Costs and Financial Aid

The Department of Sociology at LSU is able to offer funding to the vast majority of graduate students entering our program, and to continue to fund students who remain in good standing and make timely progress throughout their doctoral studies. We strongly encourage all applicants to review the most current information about resident & non-resident Tuition and Fees posted on the Office of Budget and Planning website for Fall, Spring, and Summer Terms. Be aware that the LSU Board of Supervisors may modify fees, board, and/or housing rates.

Graduate Assistantships

Most of our graduate students are funded through graduate assistantships offered by the Department of Sociology or other units on the LSU Campus. Separate applications are not required for consideration for departmental funding. Departmental assistantships may involve providing support for research, teaching, and/or service under the supervision of one or more faculty members. The Department of Sociology’s graduate assistantship stipend is currently $23,000 for nine months, and it includes a waiver of tuition and the non-residence fee. Students must pay all other fees (including Required, Academic Excellence, Technology, Building Use, Operational, and Student Excellence fees). Starting their fourth year, our students may be appointed as graduate instructors and assigned as the instructor of record for a section of one of our undergraduate sociology courses. The stipend is the same for graduate instructors is the same as the stipend for graduate assistants. Graduate Assistant and Graduate Instructor appointments begin on the first day of the semester and end on Commencement Day. Departmental assistantships do not carry a stipend for summer. Continuation of assistantship funding for the following year depends on timely progress, defined by the milestones described under Graduate Course Requirements.

Some domestic students and international students may also be eligible for Tuition Awards (tuition exemptions). Separate applications are not required for these awards. Upon receiving promising candidates, the Director of Graduate Studies will make nominations for these awards. These awards exempt students from tuition and the nonresident fee, but they do not pay a stipend and students must pay all other required fees. Students in good standing who received a tuition award when they entered the program may be moved to departmental assistantships if funds become available.

Occasionally, faculty will secure external funding for graduate research assistantships that may include a higher stipend and summer support. Additionally, some sociology graduate students secure assistantships from other units on the LSU campus that may pay a higher or lower stipend and/or may provide summer support. Sometimes there are opportunities for summer teaching. These forms of assistantships require separate applications. The Graduate School has more information about graduate assistantships.

Fellowships

The Graduate School

offers a limited number of fellowships and scholarships to exceptional and superior students. For incoming students, the Huel D. Perkins Fellowship and SREB/Board of Regents Graduate Fellowships ($20,000 or $25,000/year) aim to recruit highly qualified students who contribute to the diversity of the student population based on race, ethnicity, and economic background, including McNair Scholars. These are highly competitive, offer exceptional support, and are designed to compete for the top candidates in the nation.

Students with advanced standing are eligible to apply for the Graduate School’s Dissertation Year Fellowships offer support for students in their final year of graduate study. These highly competitive awards require separate applications along with letters of support from faculty. 

In addition, students may apply for external fellowships to fund part or all of their graduate studies. As terms and conditions vary widely, we advise students seeking external funding to carefully read the details of the funding agencies and consult with the Graduate School’s awards specialist to get answers to questions about external funding. The LSU Graduate School website has more information and resources about external fellowships. Students in good standing will be eligible for assistantship or grant funding after the completion of the terms of their fellowship.