utc 3 minute thesis

Samantha O'Sullivan (Physics / African American Studies)

Gullah Physics: Challenging English Language Hegemony in Science

Second prize expand_more

Sahar Mariam Mohammadzadeh (Government)

The Impact of Twitter on the Supreme Court

Third prize expand_more

Stephanie Alderete (Psychology)

Preschoolers' Ability to Think about Alternative Possibilities

Finalists expand_more

Alex Grayson (Molecular & Cellular Biology)

Comparing Fox and Human Brain Connectivity Patterns

Javin Pombra (Computer Science)

Unraveling the Black Box: Explainability for Artificial Intelligence in the Twenty-First Century

Zelin Liu (Classics / History)

Using the Past to Define Group Identity

Jerrica Li (Comparative Literature)

Diaspora: A Genre for This New Planetary Reality

Jahnavi Rao (Government)

The Spillover Potential of a Nudge

Daiana Lilo (Government / Data Science)

A Great Personality: How Different Characteristics Can Predict Supreme Court Decisions

• Nov 21, 2022

How to write a winning 3MT script

That’s how many words are in a typical PhD thesis. Years of gruelling research, sleepless nights, and history-making breakthroughs… culminated into one VERY thick book. To present something of this scale would take you approximately 9 hours. 🤯

But what do you do when you only have 3 minutes? ⏰

Well, that’s exactly what thousands of PhD students worldwide do each year in the 3 Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition. Not only do they explain their super complex research in the time it takes to make a coffee, but they do it in a way that can be understood by a non-specialist audience.

But we know what you’re thinking…

So, how do you even win a competition like that? Well first of all, you’re going to need a 3MT script. And we’re about to teach you how to write a WINNING one. 🏅

Not only that, but this blog post marks the beginning of a multi-part series that will cover all the important aspects of preparing a winning 3MT – from writing a captivating speech, to creating an effective slide, and of course, nailing your delivery.

What is the 3MT competition?

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition is an annual public speaking competition, where PhD candidates describe the impact and scope of their research in 3 minutes to a non-specialist audience. It was launched by the University of Queensland in 2008 and has since gained traction in over 85 countries around the world! 🌍

Put simply, it’s a fancy elevator pitch. Just imagine that it’s a really slow elevator.

Like any good competition, the 3MT has some rules. Here’s a run-down of some of the big ones:

Rules of the 3MT® competition:

You must use a single static PowerPoint slide with no transitions or animations.

You are limited to 3 minutes maximum. Competitors exceeding 3 minutes are disqualified.

Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs)… Sorry to all the aspiring rapper-researchers out there.

You can find a comprehensive list of the rules on the official UQ 3MT website.

Well, now that’s out of the way, let’s get into our tips on how to write a winning 3MT script! In this article, I’ll discuss some strategies that I used to craft my own winning 3MT script, but I’ve also watched lots of other award-winning 3MT presentations and identified some common features they share, so that you don’t have to. 😉

#1 : The hook 🪝

Every great 3MT presentation starts off with an attention-grabbing opener, otherwise known as ‘the hook.’ It’s a storytelling essential, and is undoubtedly one of the most important components of the 3MT script.

One clever way to hook the audience in a 3MT presentation is to start off by asking a question , which creates a sense of open dialogue with the listener. For instance, these 3MT finalists began their presentations by asking:

Full videos: Sarah Mokrzycki | Merryn Baker

You can see how the simple act of asking a question makes us reflect on our own personal views and encourages us to engage with the presentation. 💭 Another way to achieve a similar effect is to begin your talk by prompting the audience to act. An effective example of this is presented here:

Full video: Amanda Khamis

Prompting the listener to act is a powerful way to immerse the audience into a particular scenario by making use of their senses. It can be easily achieved by asking the audience to look around the room, visualise a scene using their imagination, or simply taking a deep breath. 😮‍💨

Finally, several fantastic 3MT presentations also begin with a hook that startles the reader by making an unusual, interesting, or thought-provoking statement. This can be done numerous ways, such as through the use of:

Oxymoron: A figure of speech that combines two contradicting words (i.e., ‘deafening silence’ and ‘old news’).

Paradox: A self-contradictory statement that may actually be true (i.e., ‘less is more’).

Irony: Use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning (i.e., telling a rude customer to ‘have a nice day’).

Here are some good 3MT examples where the presenter has opened with a startling hook:

Full videos: Sophie Jano | Kylie Sturgess

The success of this technique arises from its element of surprise, which keeps the listener intrigued and curious. Basically, the more shocking or unexpected the hook, the better. 😲

However, with all this being said, there’s certainly no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to begin your 3MT, and that’s the beauty of creativity. But in case you’re stuck for ideas, here are a few sentence starters to give you some inspiration for creating a compelling hook for your 3MT script:

Once you’ve got the crowd hooked, it’s a prime opportunity to reel them in for your story. 📖

#2 : Tell a story

If you watch all the award-winning 3MT presentations, you’ll notice that they have one thing in common: they all tell a story. And they do it well.

But how do we turn our own complex, and often niche, research into a compelling story? Well, thankfully, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We can stand on the shoulders of SciComm giants... 👣

No one is more of an expert at the ins and outs of storytelling than Dr Randy Olson ; scientist-turned-filmmaker, and co-author of the book Connection: Hollywood Storytelling meets Critical Thinking ( a.k.a. our SciComm holy bible). Many of the principles discussed in this section come straight from this remarkable work, which made it to our top 5 must-read science communication books . 📚

As we know from pretty much every Hollywood blockbuster, all good stories have a beginning, middle, and end. In Connection , Randy further develops this idea by outlining what he calls the ‘ABT Template’, which stands for ‘And, But, Therefore.’ These represent the three key components that make up every good story. We’ve talked about the ABT template before , and how it can be used to elevate your storytelling. But, in case you missed it, I’ll use my own research as an example as we work through this concept.

Typically, in the beginning of a story, there’s some exposition. These are facts that help set the scene and ensure that the speaker and audience are all on the same page (pun intended). 😉 These facts can be connected using the word AND. For example:

“Cancer is deadly and traditional chemotherapy is one treatment option.”

