best 3 minute thesis

• 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

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Preparing your 3MT presentation

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• Eligibility, Rules and Judging Criteria
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NOTE: Familiarise yourself with the 3MT rules and judging criteria  before starting your preparation. This guidance is taken from the University of Queensland's  official 3MT competitor resources .

Even the world’s best public speakers prepare before important presentations. To assist you with your preparations, please find a few suggestions below that will help you in writing your presentation, creating your slide and practising your verbal presentation.

Drafting your 3MT

Write for your audience The judges will look for evidence that you can explain your research to a non-specialist audience. You may like to:

• avoid jargon and academic language
• explain concepts and people important to your research - you may know all about Professor Smith’s theories but your audience may not
• highlight the outcomes of your research, and the desired outcome
• imagine that you are explaining your research to a close friend or fellow student from another field
• convey your excitement and enthusiasm for your subject

Tell a story

• You may like to present your 3MT as a narrative, with a beginning, middle and end.
• It’s not easy to condense your research into three minutes, so you may find it easier to break your presentation down into smaller sections.
• Try writing an opener to catch the attention of the audience, then highlight your different points, and finally have a summary to restate the importance of your work.

Have a clear outcome in mind

• Know what you want your audience to take away from your presentation.
• Try to leave the audience with an understanding of what you’re doing, why it is important, and what you hope to achieve.
• Proof your 3MT presentation by reading it aloud, firstly to yourself and then to an audience of friends and family.
• Ask for feedback.
• Ask your audience if your presentation clearly highlights what your research is  about and why it is important.

Creating your 3MT slide

Before you start work on your slide, you should take the following rules into account:

• one single static PowerPoint slide is permitted;
• no slide transitions, animations or 'movement' of any description are permitted;
• your slide is to be presented from the beginning of your oration; and
• no additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.

Suggestions

You may like to consider some of the following suggestions:

• Less is more : text and complicated graphics can distract your audience – you don’t want them to read your slide instead of listening to your 3MT. 
• Personal touches : personal touches can allow your audience to understand the impact of your research.
• Creativity drives interest : do not rely on your slide to convey your message – it should simply complement your oration.
• Work your message : think about how your slide might be able to assist with the format and delivery of your presentation – is there a metaphor that helps explain your research?
• An engaging visual presentation can make or break any oration, so make sure your slide is  legible, clear and concise .

Practising your 3MT presentation

Practice, practice, practice Feeling nervous before you present is natural, and sometimes a little nervousness can even be beneficial to your overall speech. Nonetheless, it is important to practice so you can present with confidence and clarity. Practicing will also help you gauge the timing of your 3MT so that you keep within the time limit.

Vocal range

• Speak clearly and use variety in your voice (fast/slow, loud/soft).
• Do not rush - find your rhythm.
• Remember to pause at key points as it gives the audience time to think about what you are saying.

Body language

• Stand straight and confidently.
• Hold your head up and make eye contact.
• Never turn your back to the audience.
• Practise how you will use your hands and move around the stage. It is okay to move around energetically if that is your personality, however it is also appropriate for a 3MT presentation to be delivered from a single spot on stage.
• Do not make the common mistakes of rolling back and forth on your heels, pacing for no reason or playing with your hair as these habits are distracting for the audience.

Record yourself

• Record and listen to your presentation to hear where you pause, speak too quickly or get it just right.
• Then work on your weaknesses and exploit your strengths.

Look to the stars!

• Watch your role models such as academics, politicians and journalists, and break down their strengths and weaknesses.
• Analyse how they engage with their audience.
• Visit  the Queensland 3MT website , the Vitae 3MT webpages or search YouTube to view presentations from previous 3MT finalists.
• While there is no dress code, if you are unsure of how to dress you may like to dress for a job interview or an important meeting. It is important that you feel comfortable so you can focus on your presentation.
• If you are presenting on a stage that has a wooden floor, be aware of the noise your footwear might make.
• Do not wear a costume of any kind as this is against the rules (as is the use of props).

Further resources

There are many resources available online for further help. Useful ones might include:

Presenting your research effectively and with confidence - By previous 3MT finalists (Taylor & Francis resource)

How a competition changed my academic life - By Jamie Khoo, 2018 UK People's Choice winner

Is it worth doing the three minute thesis?  - By Mary Woessner, Victoria University

How to win the 3 minute thesis  - By Dr Inger Mewburn (aka @thesiswhisperer)

Making the most of your 3 minutes  - Simon Clews, University of Melbourne

Talk nerdy to me  - Melissa Marshall's TED talk

Vitae's 3MT webpages

These guidance pages are part of the University of Queensland's official 3MT competitor resources

E : [email protected]

Copyright © 2024, University of Sussex

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia.  While the original competition was for graduate students, a number of colleges are now sponsoring undergraduate competitions. The Writing Center sponsored Harvard's first undergraduate Three-Minute Thesis competition in April 2019. 3MT offers seniors the opportunity to create an accessible and interesting presentation of their senior thesis research for an audience of non-specialists. All finalists were offered the opportunity to work with a writing tutor and a public speaking tutor to craft their final presentations.

If you are a senior interested in entering this year's 3MT, you can find information on this page.  

