. students who make satisfactory progress toward their degree also receive a summer research stipend. A small number of summer teaching assistantships are normally available, and are usually reserved for students with special circumstances.