Any statements we connect with ‘and’ are typically things that everyone would agree with, so you can quality-check your ‘and’ section by making sure you agree with all the facts you are connecting.

Okay, so we’ve set the scene. But this isn’t really a story yet, is it? The actual story doesn’t begin until there’s a source of tension or conflict , and the simplest word to make this happen is the word BUT:

“Cancer is deadly and traditional chemotherapy is one treatment option, but it comes with a lot of side effects.”

You can see that the ‘but’ is what makes things interesting. It’s what keeps the audience wanting more and makes them ask “Well, what happens next?”

It doesn’t have to be the word ‘but’ either – there are a lot of words that essentially do the same thing, such as however, although, except , and unfortunately, to name a few… (The thesaurus could be your best friend here). What these words have in common is that they create this critical sense of tension.

Following this, is the outcome , which is where the THEREFORE comes in.

“Cancer is deadly and chemotherapy is one treatment option, but it comes with a lot of side effects. Therefore , in our research, we load these drugs into tiny carriers called nanoparticles, which can help to reduce their adverse effects.”

‘Therefore’ is the word that brings everything together. It marks the beginning of a journey of discovery, which eventually leads to the resolution.

You can see how, by simply including these three key words: and, but and therefore , we have generated the foundations of a good story. Your 3MT script will obviously need to be longer than two sentences, but the ABT template provides a useful scaffold that you can build from to ensure that your story is compelling. If you’re interested in reading more on the ABT template and how it can be utilised, make sure to give Connection a read. 📖

To help you shape your story using the ABT template, here are some questions you can aim to answer in the beginning, middle, and end of your 3MT script:

Hopefully this outline can help you create a captivating and persuasive story to communicate your research effectively. Because, in the wise words of Dr Randy Olson, “Tell a good story and the whole world will listen.”

So, we’ve got our story. But what other strategies can we use to make it a little more interesting? Let’s unpack our storytelling toolkit to see how we can spice things up. 🌶

#3 : Your storytelling toolkit: analogies, humour & creation of a character

In addition to using the ABT template to write a compelling narrative structure, there are also several other tools that you can use to connect with your audience and make your story as easy to understand as possible.

One powerful way to do this is to relate your research to a more common experience by using an analogy . Analogies allow us to compare similarities between two seemingly different things. For instance, when I did the 3MT, I used an analogy to compare nanoparticles – a topic that’s not very common – to cars, something that almost everyone is familiar with:

Full video: Cintya Dharmayanti

As you can see, this works because the analogy serves to provide a simpler, more easily understood explanation using concepts and examples from everyday life. 🚗

Besides analogies, another useful tool to create a captivating story is the use of humour . Because who doesn’t like a good laugh, right? 😂 Comedic relief can help you create a bond with the listener and provide some emotional reprieve for what may otherwise be a serious presentation.

Humour is used well in this winning 3MT presentation:

Full video: Trevyn Toone

In this example, humour helps to keep us engaged with the presentation and gives us a good impression of the presenter. However, some care does need to be taken with the use of humour, so as to not devalue the presentation. Don’t worry if you’re not a comedian though (or if your research topics are too grim to joke about), there are still other effective ways to make your story shine.

Some of the most immersive 3MTs are those that introduce a character , fictional or not, and follow that character’s story. This is a particularly useful tool if your research involves a topic that strikes a strong emotional response. The following example executed this well, where the speaker refers to a photo of an adorable young infant with a feeding tube:

This is so effective because it encourages us to empathise with the character and persuades us to see the importance of the presenter’s research. Whether it’s analogies, humour, or the creation of a character, there are lots of ways to make your story relatable and more easily understood.

Now that we’ve got some ideas from our storytelling toolkit, let’s move on! 🙌

#4 : Goodbye technical jargon 👋

Imagine being in a different country, where you don’t speak the native language. You’re chatting with a local, but they can’t speak your language very fluently. The conversation is interspersed with foreign words that you can’t quite understand, so the meaning of the exchange ultimately becomes lost.

That’s what it’s like trying to understand complex research when it’s filled with terminology and jargon only an expert in that field would know. 🤓

Remember that the 3MT is for a non-specialist audience, which is very different to a conference presentation that’s mostly filled with experts in the field. As scientists, it’s our job to make sure that we are speaking the same language as our audience, and for the 3MT, that means avoiding the use of language that’s too niche or technical. We can still explain complex concepts using language that’s easy to understand!

But how do you do that, when you’ve spent years in academia doing the opposite? 😅

The best way to avoid the overuse of jargon is to simply seek the help of a non-specialist. Ask someone that’s not in your field of research to listen to your presentation and provide feedback. Perhaps this is a friend, family, or fellow student from a completely different department. Does your story make sense to them? If not, it probably won’t make sense to many people in the 3MT audience.

I remember when I was preparing my 3MT script, I went through this exact process! Reading it aloud to my mum, sister, and pretty much anyone who would listen, to make sure each sentence was easy to follow and understand. It’s actually what helped me come up with the idea of the car- analogy in the first place! So, keep iterating and tweaking your presentation until it makes sense to the mailman, the bus driver, and the neighbour down the road.

Also, make sure to keep your story focused on the big picture, rather than getting bogged down in the details and data. Not only will this make your presentation hard to understand, but it’s also more likely to make it B.O.R.I.N.G. and lead to blank stares !

When you’ve ticked all these boxes – great! You’re ready to move on.

#5 : The finisher: Coming full circle

Good job! You’re almost done. Time to add the finishing touch. We can all agree that a strong finish makes for a more memorable presentation. One trend that’s very common amongst winning 3MT presentations is the way that they finish: by bringing their story full circle. As the name suggests, this essentially means that the presenter refers back to the beginning of the story, especially if a particular character, scenario, or analogy is used.

For instance, in this winning 3MT example, the presentation begins with:

Then, as the presentation comes to a close, the final segment ends by referring back to the opening sentence:

Full video: Matthew Shaw

By bringing the story full circle, the audience gains a sense of satisfaction and closure as the cycle returns to its beginnings and the status quo is restored.