First Prize

Meera Nair (MCB): ""M2 Macrophages: The Bodyguards of Metastasis."  (video unavailable)

Second Prize

Harrison Ngue (Biomedical Engineering): ""Beating Cancer Twice: Understanding How "Sleeping" Cancer Cells Become Resistant to Chemotherapy

Third Prize

Nour Khachemoune, "Animals, Diet, and Societal Collapse at the Maya Site of Copán, Honduras"

Alison Chen (Philosophy/History) "Where Mind Meets Body: Descartes on Knowledge in Everyday Life"

Yousuf Amiel Bakshi (Government): "Block to the Future: Understanding Why Certain Countries Use Blockchain for e-Government"

Henry Cerbone (Ontology of Autonomous Systems): "Running on Water: A Multi-Disciplinary Look at Basilisk Lizards"

Nikhil Dharmaraj (History and Literature/Comp Sci): "System Update: Historicizing Facial Recognition Technology in Hindutva India"

Laura Murphy (English): "The 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Fiction, Journalism, and Personal Journals of the Plague"

Jeromel Dela Rosa Lara (Social Anthropology/Comparative Religion): "Smugglers of Faith": The Enduring Presence of Filipina Migrant Domestic Workers in the Middle East"

Isha Puri (Applied Mathematics): "Shifting Paradigms of AI Explainability and Reasoning"

Sam Saba (NELC/Government): "Digitalization & Divide: Global Divides in the Digital Age"

Aristotle Vainikos (Government): "Thinking Outside the Disciplinary Box: The Role of Designers in Military Technology Innovation"

Michael Wallace (History): "How the National Park Service Created Environmentalism"

Zoe Weiss (Molecular and Cellular Biology): "RNA in a Haystack"

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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

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PREVIOUS COMPETITIONS

• 2022 KU 3MT® Competition
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3MT® Competition @ KU

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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
• 2021  
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• 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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About 3 Minute Thesis

Information about the competition and details of who to contact.

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

About the competition

The 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition requires doctoral researchers to compete to deliver the best research presentation in just 3 minutes (and one slide). It is based on a concept developed by the University of Queensland which quickly spread across Australia and New Zealand, and has gone global.

The University of Edinburgh has run a 3MT competition every year since 2013.

• A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted. No slide transitions, animations or 'movement' of any description are allowed. 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 additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
• Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum and competitors exceeding 3 minutes are disqualified.
• Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
• Presentations are to commence from the stage.
• Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through either movement or speech.
• The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

Eligibility

Active PhD and Professional Doctorate (Research) candidates who have successfully passed their confirmation milestone (including candidates whose thesis is under submission) by the date of their first presentation are eligible to participate in 3MT competitions at all levels. Graduates are not eligible.

Judging Criteria

Comprehension and content

• Presentation provided clear motivation, 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

• 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

More information about 3 Minute Thesis

Find detailed information about the 3 Minute Thesis Competition, including tips on how to prepare, in our new handbook for participants:

3 Minute Thesis participant handbook (PDF)

You may also find our web information helpful:

• How to enter and competition criteria  
• Frequently asked questions

College Prizes

At each College heat, three winners will be selected to go through to the University final; further prizes to be confirmed.

University Prizes

All those who take part at the University competition will have their presentations filmed and uploaded to the University YouTube channel. Our thanks go to the Principal for the generous donation of funds for this year’s prizes for the winners of the 3 Minute Thesis Finals. We are very grateful for this support, and are happy to announce this year’s prizes:

1st Prize : £1000

Runner up:  £400 

Peoples’ Choice Award : £400 

The winner of the University of Edinburgh competition is then entered into the UK Competition and the international Universitas 21 Competition.

Details of the final prizes are still to be confirmed by Universitas 21.

Feedback from previous winners

Read our guest blog posts from Owen Gwydion James 2018 winner of the UK competition,  Chen Zhao, 2015 Competition Winner, Emma Hodcroft, 2014 Competition Winner, and Mara Götz, 2013 ‘People’s Choice’ Winner on their experience of the competition:

Read Owen Gwydion James's guest blog post

Read Emma Hodcroft's guest blog post

Read Mara Götz's blog post on participating in 3MT

Read Chen Zhao's blog post

Contact information

Please contact Louise if you have any questions:

Louise McKay

Events Operations and Doctoral Programme Manager

Contact details

• Work: 0131 651 7189
• Email: [email protected]

This article was published on 2024-02-26

Three Minute Thesis Competition: Start

• 3MT Details
• Past 3MT Competitions

2024 3MT Competition

Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an internationally recognized competition that challenges Ph.D students to present a compelling oration on their thesis and its significance in just 3 minutes, in language that anyone can understand. 3MT is not an exercise in trivializing or ‘dumbing-down’ research but requires students to consolidate their ideas, crystallize their research discoveries and capture the imagination of their audience.

Who's Eligible to Compete? All CMU Ph.D Students regardless of year in program. Whether it's your first year or last year, Come one - come all!

Why Compete? 3MT offers CMU doctoral candidates of any level the opportunity to gain early career recognition, connect with the campus community, and win prizes of up to $3,000. It's a great way to practice sharing your research with a non specialist audience and get listeners excited about your area of study. Students get to hear from fellow Ph.D. students across campus, which can spark interdisciplinary collaboration. They also get to present before staff, faculty, and alumni from a wide range of departments, as well as an extensive alumni network. Preliminary round winners receive $250 cash.

What Happens Next? Start practicing! All 3MT registrants will be scheduled to compete in preliminary rounds between January and February.

Then What? Winners of preliminary rounds go on to compete in-person in the CMU 3MT Championship, on Thursday, March 14, 2024 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm EST. Finalists will compete for an additional $500-$3,000 in cash prizes in the Three Minute Thesis Championship. Prizes are given for 1st ($3,000), 2nd ($2,000), and 3rd ($1,000) as well as the live audience-votes for People's Choice ($500) and virtual-vote for the Alumni Award ($750).

