With the help of a three-year, $738,000 grant from the United States Department of Education, a few LSU mathematics graduate students are able to continue pursuing their doctoral degrees.
The Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need grant is a result of the U.S. Congress designating math as an area of national need when it comes to funding doctorates, according to a Department of Mathematics news release.
The GAANN grant has been awarded to the LSU mathematics department five consecutive times.
Mathematics professor Leonard Richardson was one of three project directors applying for the grant. Though the amount of money distributed to each student will depend on their level of financial need, he said all recipients will have their tuition fully paid and receive a stipend.
“The doctoral fellowships provide advantages for those who receive it,” Richardson said. “Those who have the grant do half as much teaching as a normal graduate student would. By having reduced teaching duties, the graduate student has more time for research and to work on their dissertations.”
Mathematics graduate student Eric Bucher is one of the GAANN grant recipients this year.
Bucher is entering his second year of receiving the GAANN grant. During his first year with the grant, he said he was able to publish two papers and set himself up to graduate a year ahead of schedule.
“I have a baby at home and a wife, so if I had a regular stipend, not only would I have to teach, but I’d also have to probably tutor along with that,” Bucher said. “The GAANN grant has allowed me to focus on my future and my family.”
Richardson said it has been three years since the last GAANN grant came to LSU, and the grants typically last two to three years. Multiple universities apply for the grant at one time, creating “thick competition,” Richardson said.
Bucher said the grant isn’t only helpful for those who receive its finances, but by having to teach less, a new position can open up for another graduate student.
“The best thing about this grant is that it all goes to the students,” Richardson said. “There is no surplus or amount that goes to the teachers or the department. … It’s all students.”
Richardson said the current grant’s amount could cover seven students, and he and the other project directors will send an email out later this year encouraging more students to apply.
Mathematics professor Leonard Richardson (left) is one of three professors who helped acquire the GAANN grant which goes to mathematics doctoral students such as Eric Bucher (right).