Take-away messages

The thought of distilling years of research down to just 3 minutes can be daunting, especially when it’s a competition. 😰 However, if you:

Create an attention-grabbing hook

Tell a captivating story using the ABT template

Use tools such as analogies, humour, and characters

Get rid of technical jargon, and

Bring your story full circle

You’re well on your way to writing a fantastic 3MT script! So, what are you waiting for? Let’s tell your story. Time is ticking. 😉⏰

And remember – if you want to further master your storytelling and public speaking skills, we’d love to show you how in one of our online or in-person science communication workshops .

Feel free to contact us to find out more!

Cintya Dharmayanti

Dr Juan Miguel Balbin

Dr Tullio Rossi

Illustration

Alvin Yanga

Related Posts

What does it mean to be a science communicator?

5 tips for improving your public speaking skills as a researcher

How to write effective analogies for communicating research

Graduate School

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• Three-Minute Thesis

What is the 3MT?

An 80,000 word thesis would take 9 hours to present. The 3MT time limit ... 3 minutes.

• The 3-Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition that challenges students to communicate the significance of their projects without the use of props or industry jargon, in just three minutes.
• Originally established by the  University of Queensland (UQ) in 2008 , the competition challenges research students to communicate the significance of their projects in just three minutes, with the aid of a single, static slide.

3MT develops academic, presentation, and research communication skills and supports the development of research students' capacity to quickly explain their research in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience leaving them wanting to know more. 

Competitions at the University of Minnesota

Collegiate-level 3MT Competitions

• Inquire with your Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) to find out if your college hosts a 3MT competition. 
• Collegiate-level 3MT winners advance to the University-wide competition. 
• All collegiate-level participants receive a Maroon Digital Badge from the Graduate School. 

University-wide 3MT Competition

• The Graduate School hosts a University-wide competition held every November .  
• All active graduate students who have advanced from their collegiate competition are eligible. 
• Previous 3MT winners  (first prize, runner-up, and people's choice) are not eligible to compete a second time.
• The 1st place winner advances to a 3MT competition hosted every March by the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS).
• All finalists may be invited to present to the University's Board of Regents. 
• All University-wide competitors receive a Gold Digital Badge from the Graduate School. 

3MT Competition Rules

• Single static PowerPoint slide. No slide transitions, animations, or “movement” of any description are allowed. The slide is to be presented from beginning of oration.
• No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.
• No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, lab equipment) are permitted.
• Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum, and participants exceeding 3 minutes are disqualified.
• Presentations are to commence from the stage.
• Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps, or songs).
• Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts her presentation through either movement or speech.
• The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

3MT Preparation Resources

• Prepare with  the Graduate School's 3MT e-course
• 2023 - Watch competition in its entirety

Who can I talk to about 3MT?

Please contact Dr. Noro Andriamanalina, Assistant Vice Provost, Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Initiatives: [email protected]

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22 The 3 Minute Thesis

Read time: 2 minutes

This chapter will provide an overview of the 3 Minute Thesis oral presentation format.

Sections in this chapter

What is it.

• 3MT examples

The three-minute thesis (3MT) is a new format of research presentation that builds on the classic “elevator pitch”. The challenge in this type of presentation is to explain your research to an intelligent non-specialist audience in under 3 minutes with limited visual aids. Often there are specific rules for the visual aid: a single 4:3 slide, no animations or video, and no props.

For a successful 3MT talk, you need to follow completely different rules from normal scientific presentations. You can skip common things like introducing yourself, thanking all your lab mates and colleagues, or funding. You typically don’t show data unless it is presented in a very simple figure.

Because of the challenge involved with presenting years of detailed research in only three minutes, Universities hold cross-faculty 3MT competitions. The first was founded by the University of Queensland, Australia, where you can find many great resources and videos .

The tips below were adapted from “10 Hints for Improving Presentations for the Three Minute Thesis” by Danielle Fischer at Charles Darwin University ( Full PDF here ):

• Don’t introduce yourself, don’t do acknowledgements, don’t show data.
• Start by introducing how your research relates to the bigger picture. Try to think of why any person might be interested in your work.
• Only include relevant things on your slide and make sure images are good quality. Carefully design your slide, don’t overcrowd it or use too much colour.
• Use simple and familiar analogies.
• Speak with an excited and engaged manner.
• Don’t wear anything distracting.
• Use body language: smiling, gestures, movement, and eye-contact.
• Finish by bringing the audience back to the big picture.
• Practice and get feedback from a wide variety of people.
• Use your time, but don’t go over it.

These are some 3MT slides made by previous CHEM 803 students.

There are many resources online about preparing a 3MT presentation. Below are some links to helpful videos, award-winning 3MT talks, and the many resources provided by Queen’s University.

Helpful Videos

These videos were prepared by are owned by Australian National University.

3MT: three tips to help you prepare a winning presentation

3MT: the three most common mistakes

Award-winning 3MT

These are videos of some award-winning 3MT talks. The first one has the best title,  it’s simple and concise!

Wind turbines and climate change – Rosemary Barnes

Hypoxia-activated pro-drugs: a novel approach for breast cancer treatment – jasdeep saggar, the development of anti-body-drug conjugate to specifically target and soften the crystalline lens in vivo – gah-jone won.

Check out the Queen’s University 2020 Competition results, where you’ll find two award-winning 3MT talks from our Chemistry Department by Morgan Lehtinen and Alastair Kierulf. [ In the video at this link, click “Playlist” to find their talks ]

Principles of Scientific Communication Copyright © 2020 by Amanda Bongers and Donal Macartney is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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• 2022 3MT® In-Person Competition
• 2021 3MT® Virtual Competition
• 2020 3MT® Virtual Competition

3MT at the University of Kansas

Brilliant ideas conveyed in three minutes or less.

What is the 3MT® Competition?

The  Three Minute Thesis  (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. This event challenges graduate students to present a compelling speech about their research and its significance to non-academic persons in just three minutes using only one presentation image. 3MT® commenced in 2008 and is currently held in over 900 universities across more than 85 countries worldwide. In 2020, the 3MT® competition moved to a temporary virtual format due to COVID-19 and continues to be held around the world in either a virtual or live format (depending on local COVID-19 restrictions).

The goals of the competition are to (1) highlight the excellent research conducted by graduate students and (2) improve graduate students’ communication of research to non-specialist and non-academic audiences. The judges of the competition are educated professionals in a variety of positions in corporate, government, and non-profit industries. 