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• Next: 3MT Details >>
• Last Updated: May 2, 2024 11:33 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.cmu.edu/3mt

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Three Minute Thesis Videos

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a competition in which graduate students have one PowerPoint slide and - you guessed it - three minutes to describe their dissertation research.  Graduate students at Stony Brook University who compete gain valuable training that is rooted in skills from the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science to develop a talk geared towards non-specialists. 

Please enjoy these wonderful presentations from our department's past graduate student participants.

2023 - Jacob Crosser (Brinkman Lab)

2022 - Finalist Kathryn Hill (Parsey Lab)

2022 - Finalist Deborah Rupert (Shea Lab)

2022 - Allen Chen (Xiong Lab)

2019 - 1st Place Winner Olivia Swanson (Maffei Lab)

2019 - Prithviraj Rajebhosale (Talmage Lab)

2017 - Luisa LeDonne (LaCamera Lab)

2017 - 2nd Place Winner Rajapillai Pillai (Parsey Lab)

2017 - Nicholas Schwartz (Obeid Lab)

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Wayne State University

Graduate school graduate school, three-minute thesis (3mt) guidelines.

Three-Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland in 2008. Participants present their thesis work in a short presentation using a single slide. The competition challenges students to distill their research ideas and discoveries into a concise, compelling presentation that can be understood by a general, non-specialist audience.

The 2024 3MT will take place during the Feb. 28, 2024, Graduate Research Symposium. After three years in a virtual environment, the GRS will return to its original in-person format in 2024 at the Student Center. GRS attendees will score the presentations and select a winner, who will move on to compete at the  Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools  April 4-6, 2024 in Clayton, MO.

The submission window is now closed.

Eligibility

The competition is open to Ph.D. students completing a thesis or a dissertation.

• Participants can use only one static PowerPoint slide. (No transitions, animations, or movement are allowed.)
• No additional electronic media are allowed. 
• No props (e.g., costumes, musical instruments, models, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
• Presentations are limited to three minutes; competitors who exceed the time limit will be disqualified.
• Presentations must be spoken word. No poems, raps, or songs are allowed.
• Participants must deliver their remarks from the stage.
• Presentations are considered to have begun when participants begin speaking or moving.
• The winners of the 3MT competition at the GRS will be selected by popular vote and the decision will be final.

Presentations will be judged by the participating audience.  Every member of the audience will vote for their top three presentations according to the criteria listed below. (Each audience member can vote only once for a specific competitor.)  The scores from all audience members will be compiled to determine the winners.

Comprehension and content

• Did the presentation help the audience understand the research?
• Was the thesis topic and its significance communicated in language appropriate to an intelligent but non-specialist audience?

Engagement and communication

• Did the oration make the audience want to know more?
• First place - $1000 plus the registration fee to attend the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools competition  
• Second place - $500 award
• Third place - $300 award 
• 3MT Competitor Guide by The University of Queensland (2017)
• 3MT: The Three Most Common Mistakes , a video featuring Inger Mewburn, director of research training at Australian National University
• 3MT: Three Tips to Help You Prepare a Winning Presentation , video featuring Rosanna Stevens, 2014 winner of the Australian National University 3MT competition
• How to Talk about Your Thesis in Three Minutes , a Prezi presentation by Inger Mewburn (2012)
• Making the Most of Your Three Minutes , a guide by Simon Clews
• Winning Tips for Preparing a Three-Minute Thesis Presentation , video by Sean McGraw  

Presentations

• 2017 People's Choice Award  winner, Nisansala Muthunayake, Chemistry
• 2017 First Place (tie), Xavier Swiecki, Art and Art History
• 2017 First Place (tie), Daniel Harrison, History
• View 3MT presentations on the University of Queensland's 3MT website

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

Computer science and statistics ph.d. candidates win three minute thesis competition.

For the first time in Graduate School history, two doctoral candidates tied for first place in the eighth Cornell Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, held on March 30, on Zoom.

Yurong You, a doctoral candidate in computer science, and Kim Hochstedler, a doctoral candidate in statistics, wowed the judges and took home co-first place for their presentations, “Can Autonomous Vehicles Learn from Their Own Memories?” and “The Heart of Misdiagnosis,” respectively. Each were awarded the top prize of $1,500.

Alongside six other finalists, Hochstedler and You presented their dissertation research in just three minutes to a panel of judges and a virtual audience from across campus and around the world. Presentations were judged by how clearly and compellingly students summarized their research to a general audience, using only one static slide.

Second place and $1,000 was awarded to entomology doctoral candidate Lidia Komondy for her presentation, “Seeing is Believing, if You Know Where to Look,” and after nearly 100 audience members cast their ballots, votes were tallied and the People’s Choice Award and $250 were also presented to You.

This year’s judges included Eldora Ellison, Ph.D. ‘94, a member of Cornell’s Board of Trustees; Kim Wagner ‘85, a member of Cornell’s Board of Trustees; Bruno Shirley, an Asian literature, religion, and culture doctoral candidate and 2022 first place winner; and Matt Ranieri ‘06, M.S. ’09, Ph.D. ‘13, president of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Alumni Association.

“The presentations were fascinating and came from finalists with expertise in so many impressive and diverse research topics. It was amazing to see how impactful these research projects were to the world,” said Komondy. “This experience helped me realize how important scientific research is outside the lab and how important it is to keep the public updated on the implications of our research findings.”

Each of the winners agreed that participating in the 3MT was a great way to practice talking about their research in a way that engages and excites individuals outside of their fields and that the experience will influence the way they share their research going forward.

