Student Stipends
It is the goal of the Program to fund every student by graduate assistantships or fellowships throughout the course of graduate study. Tuition is waived for M.S. and Ph.D. students on assistantships and some fellowships. Assistantships also provide access to LSU’s student health insurance plan. Fees are the responsibility of the student. Current graduate tuition and fees are posted at https://www.lsu.edu/bgtplan/Tuition-Fees/fee-schedules.php. Given recent legislation passed by the State of Louisiana, Graduate Assistants will be exempt from some required fees. It is anticipated that the total value of fees waived for full-time GAs at LSU beginning in Fall 2024 that had not been waived previously will amount to approximately $2,000 for the 24/25 year.
MS Program
M.S. student stipends are $23,000 for the 9-month academic year. M.S. students are
typically supported as teaching assistants for the first academic year of graduate
study, then transition to research assistantships with their faculty advisors for
the remainder. During summer terms, M.S. students may work as teaching assistants,
medical physics assistants, or research assistants.
Ph.D. Program
Ph.D. students are typically supported by a teaching assistantship during the first
two years of graduate study; these stipends are $32,000 per calendar year. Subsequent
years are typically funded as a research assistant through the faculty advisor’s research
grants and contracts. PhD students are encouraged to apply for fellowships from the
National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship program, the National Institutes of Health, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, or other sources.