3MT® Timeline

March-april.

Graduate students are invited to register for the 3MT® Competition.

Graduate students registered for the 3MT® Competition will be required to participate in workshops to prepare them for the competition.

The Preliminary Heats usually take place in the first week of November to determine the graduate students that will advance to the final round of the competition one week later.

The KU winner moves on to represent KU at the regional 3MT® Competition, which takes place in late March or early April during the annual meeting of the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS). 

RELATED LINKS

• MAGS 3MT® Competition
• University of Queensland 3MT® Competition

SOCIAL MEDIA

• #3MTatKU on Twitter (X)
• #3MTatKU on Facebook
• #3MTatKU on Instagram

PREVIOUS COMPETITIONS

• 2022 KU 3MT® Competition
• 2021 KU 3MT® Competition
• 2020 KU 3MT® Competition

3MT® Competition @ KU

/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="utc 3 minute thesis"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Three minute thesis.

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a competition for doctoral students to develop and showcase their research communication skills.

3MT Competition

Could you present your 80,000 word thesis or dissertation in three minutes? Do you want the excitement of competing with other graduate students for a total of $2,500 in prizes and the opportunity to participate in the Northeastern (U.S. and Canadian) round or even to showcase your research at the annual Council of Graduate Schools meeting?

 3MT is an annual competition sponsored by the Cornell Graduate School. 3MT challenges research-degree students to present a compelling story on their dissertation or thesis and its significance in just three minutes, in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience. All enrolled doctoral students at the research stage (with at least some results to share) are eligible. In 2024, the Graduate School 3MT is also open to research master’s students. The next competition will take place in Spring 2025.

Learn more about the 2024 Graduate School 3MT competition.

Email [email protected] with any questions.

All newly created videos on this website are accessible. Closed captions are available for the video on this page, and selecting the option to watch in YouTube will provide a transcript for the video. For an accommodation for this archival video, please contact [email protected] .

The first 3MT was held at The University of Queensland (UQ) in 2008 with 160 graduate students competing. Enthusiasm for the 3MT concept grew, and its adoption by numerous universities led to the development of an international competition in 2010. Today students from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Asia-Pacific region take part in their own regional and national events.

Cornell Graduate School hosted its ninth 3MT competition final round event on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Video submissions for the preliminary round was due on March 1, 2024, and was reviewed by a panel of volunteer judges using a common scoring rubric to select the finalists.

At the final round event, held in person on the Ithaca campus, a panel of judges scored presentations and selected the top two finalists. Additionally, audience members were able to vote for their favorite presenter for the People’s Choice Award.

3MT Resources

• Watch videos of finalists from Cornell’s 3MT contests .
• Learn more about the 2024 3MT winners and finalists .
• Learn more about the 2023 3MT winners and finalists .
• Learn more about the 2022 3MT winner and finalists .
• Learn more about the 2021 3MT winner and finalists .
• Learn more about the 2019 3MT winner and finalists .
• Learn more about the 2018 3MT winner and finalists .
• Learn more about the 2017 3MT winner and finalists .
• Watch a video of the inaugural 2019 Ivy 3MT event . Read more about the 2019 Ivy 3MT event .
• Watch videos of winning presentations from around the world .
• Read more about the Three Minute Thesis in Science Magazine .
• Presentations are limited to three minutes maximum and competitors exceeding three minutes are disqualified.
• Presentations are to be spoken word (i.e. no poems, raps, or songs).
• Presentations are considered to have commenced when presenters start their presentation through movement or speech.
• Presentations are to commence from the stage.
• A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted (no slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of any kind) and is to be presented from the beginning of the oration.
• No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.
• No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
• Zoom backgrounds are considered props. Please ensure your background is a blank screen or wall. 
• The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

Judging Criteria

Each of the judging criteria has equal weight. Note what each criterion has in common: An emphasis on audience.

Comprehension and Content

• Did the presentation provide a clear background and significance to the research question?
• Did the presentation clearly describe the research strategy/design and the results/findings of the research?
• Did the presentation clearly describe the conclusions, outcomes, and impact of the research?

Engagement and Communication

• Was the oration delivered clearly, and in language appropriate for a non-specialist audience?
• Was the PowerPoint slide clear and did it enhance the presentation?
• Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their research, and capture and maintain the audience’s attention?

For more information about the Cornell competition, email  [email protected] .

The Graduate School

University information technology (uit), main navigation, three minute thesis.

Held in 85 countries  worldwide

Your thesis described in 3 minutes

900 universities participate

2023 3MT registration is CLOSED

What is 3mt.

The 3MT (Three Minute Thesis) program is designed to help students develop the communication skills necessary to make a compelling oral presentation on the value and impact of their research to a non-specialist audience.

As a research communication competition, the goal of 3MT is for students to articulate the significance of their research without using:

• Field-specific terminology
• Other language unfamiliar to those outside their fields of study

3MT training helps students hone their ability to quickly and effectively articulate the value of their research.  This skill-set is critical in many academic settings, whether communicating with collaborators, funding agencies, or trainees. Just as important, the communication skills learned in 3MT training are transferable and valued in many non-academic careers paths.

The Graduate School and the Career and Professional Development Center collaborate to offer training and sponsor a University of Utah 3MT competition.  In addition to prizes at our local event, the winner goes on to represent the U at the Western Association of Graduate Schools competition !

In 2008 the University of Queensland in Australia held the first official 3MT competition with 160 competitors in that first year .  More recently , the 3MT program has spread to over 85 participating countries worldwide.  The University of Utah began holding a 3MT competition in 2013 . 

Participants from across campus competed against each other to determine who could give the most compelling summary of their dissertation or thesis in three minutes or less.  Enjoy these videos as a taste of the excellent graduate work being done at the University of Utah.

2023 Grad School 3MT Showcase

University of Utah 3MT Videos

2022 Regional 3MT Competition Video

Testimonials

" Although I did not win the competition, being selected as one of the finalists was a great experience. I’m glad I got to participate in it." - 2023 Showcase Finalist

"Francine was such a great facilitator and our group was very helpful at making each speech as effective as possible." - 2023 Showcase Finalist

"I liked the opportunity to practice public speaking, i.e. speaking in front of an audience. I also enjoyed meeting peers, getting feedback from them and thinking on how to explain my research in an easy, non too specific way." - 2023 Showcase Finalist

Three Minute Thesis

We have complied a list of resources to help you hone in your 3MT skills, from pitch to presentation to presence.