“The best way to explain things is to stand in the audience’s shoes and use simple words,” said You. “Participation in 3MT will undoubtedly shape my future presentations.”

Hochstedler said, “As I continue to communicate my research in future presentations and projects, I think these lessons of how to connect with an audience and explain my work succinctly will remain valuable. I now feel very prepared for the next family reunion when people ask me what I’m working on at Cornell!”

The 3MT competition was first held in 2008 at the University of Queensland and has since been adopted by over 900 universities in over 85 countries. 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.

Cornell’s Graduate School first hosted a 3MT competition in 2015 and the event has grown steadily since that time.

“The 3MT is an excellent way for our doctoral students to practice communicating complex ideas to a broader audience, which is a skill beneficial not only for their time as students but for when they enter the professional world as well,” said Kathryn J. Boor, dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education. “We are so proud of each and every one of this year’s finalists.”

2023 3MT Finalists

Watch the 2023 three minute thesis competition finale..

Co-First Place and People’s Choice Award: Yurong You , computer science doctoral candidate

Watch Yurong You’s presentation .

Presentation Title: “Can Autonomous Vehicles Learn from Their Own Memories?”

Special Committee Chair: Killian Weinberger and Bharath Hariharan

Area of Research: Machine learning, computer vision

Biography: Yurong You is a Ph.D. candidate in computer science, advised by Prof. Kilian Q. Weinberger and Prof. Bharath Hariharan. Before he came to Cornell, he received his bachelor’s degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (ACM honors class). His Ph.D. research focuses on enhancing 3D perception for autonomous vehicles, particularly through innovative methods.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: Amazing people at Cornell!

Co-First Place: Kimberly Hochstedler, statistics doctoral candidate

Watch Kimberly Hochstedler’s presentation .

Presentation Title: “The Heart of Misdiagnosis”

Special Committee Chair: Martin Wells

Area of Research: Correcting for misclassification/misdiagnosis in medical studies

Biography: Kim Hochstedler is a Ph.D. candidate in statistics. She received her M.S. in biostatistics from the University of Michigan in 2020 and graduated with her B.S. in statistics and psychology from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018. Her research involves developing statistical methods for misclassified outcome data in healthcare and criminal justice settings.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: The ice cream.

Second Place: Lidia Komondy, entomology doctoral candidate

Watch Lidia Komondy’s presentation .

Presentation Title: “Seeing is Believing, if You Know Where to Look”

Special Committee Chair: Brian Nault

Area of Research: Precision agriculture, insect vector ecology, integrated pest management

Biography: Lidia Komondy is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of entomology. Her research focuses on the vector ecology of insect-transmitted plant pathogens and the use of precision agricultural tools to solve modern problems in the ecological sciences. She hopes that her research will help alleviate the escalating challenges that growers are facing.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: The Big Red Barn!

Fangming Cui, psychology doctoral candidate

Watch Fangming Cui’s presentation .

Presentation Title: “An Upside to Disappointment in Close Relationships: Evidence for a Motivational, Relationship-Promoting Role”

Special Committee Chair: Vivian Zayas

Area of Research: Close relationships, emotion, motivation

Biography: Originally from China, Fangming is a Ph.D. candidate in psychology with an emphasis on social psychology. Her research mainly focuses on the downstream consequences of diverse emotional expressions in close relationships. She is fascinated with the idea of the “positivity of negativity,” wherein negative emotional expressions can, at times, exert positive relational outcomes.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: Taverna Banfi brunch and salads at the Terrace restaurant.

Sharada Gopal, biomedical and biological sciences doctoral student

Watch Sharada Gopal’s presentation .

Presentation Title: “Worming Our Way Through a Longer Life”

Special Committee Chair: Siu Sylvia Lee

Area of Research: Aging

Biography: Sharada Gopal am a third-year graduate student in Dr. Sylvia Lee’s lab, where she studies the molecular mechanisms that regulate aging. Originally from Bangalore, India, Gopal came to Cornell for her master’s degree before transitioning to the BBS program to pursue a Ph.D. Beyond her research, she enjoys swimming in Ithaca’s picturesque lakes, singing, and cooking.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: The BBS community.

Yuexing Hao, design and environmental analysis doctoral student

Watch Yuexing Hao’s presentation .

Presentation Title: “AI-Enhanced Patient-Centered Clinical Shared Decision-Making (SDM): A ‘Black Box’ Study with Older Adults”

Area of Research: Health intelligence, human-computer interaction

Biography: Yuexing Hao is a Ph.D. student in design and environmental analysis with a concentration in human centered design at Cornell University. She earned two computer science degrees from Rutgers University (B.A.) and Tufts University (M.S). Currently, her research focus is on health intelligence and human-computer interaction.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: P.E classes! I took ice hockey, squash, water skiing, and yoga, all of which were fantastic experiences.

Sangwoo Park, biophysics doctoral candidate

Watch Sangwoo Park’s presentation .

Presentation Title: “Sugar Barrier on the Cancer Cells”

Special Committee Chair: Matthew Paszek

Area of Research: Glycobiology, immunotherapy, biophysics

Biography: Sangwoo Park is from Changwon, South Korea. His current research focuses on developing new immunotherapies targeting the cancer cell glycocalyx. He has developed an optical microscopy method to understand the physical properties of glycocalyx. The ultimate goal of his research is to find treatment methods to eradicate cancers.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: Wineries and hiking.

Susannah Sharpless , English language and literature doctoral candidate

Watch Susannah Sharpless’s presentation .

Presentation Title: “How Did Maritime Trade Shape the Imaginations of American Women Writers?”

Special Committee Chair: Shirley Samuels

Area of Research: 19th-century American Literature

Biography: Susannah Sharpless is a Ph.D. candidate studying nineteenth-century literature. Her dissertation is titled, “‘Subtle Cargoes’: The Terraqueous Romantic in Nineteenth-Century Women’s Writing.”

2023 Final Round 3MT Competition

The live virtual Three Minute Thesis Competition Final Round took place at 3:00 pm ET on March 30, 2023. Eight finalists competed for first and second prize in the judging and People’s Choice Award winner. A post-event reception was held at the Big Red Barn starting at approximately 4:30 pm ET, and was open to the Cornell community and families and friends of the finalists and judges.

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a competition to help doctoral students develop and showcase their research communication skills. Cornell’s 3MT challenges graduate students to present their dissertation as a compelling story in just three minutes, with one slide, in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

Preliminary Round Events

• All competitors submitted a recorded presentation of their talk by noon ET on Monday, March 13, 2023 in order to compete in the Preliminary Rounds that selected finalists.
• We thank all of our wonderful preliminary round presenters for participation in the 2023 competition. Those who are still enrolled as doctoral students next year are welcome to enter the competition again.
• Thank you also to our preliminary round judges, including Evelyn Ambríz, Merry Buckley, Anitra Douglas-McCarthy, Christine Holmes, Janna Lamey, Nathan Lindberg, Heidi Marshall, and Christian Miller.
• Registration was opened from February – March 13, 2023, and an information was held on March 6. View the information session recording .
• Need assistance recording your video submission? Timeslots were available on Thursday, March 9 to record your preliminary round video in the Big Red Barn greenhouse with the help of a Barn staff member. Recording equipment was provided.

If you should have questions or concerns regarding the 3MT Competition, please email us at:  [email protected] . 

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3 Minute Thesis: A PhD Elevator Pitch

Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a science communication challenge founded by The University of Queensland (my home university). But don’t let the short time limit of the challenge fool you, it’s deceptively hard to distil a 3+ year long PhD into a 3 minute elevator pitch!

I decided to enter my institute’s 3MT competition this year. So I wrote the first draft of a script and was pretty happy with myself… Until I read it back aloud and realised it was 6 minutes long! Not to mention too detailed & scientifically minded.

The challenge of sharing your research to a general audience in as little as 3 minutes requires more than just clearly explaining your science. You have to get creative to transform your PhD thesis into a 3 minute work of art!

An 80,000 word PhD thesis would take 9 hours to present. Their time limit… 3 minutes – The University of Queensland

Your question should be: How can I engage everyone in the audience with my topic and leave them with a greater understanding of my research field, without becoming bogged down in details and jargon?

In the end, it took me 8 draft revisions to get to a script that I was happy with (and also under the 3 minute limit!). The most vital part of this process involved continually reshaping and refining the structure of the script – especially when it came to the Hook of the presentation.

Note: And now – after watching 3MT videos from the finalists of other institutes around UQ – I see how I can still greatly improve my hook & my whole presentation in general: It involves creating a central storyline or metaphor for your presentation to work around!

Sustainability. It has become the defining challenge of our lifetime. Our reliance on finite resources is a roadblock in our future towards sustainable energy, chemicals & materials. We need sustainable resources to create sustainable solutions… Okay so I don’t know if you noticed this, but I just bombarded you with the sustainability buzzword 4 times in the last 20 seconds!

Drafting Process

To visualise how the script evolved throughout the revision process, I’ve colour-coded the different sections (or scientific components) within the script. I’ve also added small discussions around the difference between each revision and the theory behind these changes.

I hope you find this helpful, and I’m happy to help anyone with script writing for 3MT or other similar science communication presentations!

3 Minute Thesis Script (V1 → V4)

From Version 1 to Version 4:

♦ changed the title to something more descriptive, ♦ changed the hook to try to make people think about what sustainability means, ♦ added more context around what plant fibres are, ♦ tried to link together nanofibre section with sustainability, ♦ streamlined evolutionary framework explanation, ♦ cut down a lot of words, 3 minute thesis script (v4 → v8).

From Version 4 to Version 8:

♦ changed the title to reflect the hook at the start, ♦ altered the hook to highlight the fact that there are so many discussions around sustainability, but that we should start and reflect upon what sustainability actually means, ♦ added rhetorical questions around sustainability solutions (plants) to create a more engaging presentation, ♦ completely removed section about nanofibers and decided against any mention of ‘nano’ to avoid adding too many scientific elements and confusing the audience, ♦ created more aura around the introduction of sorghum (“in the green corner”), ♦ significantly streamlined the quality control model section & removed any mention of ‘evolutionary framework’ to avoid confusion., 3mt video – 1st version.

AIBN Institute Winning Video

3MT Video – Final Version

Finalist in The University of Queensland Institutes 3MT competition

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2024 UW Three Minute Thesis (3MT)

About | Theme | Eligibility Criteria | Prizes | Timeline | Proposal Submission Form | Proposal Guidelines & Selection Criteria | Preliminary Round | Past Winners | FAQs | Contact

UW 3MT® is a professional development competition that celebrates the exciting capstone and research experiences of master’s and doctoral students at the University of Washington from all three campuses. The competition supports graduate students’ capacity to effectively explain their research or capstone project in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a public audience. This event is a partnership between Graduate Student Affairs in The Graduate School and the UW Libraries Research Commons .