• Review the 3MT resources.

Mindula Kaumadi Wijayahena won first place at UB's Eighth Annual Three Minute Thesis Competition on Friday, March 1, 2024.

• Learn more about the 2024 competition winners and participants.

Graduate students of all disciplines are encouraged to enroll in the Three Minute Thesis micro-credential Communicating Research to Broad Audiences.

• Learn more and enroll in the 3MT micro-credential.

UB's Eighth Annual Three Minute Thesis Competition took place on Friday, March 1, 2024.

Learn more about past 3MT competition finalists.

The University at Buffalo 3MT competition is co-hosted by the Graduate School and t he Startup and Innovation Collaboratory (CoLab) powered by Blackstone LaunchPad .

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Students Showcase Research at 3MT Competition

KENNESAW, Ga. | Apr 12, 2024

By Tracy Gaudlip

On Thursday, April 4, 2024, the Graduate College held its 9th annual 3-Minute Thesis competition (3MT), tasking master’s and doctoral students with presenting their research to a non-specialist audience within a strict three-minute timeframe.

William Reed, a master’s in exercise science student, clinched the top spot with his presentation titled “Kinetic and Kinematic Effects of Unilateral Flag Carrying on Referee Sprinting and Agility Performance.” Yongshuai Wu, currently pursuing a master’s in information technology, secured both the Runner-Up position and the People’s Choice award for his presentation titled “Autonomous Robots for Inventory Tasks in Unstructured Environments via Zero-Shot Imitation Learning.”

Reed’s presentation centered on the differences between normal sprinting motions and that of “flag-carrying” soccer referees. From his own experience he explained, “We referees have a distinct lack of research around us in comparison to the players we officiate, so finding a way to add to that limited research base was the goal. Referees receive very little assistance when it comes to specialized training, so working to analyze the intricacies of our own performance expectations led us to this premise of running with only one moving arm, as the flag must be carried in the other.” He added that while there is some research on the effects of restricting both arms in track athletes, none have looked at the effects of running with only one arm moving.

In addition to the 1080Sprint machine, he used tests standardized by soccer governing bodies to determine what kind of change flag-carrying has on running. He tracked kinetic data for each test and compared the tests within individuals. 

Now that the competition is over, Reed said he “feels a sense of calm” and is looking forward to the next challenge. 

Wu’s research delves into robotic reasoning, which involves training robots to mimic human behavior. To evaluate their methods, he explained that they chose robot radio-frequency identification (RFID) because it’s a challenging task for robots. This technology uses radio waves to identify and track tags attached to objects and is used in applications such as inventory management.

“The concept of RFID inventory is that each product will have an RFID tag, which can be scanned by a reader within a short distance. This is why we need to train the robot to approach those places where the products are located.”

Wu explained that grasping robotic reasoning can be daunting for those unfamiliar with robotics. “Summarizing this into a 3-minute presentation is tough,” he said. He opted to focus on key milestones rather than narrate the entire journey, and it turned out to be effective.

Reed was awarded $1,000 for his first-place presentation, while Wu earned $750 for second place and an additional $350 for winning the people’s choice award.

Dr. Amy Buddie, the Director of Undergraduate Research, along with Dr. Karin Scarpinato, the Vice President of Research, and Dr. Jessica Rudd, an alumna of KSU’s Ph.D. program, and a past 3MT champion who currently serves as Senior Data Engineer and Technical Lead at Intuit Mailchimp, were the judges for the competition.  

2024 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Participants

• Kimberly Green, Ed.D. in Teacher Leadership , Faculty advisor: Dr. Nicholas Clegorne, Perceptions of the Differing Prepatory Needs of Teacher Leaders and Educational Leaders

• Lacey Harper, Master of Science in Exercise Science , Faculty advisor: Dr. Garrett Hester, The Power of the Mind to Enhance Strength Training Adaptations in Older Women

• Anthoanette Kommeh, Ph.D. in International Conflict Management , Faculty advisor: Dr. Christopher Pallas, The Impact of NGO Sensitivity to Local Gender Dynamics on Project Outcomes and Social Relations in Northern Ghana

• Srivastsa Mallapragada, Ph.D. Analytics and Data Science , Faculty advisor: Dr. Ying Xie, Multi-Modality Transformer for E-Commerce: Inferring User Purchase Intention to Bridge the Query-Product Gap

• William Reed, Master of Science in Exercise Science , Faculty advisor: Dr. Jacob Grazer, Kinetic and Kinematic Effects of Unilateral Flag Carrying on Referee Sprinting and Agility Performance

• Kimberly Wang, Master of Science in Information Technology , Faculty advisor: Dr. Chloe Yixin Xie, How Tiny Interactions in GPR56 Control Your Health?

• Yongshuai Wu, Master of Science in Information Technology , Faculty advisor: Dr. Shaoen Wu, Autonomous Robots for Inventory Tasks in Unstructured Environments via Zero-Shot Imitation Learning

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3 Minute Thesis Competition Returns to USU

Graduate students at the uniformed services university (usu) competed in a 3 minute thesis competition on april 3., april 8, 2024 by ian neligh.

Graduate students at the Uniformed Services University (USU) once again battled the clock as they presented their big ideas during the 3 Minute Thesis Competition on April 3. 

“This event helps students with learning how to convey knowledge to the public, practice with public speaking, and working on explaining their work,” says Summer Paulson, Graduate Student Council President and a member of this year’s 3 Minute Thesis competition planning committee. “Any thesis project from a graduate student can be presented, regardless of which of the USU Ph.D. graduate programs they hail from.”

Prizes were awarded to Air Force 2nd Lt. Cecelia Mangione for both first place and People’s Choice, to Marana Rekedal for second place and Mydirah Littlepage-Saunders for third place.

Starting at USU in 2018, the 3 Minute Thesis originally began at the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2008. The competition is now held at universities around the world.

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Three Minute Thesis

Unc-chapel hill’s 2023 3mt competition.

3MT was developed by The University of Queensland in 2008, and is now held in more than 900 universities in 85 countries around the world.

Master’s degree and doctoral students enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill from any discipline administered by The Graduate School are welcome to register and participate in the competition.

• 2023 Three Minute Thesis Winners
• 2022 Three Minute Thesis Winners
• 2021 Three Minute Thesis Winners
• 2020 Three Minute Thesis Winners
• 2019 Three Minute Thesis Winners

Preliminary rounds information

• Friday, October 13, 2023 Last day to register to participate in the preliminary rounds
• Monday, October 16, 2023 Preliminary Round 1, 3:00-5:00 p.m., Graduate Student Center, 211A West Cameron Ave.
• Tuesday, October 17, 2023 Preliminary Round 2, 3:00-5:00 p.m., Graduate Student Center, 211A West Cameron Ave.

Final 3MT competition

• Wednesday, October 25, 2023 , 4:00-5:00 p.m., held during University Research Week.
• First Place: $1000 and the opportunity to represent UNC Chapel Hill at the 3MT competition in Greenville, SC, March 13-15, 2024 as part of the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools annual conference.
• Second Place: $600
• People’s Choice Award: $400

**Note, the presentations for the 2023 Preliminary Rounds and Final Competition will be live and in person. Video recordings or Zoom presentations will not be accepted**

Relevant workshops

Communicating your research to the public (in person) september 7 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm.

You know your research really, really well–but do you know it well enough to explain it in a clear and compelling manner to the broader public? Whether you’re giving a presentation to a lay audience, delivering a job talk, interviewing for an exciting role, or teaching undergraduates, the ability to present your specialized knowledge to a nonspecialist audience is crucial. In this interactive workshop session, we will explore and practice strategies to help you highlight the broader impacts of your research, so you can confidently share a message that matters. This session is held only in-person. Lunch will be provided for attendees.

Professional communication skills boot camp (in person) October 2 @ 8:30 am – 4:30 pm

The Professional Communication Skills Boot Camp is intended to increase students’ confidence communicating to broader audiences and practice developing persuasive skills that will create effective messaging and relay the importance of one’s research. The Boot Camp takes a development approach and is based on practice and feedback. The expected outcomes include a polished elevator pitch for non-expert audiences, increased confidence in impromptu speaking as a novice scholar, and skills with responding to questions about your research. We anticipate participants to be from a broad range of disciplines.**Seats are limited. Please be sure to register only if you are able to attend the full day. Morning coffee and lunch provided. This is an in-person workshop only.** Facilitator: Bri McWhorter of Activate to Captivate.

Three Minute Thesis (3MT) information session (virtual) October 4 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

This session will highlight the requirements necessary to create an effective presentation for the Three Minute Thesis competition. The session will also involve review of sample 3MT presentations using the official judging rubric as well as allow participants an opportunity to conceptualize their own successful and effective 3MT presentation. The competition is open to master’s and doctoral students.

Judging Criteria

At every level of the competition, each competitor will be assessed on the judging criteria listed below. Each criterion is equally weighted on a 7 point scale (14 points total).

Comprehension and Content (7 points)

• Presentation provided clear background and significance to the research question
• Presentation clearly described the research strategy/design and the results/findings of the research
• Presentation clearly described the conclusions, outcomes and impact of the research

Engagement and Communication (7 points)

• The oration was delivered clearly, and the language was appropriate for a non-specialist audience
• The PowerPoint slide was well-defined and enhanced the presentation
• The presenter conveyed enthusiasm for their research and captured and maintained the audience’s attention

Rules and Eligibility

The Graduate College » Current Students » News » Pitch Your Study, Make Some Money: Apply to 3 Minute Thesis

Pitch Your Study, Make Some Money: Apply to Three Minute Thesis Today!

Written by Erin Michel, Graduate Assistant for the Graduate College

Attention all master’s and doctoral students who enjoy talking about their academic endeavors, gaining professional skills, and winning money—there's still time to sign up for the Graduate College’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition! 3MT challenges students to summarize their research, creative, or scholarship project for a non-specialist audience in only three minutes, using only a single PowerPoint slide to guide their presentation. The competition is back at UC in-person for the first time since 2020 after a pandemic-related hiatus (it was held virtually in 2021 and not at all in 2022). All of us here at the Graduate College simply cannot wait for some bite-sized snapshots of groundbreaking scholarship! There’s nothing quite like being gathered all together in a room, listening to passionate students describe their work in a way that any one of us can understand and get excited about. 3MT gives us a chance to learn what our peers are doing, whether it’s discovering, innovating, or creating. Whether you want to present or simply sit back, listen, and learn, this is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed.  

Presenters, get your application together quickly, though—this year, applications are due by February 6 at the latest. Preliminary competitions will be scheduled throughout February 1-8, and those who advance through the initial stages will take part in the final competition on February 22 from 2:30-3:30PM in Probasco Auditorium 210. Check out this page for more information about qualifying, preliminary competition locations and times, presentation guidelines, and to apply. The benefits are larger than ever: the first-place winner will receive a $1,000 prize, second-place $750, and third-place $500! And new this year, the Graduate College is excited to introduce a people’s choice award which will be selected by popular vote of all attendees for an impressive $1,000 prize. Since competitors can win both a judicial award and the people’s choice selection, one person could theoretically net up to $2,000, a pretty hefty sum for three minutes! Additionally, the first-place winner will earn an all-expenses paid trip to Chicago to represent UC in the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools' regional 3MT competition on March 31.  

Monetary prizes and the chance to advance to further competitions are certainly not the only reasons to consider applying to 3MT, however. According to the University of Queensland, original developers of the competition, “Participating in 3MT develops academic, presentation and research communication skills, while developing research candidates’ ability to effectively explain their research in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.” Even if students do not choose to participate, they are still encouraged to attend and learn from their peers’ research. In fact, according to Dr. Li-Wen Lin, Program Manager for Graduate Student Professional Development and overseer of this year’s 3MT, the people’s choice award was instituted for this very reason—to better engage the audience and solicit peer feedback to provide a different perspective from that of the judges. As for how competitors can best prepare to impress this audience as well as the judicial committee? “The best advice is practice, practice, and practice,” she says simply, and recommends that competitors consult the official 3MT competitor guide for further guidance on drafting the presentation, creating their slide, and delivery.  