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

Congratulations to the 2024 Competition Winners

First Place – $1,000 | Sarah Pollack Detecting Illegal Trade Risk in U.S. Mahogany Imports Master’s candidate in Quantitative Ecology & Resource Management College of the Environment

Runner Up – $500 | Niveditha Kalavakonda Surgical Scene Understanding Towards Human-Centered Collaboration in Robotic Surgery Doctoral candidate, Electrical & Computer Engineering College of Engineering

People’s Choice – $500 | Sherry Gu The Paperclip is Mightier than the Sword Master’s candidate in Applied Bioengineering College of Engineering & UW Medicine

Read about all twelve of the wonderful graduate student presenters for this year’s event.

The theme for this year’s competition is Impact. Impact can be defined as the positive outcome of a critical intervention, social policy, service provision model, legal framework, or technological innovation. How does your graduate research demonstrate impact for the public good? We’re excited to celebrate the influence our graduate students have on the world.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to submit a proposal for UW 3MT, you must meet the following criteria:

• You are a University of Washington master’s or doctoral student from any UW campus.
• You have a draft of your final project (e.g. capstone, thesis, or dissertation), including findings and conclusions.
• Only one member of a capstone project team may submit a proposal. If the proposal is selected, the same student who submitted the proposal must be the presenter.
• Your degree will be granted during AY 2023-2024.

3MT competitions are intended for graduate students who are ready to present their capstone, thesis, or dissertation work, rather than for works-in-progress. If you are at an earlier stage with your research, we encourage you to submit a proposal to Scholars’ Studio to present your work.

At the 3MT Competition on May 23, a panel of external judges will select winners for First Place and a Runner Up. A People’s Choice winner will be voted on by the audience.

Go To Top ↑

Proposal Guidelines for Online Preliminary Round

The proposal must address the following components:

Capstone or Research Project Summary

In 300 words or less, please describe your capstone or research project for a general reader (without a lot of discipline-specific jargon or technical language).

Your summary:

– Must be concise and coherent – Does not include a lot of disciplinary jargon – Is understandable to a general, public audience

Theme: Impact

Impact is the theme for this year’s UW Three Minute Thesis. Briefly (300 words) describe how your capstone or research project demonstrates impact.

Proposal Selection Criteria

Successful proposals for preliminary rounds are based on the following two components:

1. Capstone or Research Project Summary

– Is the capstone or research project summary concise and 300 words or less? – Does the summary include a lot of disciplinary jargon? – Is the summary understandable to a general, public audience?

2. Theme: Impact

Does the proposal include how the capstone or research project demonstrate impact in 300 words or less?

Submit Your Proposal

Access the proposal submission form . The deadline is April 23, 2024 by 11:59 p.m. (PDT).

Preliminary Round

If your proposal is selected, you will then have an opportunity to present your capstone or research project in a virtual preliminary round to be held in early May. Successful presenters will be selected to present at the in person 3MT Competition, scheduled for May 23.

Guidance on Preparing Your 3MT Presentation

Review the following tips and resources:

• Preparing for Your 3MT Presentation , University of Queensland
• Tips for Effective Design and Use of the 3MT Slide , Indiana University
• Time to Perfect Your Elevator Pitch , University of Pennsylvania
• How to Write a PhD Elevator Pitch , Academic Positions
• Communication: Two Minutes to Impress , Nature Jobs

Successful presenters will be selected to compete as finalists on competition day, based on the following guidelines:

3MT Competition Day

UW 3MT Competition May 23, 2024, 3:00–4:30 p.m. Seattle campus

In front of a general audience and an esteemed panel of judges, up to 15 graduate student presenters will each compete by doing three-minute presentations about their capstone or research projects.

Past Winners

• First Place – Mayuree Binjolkar , doctoral student in Civil & Environmental Engineering
• Runner Up – Ekta Samani , doctoral student in Mechanical Engineering
• People’s Choice – Megan Maerz, doctoral student in Molecular Medicine & Mechanisms of Disease
• First Place – Enrique Saldarriaga , doctoral student in Health Economics and Outcomes Research
• Runner Up – Julia Dreifus , doctoral student in Microbiology
• People’s Choice – Douglas Wagoner, master’s student in Public Administration
• First Place – Beth Halsne , doctoral student in Rehabilitation Science & master’s student in Mechanical Engineering
• Runner Up – Jackie Otting , master’s student in Education (Learning Science & Human Development)
• People’s Choice – Arianne Caudal , doctoral student in Biochemistry
• Event canceled due to COVID-19
• First Place – Barbara Rodriguez Droguett , doctoral student in Built Environment
• Runner Up – Junyue Cao , doctoral student in Molecular & Cellular Biology
• People’s Choice – Junyue Cao , doctoral student in Molecular & Cellular Biology
• First Place – Amey Khanolka r, doctoral student in Mechanical Engineering
• Runner Up – Evan Schuster , master’s student in Mechanical Engineering
• People’s Choice – Amey Khanolkar , doctoral student in Mechanical Engineering
• First Place – Molly Grear , doctoral student in Civil & Environmental Engineering
• Runner Up – Gabby Barsh , doctoral student in Molecular & Cellular Biology
• People’s Choice – Zheng Li , doctoral student in Bioengineering

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens on 3MT Competition Day?

UW 3MT Competition May 23, 2024, 3:00-4:30 p.m. (Doors open at 2:30 p.m.) Auditorium, Alder Hall, UW Seattle campus

In front of a general audience and a panel of judges, graduate student presenters will each compete by doing three-minute presentations about their capstone or research projects.

Presenters will be competing for First Place, Runner Up, and People’s Choice Awards.

Who is eligible to submit a proposal for UW 3MT?