A previous competitor presents his work at the 2020 3MT competition.

• Apply online at this link, ASAP (by February 6 at the latest, but earlier is better to ensure there is adequate space in preliminary rounds!
• Send your slide to [email protected]  no later than 2 days before you compete in order to be eligible. Slide must be static (i.e., text only, no moving or interactive features)
• Attend an optional specialized training to further prepare for 3MT. Information on training will be sent to your email after registration. 
• Email the Graduate College 3MT organizers with any questions at [email protected].

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Home  >>  The Graduate School  >>  three minute thesis

Three-Minute Thesis (3MT ®)

The university of texas at tyler.

Could you present your 80,000-word thesis or dissertation in three minutes? Do you want the excitement of competing with other graduate students for cash prizes?

The Graduate School will host UT Tyler's Three Minute Thesis (3MT ®) competition challenging graduate students to present compelling spoken presentations on their research in just 180 seconds, using language that people outside the discipline can understand.

• A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted (no slide transitions, animations, or ‘movement’ of any kind; the slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration).
• No additional electronic media (e.g., sound and video files) are permitted.
• No other props (e.g., costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are allowed.
• Presentations are limited to three minutes maximum, and competitors exceeding three minutes are disqualified.
• Presentations must be spoken word (i.e., no poems, raps, or songs).
• Presentations are considered to have commenced when presenters start their presentation through movement or speech.
• The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

Please Review The Competitors Guide : https://threeminutethesis.uq.edu.au/resources/3mt-competitor-guide  

• 1st Place - $1,000
• 2nd Place - $500
• 3rd Place - $250

Deadline:  All submissions must be uploaded by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.

Presentation:  The in-person presentations will take place on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM in the Rodney A. Mabry Theater (UC 2114). Results of the competition will be announced by Friday, April 12, 2024.

Eligibility

Currently enrolled master's and doctoral students in all disciplines at the University of Texas at Tyler will be eligible to participate in 3MT®. Work presented must have been conducted at the University of Texas at Tyler. Students should be in the final stages of graduate school, so they have some sound conclusions and impacts from their research. Students who have already graduated are not eligible.

Please register for the competition and submit your PowerPoint slide here:  https://uttyler.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9yN9sfF3H5dWaay

Congratulations to the first, second, and third place winners of the 2023 3MT Competition:

First Place Winner

Participant Name: Sarah Glaesemann Area of Study: Chemistry Topic: Synthetic Studies of Dragonamide E and its Potential Treatment of Leishmaniasis    

Second Place Winner 

Participant Name: Danish Ansari Area of Study: Biotechnology Topic: Bacteriophage therapy for the treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections in humanized mice

Third Place Winners (Ties) 

Participant Name: Giovanni Josue Cerrato Area of Study: Mechanical Engineering Topic: Residential Indoor Air Quality Study- – Assessment and Mitigation Description

Participant Name: Ratri Mukherjee Area of Study: Electrical Engineering Topic: A Machine-Learning Approach For The Early Detection Of Adverse Outcomes In Preterm Infants Using Inter Hypoxemia Intervals

3MT competition winners will receive their awards at the Celebration of Research and Scholarship event on April 16, 2024. 

If you have any questions, please e-mail [email protected].

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia.

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Monday, April 08, 2024

Three-Minute Thesis Grand Finale winners announced

The Office of Graduate Education and Life announced the winners of the annual Three-Minute Thesis Competition , which was held on April 3 during WVU Graduate Student Appreciation Week and Research Week.

For the first time in WVU 3MT competition history, two doctoral students tied for first place. Denis Ruto, from the Statler College, and Paige Zalman, PhD candidate from the College of Applied Human Services, received the same scores to win. Zalman also won the People’s Choice Award. 

Even though Ruto acknowledged that it was a great challenge to narrow down his dissertation and research to under three minutes, he impressed the judges on his presentation titled “Sustainable Nutrient Management Opportunities for Small Communities with Wastewater Lagoons.” 

Meanwhile, Zalman scored points with both the judges and audience members with her presentation on “Exploring Music Major Mental Health Using Photovoice and Narrative Inquiry.” She emphasized the importance of qualitative methodologies that can help people better understand the nature of problems people are researching today.

Second place was awarded to Kayla Steinberger, an immunology specialist in the School of Medicine, for her presentation on “Hypoxia Regulates Vessel-Modifying Macrophages and Vice Versa in Tumors.” She emphasized that, as a future scientist, it’s important to know how to best communicate her science to the public, so she takes every opportunity to get in front of people and “make stuff that's really hard, sound really easy.” 

Vaishakhi Suresh, an industrial and management systems engineering student in the Statler College, received third place for her research presentation on “Exploring the Challenges of Handling Mass Fatalities during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” When asked why she entered the competition, Vaishakhi said, “It's a great opportunity to talk about her research to the rest of the WVU community.” She was also excited to meet other students in different fields and learn more about their research.

This year’s judges included Ming Lei, senior associate vice president in the Office of Research and Graduate Education and vice dean of research in the School of Medicine; Rachel Morris, biology doctoral student in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences; Mikylah Myers, associate dean of artistic and scholarly achievement in the College of Creative Arts; Patricia Slagel, assistant director of advising and student operations of graduate programs in the John Chambers College of Business and Economics; and Daniel Totzkay, assistant professor of communication studies in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. 

The internationally renowned 3MT competition, originally founded by the University of Queensland in Australia, challenges doctoral students to present their research topic and its significance in three minutes using a single PowerPoint slide. Competitors develop academic, presentation and research communication skills while gaining experience pitching their research succinctly to a non-specialist audience. 

Grand Finale prizes include: 

• First Place Prize: $1,000 

• Second Place Prize: $750 

• Third Place Prize: $500 

• People’s Choice Prize: $250 

Read more about all ten grand finale finalists and learn more about the WVU 3MT Competition.

For more information, contact Betty Mei at  [email protected]. 

Hannah Ericson Finishes First Place in UGA Three-Minute Thesis Competition

Hannah Ericson, PhD candidate in Genetics, finished first place in the annual UGA Three-Minute Thesis Competition! The exercise develops academic, presentation, and research communication skills and supports the development of students’ capacities to effectively explain their research in language appropriate to an intelligent but non-specialist audience.

Master’s and doctoral students have three minutes to present a compelling oration on their thesis or dissertation topic and its significance. 3MT ® is not an exercise in trivializing or ‘dumbing-down’ research but forces students to consolidate their ideas and crystalize their research discoveries.

Currently enrolled master’s and doctoral students at the University of Georgia will be eligible to participate in 3MT ® . Graduates are not eligible. Students must present on the research that will culminate in either their master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation. Previous winners of the 3MT ® competition are not eligible to participate. Hannah's first place award is $1000.

Hannah Ericson

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Ericson takes Grand Prize at 13th Three-Minute Thesis competition

Hannah Ericson, a doctoral candidate in Genetics, is the Grand Prize Winner at this year’s University of Georgia Three Minute Thesis (3MT ® ) Competition for her presentation titled “Catalyzing Change: What Helps Department Heads Be Successful?”

A Ph.D. candidate studying biology education in the Genetics department in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Hannah works with Dr. Tessa Andrews studying teaching evaluations at UGA :

To promote the use of evidence-based teaching practices, teaching evaluation needs to support, recognize, and incentivize their use. Teaching evaluation is inadequate in this regard at many institutions, relying solely on student surveys instead of multiple sources of evidence. Hannah’s research focuses on the changes to teaching evaluation that are occurring at UGA, as well as factors influencing these shifts in different STEM departments. Hannah is passionate about the use of evidence-based teaching practices, to provide the best possible experience for STEM students.  Originally from Illinois, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Iowa. While there, her research centered around using fruit flies as a model to study epilepsy. She also helped in the description of a new species of parasitic wasp.

Congratulations to Ericson and all the participants for their successful [and succinct!] presentations! Very well done these outstanding graduate students.

Image: (l to r) Viviana Bravo, People’s Choice Winner; Jordan Parker, Runner-Up Winner;  Hannah Ericson, Grand Prize Winner

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2023 Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition at UTM Registration

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting a preliminary heat to the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition at UTM, on Wednesday, December 6th, 2023, in IB150, beginning at 3:00 pm.

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition is open to graduate students enrolled in Canadian universities. Participants have three minutes or less to present their research to a panel of non-specialist judges, and competitions are held at local, provincial, and national levels. The challenge is to present complex research information in an engaging, accessible, and compelling way.

This competition is a unique opportunity for graduate students to showcase their innovative and significant research to a wider audience, across disciplines within the University, and to the broader public. This year’s competition at the University of Toronto will be open to all master’s students and students from both research-stream and professional programs at the masters and Ph.D. level.

Please see below the website provided by the University of Toronto’s School of Graduate Studies for competition rules, eligibility, and more information:

https://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/resources-supports/gpd/three-minute-thesis-3mt-at-u-of-t/

Please see the links below to register:

Deadline to register is Wednesday, November 22nd, by 5:00 pm

Register to Speak

Register to Attend

Three-Minute Thesis Grand Finale winners announced

Doctoral researcher Denis Ruto was awarded first place for his 3-minute thesis presentation on “Sustainable Nutrient Management Opportunities for Small Communities with Wastewater Lagoons.”

The Office of Graduate Education and Life announced the winners of the annual  Three-Minute Thesis Competition , which was held on April 3 during WVU Graduate Student Appreciation Week and Research Week.

Story by WVU Today Photos by WVU Today

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

For the first time in WVU 3MT competition history, two doctoral students tied for first place. Denis Ruto, from the Statler College , and Paige Zalman, PhD candidate from the College of Applied Human Services, received the same scores to win. Zalman also won the People’s Choice Award. 

Even though Ruto acknowledged that it was a great challenge to narrow down his dissertation and research to under three minutes, he impressed the judges on his presentation titled “Sustainable Nutrient Management Opportunities for Small Communities with Wastewater Lagoons.” 

Meanwhile, Zalman scored points with both the judges and audience members with her presentation on “Exploring Music Major Mental Health Using Photovoice and Narrative Inquiry.” She emphasized the importance of qualitative methodologies that can help people better understand the nature of problems people are researching today.

Second place was awarded to Kayla Steinberger, an immunology specialist in the School of Medicine, for her presentation on “Hypoxia Regulates Vessel-Modifying Macrophages and Vice Versa in Tumors.” She emphasized that, as a future scientist, it’s important to know how to best communicate her science to the public, so she takes every opportunity to get in front of people and “make stuff that's really hard, sound really easy.” 

Vaishakhi Suresh, an industrial and management systems engineering student in the Statler College, received third place for her research presentation on “Exploring the Challenges of Handling Mass Fatalities during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” When asked why she entered the competition, Vaishakhi said, “It's a great opportunity to talk about her research to the rest of the WVU community.” She was also excited to meet other students in different fields and learn more about their research.

This year’s judges included Ming Lei, senior associate vice president in the Office of Research and Graduate Education and vice dean of research in the School of Medicine; Rachel Morris, biology doctoral student in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences; Mikylah Myers, associate dean of artistic and scholarly achievement in the College of Creative Arts; Patricia Slagel, assistant director of advising and student operations of graduate programs in the John Chambers College of Business and Economics; and Daniel Totzkay, assistant professor of communication studies in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. 

The internationally renowned 3MT competition, originally founded by the University of Queensland in Australia, challenges doctoral students to present their research topic and its significance in three minutes using a single PowerPoint slide. Competitors develop academic, presentation and research communication skills while gaining experience pitching their research succinctly to a non-specialist audience. 

Grand Finale prizes include: 

• First Place Prize: $1,000 

• Second Place Prize: $750 

• Third Place Prize: $500 

• People’s Choice Prize: $250 

Read more about all ten grand finale finalists and learn more about the WVU 3MT Competition.

Contact: Paige Nesbit Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources 304.293.4135, Paige Nesbit

For more information on news and events in the West Virginia University Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, contact our Marketing and Communications office:

Email: [email protected] Phone: 304-293-4135

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J. Paige Nesbit, Director Phone:   304.293.4135 |  Email:   [email protected]

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