To be eligible to submit a proposal, you must meet the following criteria:

3MT competitions are intended for graduate students who are ready to present their capstone, thesis, or dissertation work, rather than for works-in-progress. If you are at an earlier stage with your research, we encourage you to submit proposals to Scholars’ Studio to present your work.

What is allowed on my 3MT slide?

One single static PowerPoint slide is permitted.

In preparing the slide, remember that ‘less is more.’ It does not have to include text. Visual cues are very effective in assisting the presenter’s explanation of their research. (No slide transitions, video, or animations are permitted).

Can I use sound or video files?

No additional electronic media (e.g. sound, music, animation, and video files) is permitted during the competition.

Can I have props (a 3D printed model, a soccer ball, a microscope, etc.)?

No. Is there a dress code?

Business formal or casual is suggested. Costumes are not allowed. Can I win in more than one category during the competition?

Yes, it is possible to win a place (First or Runner Up) and also win the People’s Choice Award.

Who will be in the audience during the competition?

The audience is often a mix of graduate students, faculty, staff, and University leadership. There will also be supporters of graduate education in attendance, as well as presenters’ family and community members.

[email protected]

Three Minute Thesis Competition

The Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) is an exciting, fast-paced event showcasing the research of graduate students across campus. Each scholar is given three minutes to present their research displayed to the audience and judging panel in a single presentation slide. The competition boasts cash prizes for winners in each category.

You'll be amazed at what these scholars can fit into a three-minute presentation. You don't want to miss this competition!

Our graduate students have had an impressive showing at the regional 3MT competition at the Western Association of Graduate Schools annual conference. In 2023, Jennifer Heppner won third place and in 2024, Kendra Isable won second place. 

The 2024 competition will be hosted in the Spring semester with two preliminary rounds in early March and the finals in April.

Learn more about our competition

Join our competition, preliminary round.

The top four contestants from groups A1, B1, A2 and B2 will be awarded $300 and will compete in the final round. Submit your presentation using the appropriate Group description link below.

Liberal Arts/Social Sciences/Education/Business

Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at 6 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium (MIKC 124)

• Group A1: Doctoral Dissertation Students
• Group B1: Master's Thesis Students

Sciences/Engineering/Mathematics/Health Sciences

Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 6 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium (MIKC 124)

• Group A2: Doctoral Dissertation Students
• Group B2: Master's Thesis Students

Final round

Thursday, April 11, 2024, at 7 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium (MIKC 124)

In the final round you'll compete against the eight finalists at your degree level:

• Group A — Doctoral Students (Four students from A1 and four students from A2)
• Group B — Master's Students (Four students from B1 and four students from B2)

Award amounts

Winners from each group of the final round will be awarded as follows:

• First Place: $1,000
• Second Place: $600
• Third Place: $400
• Peoples' Choice: $500

Deadline and application form

Applications are due February 29 by 11:59 p.m.

Preliminary submission form

Competition rules and terms

Presentation:.

• A single, static PowerPoint slide in 16x9 format is required (pdfs not allowed).
• Include your presentation title, full name, and graduate program on the slide.
• First-place winners from the last year's 3MT competition are ineligible to compete, however, last year's second- and third-place winners are eligible to compete.
• No slide transitions, animations or on-screen movement of any description are allowed.
• 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 additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
• Presentations are limited to three minutes maximum; competitors exceeding three minutes are disqualified.
• Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
• Presentations are to commence from the stage.
• Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through either movement or speech.
• The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.
• All monetary awards for both preliminary and final rounds are pre-tax amounts.
• Abstracts are limited to 250 words.
• Students must be graduate students to enter the competition.
• While advancement to candidacy is not required, students must have made significant progress towards completion of their dissertation, thesis, or professional project in order to enter the competition.
• Winners will be announced approximately one week after the competition.
• You will be asked to sign a photo-video release at the event to allow the University of Nevada, Reno to use your likeness in photos/videos of the competition.

Judging criteria

Comprehension & content.

• Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background to the research question being addressed and its significance?
• Did the presentation clearly describe the key results of the research including conclusions and outcomes?
• Did the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence?
• Was the thesis topic, key results and research significance and outcomes communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience?
• Did the speaker avoid scientific jargon, explain terminology and provide adequate background information to illustrate points?
• Did the presenter spend adequate time on each element of their presentation - or did they elaborate for too long on one aspect or was the presentation rushed?

Engagement & Communication

• Did the oration make the audience want to know more?
• Was the presenter careful not to trivialize or generalize their research?
• Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their research?
• Did the presenter capture and maintain their audience's attention?
• Did the speaker have sufficient stage presence, eye contact and vocal range; maintain a steady pace, and have a confident stance?
• Did the PowerPoint slide enhance the presentation - was it clear, legible, and concise?

View past Three Minute Thesis winners

View the winners of each year since 2014!

View past winners

2022-2023 Finalists and winners

Doctoral category

First place: cody cris.

• Graduate program:  Cell and Molecular Biology
• Title:  Lighting the way: Tools to prepare for future pandemics
• Faculty advisor:  Subhash Verma

SECOND PLACE: Anithakrithi Balaji

• Graduate program: Biomedical Engineering
• Title: Electrifying the fight-or-flight response: Nanosecond electric pulses for neuromodulation
• Faculty advisor: Jihwan Yoon

THIRD PLACE: Noah Nieman

• Graduate program:  Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Title:  Accelerating bridge construction connections behavior during near fault motions
• Faculty advisor: Floriana Petrone

2024 Finalists:

Francisco calderon abullarade.

• Graduate program: Ph.D. History
• Title: Creating the Enemy: The origins of the inter-american cold war in the 1940s
• Faculty advisor: Renata Keller

Anithakrithi Balaji

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering
• Title: Electrifying the fight-or-flight response: Nanosecond electric pulses for neuromodulation 

Monika Bharti

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Education - Literacy Studies
• Title: P re-service teachers experiences teaching K-8 Multilingual Students' (MLS) writing
• Faculty advisor: Rachel Salas and Fares Karam

Cossette Canovas

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Clinical Psychology
• Title: Identifying predictors of racial trauma to inform treatment development 
• Faculty advisor: Lorraine Benuto
• Graduate program: Ph.D. Cell and Molecular Biology
• Title:   Lighting the way: Tools to prepare for future pandemics 
• Faculty advisor: Subhash Verma

Kaashifah 

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Education - Equity, Diversity and Language
• Title: Bridging  the gaps: Evaluating the intervention programs to overcome academic disparities 
• Faculty advisor: Donald Easton-Brooks

Noah Nieman

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Title: Accelerating bridge construction connections behavior during near fault motions 

Sanjeevan Pradhan

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Political Science
• Title: Tough sell: Rising powers, domestic legitimation and costly international initiatives 
• Faculty advisor: Xiaoyu Pu

Patricia Berninsone People's Choice Award

Abdulwarith kassim.

• Graduate program: Chemistry
• Title: Chemically recyclable dithioacetal polymers
• Faculty advisor:  Ying Yang

Master's category

First place: abdulwarith kassim.

• Faculty advisor: Ying Yang

SECOND PLACE (TIE): 

• Name:  Elizabeth Everest
• Graduate program: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology
• Title: Sustaining the beating heart of Cambodia: Fisheries management in southeast Asia's largest lake
• Faculty advisors: Zeb Hogan, Sudeep Chandra, Ken Nussear
• Name:  Cathy Silliman
• Title: Winterfat restoration in a changing climate
• Faculty advisor: Elizabeth Leger 

Samantha DeTiberiis

• Graduate program: M.A. Criminal Justice 
• Title: What do our phones teach us about incarceration? A social media content analysis 
• Faculty advisor: Jennifer Lanterman

Elizabeth Everest 

• Graduate program: M.S. Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology 
• Title:   Sustaining the beating heart of Cambodia: Fisheries management in southeast Asia's largest lake 
• Faculty advisor: Zeb Hogan, Sudeep Chandra, Ken Nussear

Carolynn Fedarko 

• Title: Zeroing in on gun violence
• Faculty advisor: Weston Morrow

Shipra Goswami

• Graduate program: M.S. Biochemistry
• Title: May the pericytes be with you: Transport engineers you never knew existed!
• Faculty advisor: Albert Gonzales
• Graduate program: M.S. Chemistry 

Anthony Michell

• Graduate program: M.A. History
• Title: Pushed to the limit: How the 1998 China floods revolutionized the relationship between China and the natural world
• Faculty advisor: Hugh Shapiro

Elizabeth Morgan

• Graduate program: M.S. Teaching History (M.A.T.H.)
• Title: Dust in the wind dude: The Owens Valley everywhere except, in the Owens Valley
• Faculty advisor: Edward Schoolman

Cathy Silliman

• Graduate program: M.S. Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology
• Faculty advisor: Elizabeth Leger

• News & Events

University of Crete organizes the “3 Minute Thesis” competition

News and blog.

The University of Crete, under the auspices of the Rector, George Kontakis, Professor, organizes the “3 Minute Thesis” competition for 2023. The “3 Minute Thesis” is held from 209 in UoC with great success

The “3 Minute Thesis” competition was based in an idea developed by the University of Queensland, Australia in 2008 and soon its popularity increased with more than 900 universities across more than 85 countries worldwide to organize the competition.

Students have to explain their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience. The competition supports the development of their academic presentation and research communication skills, while it promotes knowledge and transfer of ideas to the public.

The First Phase of Evaluation was held on Wednesday 7 of June where the best 10 PhD thesis were chosen. The final phase of the competition will take place on Tuesday 11 July 2023 at 18.30 at the Cultural Conference Centre of Heraklion, open for the public.

Major research achievement for professor of the Department of Philology of the University of Crete

Summer schools of the university of crete, related posts.

The Rector Welcomes New Students

University of Crete Launches E-Stories Digital Storytelling Course for international students

University of crete’s summer programs 2024, enjoy your summer, uoc news international #10 – university of crete.

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Accessibility

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University of Crete Accessibility Statement

Accessibility Statement

• September 10, 2024

Compliance status

We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.

This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.

If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email

Screen-reader and keyboard navigation

Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.

Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

Disability profiles supported in our website

• Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
• Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
• Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
• ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
• Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
• Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

• Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
• Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
• Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
• Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
• Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
• Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
• Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

Browser and assistive technology compatibility

We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).

Notes, comments, and feedback

Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to

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Three Minute Thesis

UB's Ninth Annual Three Minute Thesis Competition will take place on Friday, March 7, 2025.

Developed by the University of Queensland , the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition celebrates the exciting research conducted by PhD students by cultivating students’ academic, presentation and research communication skills.

Participants are judged on the ability to effectively convey the essence and importance of their research in an engaging way to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes, with one PowerPoint slide.

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

Interested in learning more? Join us on  Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 4-6 p.m . in the CoLab (340 Student Union, University at Buffalo North Campus), to hear from past participants and learn about the resources available to you throughout your 3MT journey. For more information and to register, visit the UBLinked event page .

Join us on  Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 4-6 p.m. in the CoLab (340 Student Union, University at Buffalo North Campus), to hear from past participants and learn about the resources available to you throughout your 3MT journey. Register on UB Linked for the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Kick-off Session