student thesis competition

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Engineering students take home top prizes at Three Minute Thesis Competition

November 15, 2024

via UGA Graduate School

(l to r) Kyndra Higgins, Grand Prize Winner; Daisi Brand; Skye Remko; Nathanael Mickelson; Moses Okocha; Marco Garcia, People’s Choice Winner; Sarah Dhanji; Darrian Talamantes; Anthony Suryamiharja, Runner Up Winner; Sakshi Babar; Ron Walcott, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School

The University of Georgia’s Fall 2024 Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT ® ) Competition drew 64 submissions from students in 43 different departments across three of UGA’s campuses. Ten students – including two engineering students – advanced to the finals after scoring well with a team of judges during the preliminary heats. The 3MT ®  Competition was open to any currently enrolled UGA master’s or doctoral student.

The final competition was held Thursday, November 14, 2024, at the Morton Theatre in downtown Athens and was  livestreamed on Facebook .

Kyndra Higgins was awarded the Fall 2024  Grand Prize for her presentation titled, “Breast Cancer: How Cells Shape Up.”

Kyndra Higgins

Kyndra is a doctoral candidate in Dr. Cheryl Gomillion’s Tissue RegenX Lab in the School of Chemical, Materials, and Biological Engineering , where she employs an interdisciplinary approach to investigate breast cancer metastasis. She earned her undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Georgia in 2020. Currently, her research focuses on innovative and quantifiable methods to characterize breast cancer aggressiveness, utilizing techniques such as electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) and two-dimensional cell morphology analysis. Kyndra has shared her findings at prominent conferences, including the Society for Biomaterials, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Society for Women Engineers, the Institute of Biological Engineering, and the Gordon Research Seminar on Mammary Gland Biology.

Marco Garcia won the People’s Choice  award, which is given to the contestant who receives the most votes from viewers of the competition, for his presentation, “A Multi-model Approach to Evaluate Hybrid Coastal Features: A Resilience-based Assessment.”

Marco Garcia

Marco is a Graduate Research Assistant in the School of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural, and Mechanical Engineering . Originally from Guatemala, Marco graduated in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He holds an MBA and an MSc. in Structures. He worked as a tenured professor at Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala for 18 years teaching courses related to structures, economics applied for engineering, and project management. He also managed his own construction company for 19 years and was a structural advisor for 6 years. In 2022, Marco was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. in Engineering with a concentration in Resilient Infrastructure at the University of Georgia. His research, under the direction of Dr. Felix Santiago-Collazo, is related to the combination and interaction between Natural Nature Based Solutions (NNBS) and Structural Solutions to manage the risk of floods with the objective to evaluate and improve infrastructure resilience.

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

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Home » Student Opportunities » Contests for Students

Contests for Students

The IEEE offers many opportunities for students to win contests for outstanding performance in a variety of areas. Students, here you will be able to search for opportunities to receive recognition and prizes for your innovative thinking and hard work.

Sponsors, here you can have the opportunity to recognize some of the best and brightest young engineering minds while taking the opportunity to reinforce your organization’s dedication to the support of the next generation of IEEE leaders.

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Organizer:  IEEE Women in Engineering

Description: To bridge the gender gap and promote gender diversity, IEEE Women-in-Engineering (WIE) is organizing a story contest. The winners‘ stories will be plotted in the format of Manga comics, which will be socialized with the community through IEEE WIE Newsletter and website. The Manga plots will be available not only to the IEEE members, but also used as a tool to engage young generations particularly girls through IEEE WIE 1000+ Affinity Groups globally. The aim of the contest is to encourage the younger generation, particularly girls, to consider a career in STEM and work towards it. The story can be either fiction or non-fic

Eligibility: Please apply as an individual or as a group. At least one representative must be an IEEE member/IEEE student member.

Description: For this competition, student will design, analyze and optimize an additively manufactured heat sink to cool a constant heat flux power electronics module subject to free convection. The student teams that are evaluated as having the most effective, unique designs will have an opportunity to test their designs using the additive manufacturing facilities at GE and state-of-the-art test equipment at Oregon State University. These student groups will also present their work at the 2023 ITherm Conference.

Eligibility: Teams of up to eight undergrad and graduate students.

Organizer: IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S)

Description: Design and build reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. The top 6 teams will receive travel funds to attend the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Symposium in Portland, Oregon, USA, July 23–28, 2023 to demonstrate their working systems. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be announced at the 2023 IEEE AP-S Awards Presentation at the conference and will receive cash awards of US $1,500, $750, and $250, respectively.

Eligibility: The team should consist of 2 to 5 students, with at least 50% being undergraduate students. For a 5-year Bachelor-cum- Master degree program, students in years 1 to 3 are considered undergraduates. Each team should be advised by one professional mentor who is a member of the IEEE AP-S, but the work needs to be done primarily by the students. No student or mentor should be involved in more than one team.

Organizer: IEEE Computer Society

Description: Encourages students to develop excellence in their communication skills and achievement in the field of computer science.

Eligibility: All IEEE student members. There will be one award for undergraduates and a second for graduate students

Organizer: IEEE Women in Engineering

Description: The IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) Student Branch Affinity Group of the Year Awards are given annually to one IEEE WIE Student Branch Affinity Group and one IEEE WIE Student Affinity Group that have shown outstanding leadership and initiative in organizing activities.

Organizer: IEEE WIE

Description: The IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) Affinity Group of the Year Award is given annually to one IEEE WIE Affinity Group that has shown outstanding leadership and initiative in organizing activities. The award is based on programs that took place during the period of 1 January to 31 December of the preceding year.

Description: The purpose of this award is to recognize an undergraduate/graduate student member of IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) who has overcome barriers to pursue engineering and/or who has made a personal impact in their community through their dedication and involvement in projects or activities directed toward fulfilling one or more of the IEEE WIE goals and objectives.

Eligibility: An IEEE Student Member or Graduate Student Member as of the submission deadline A member of IEEE WIE for at least two consecutive (2) years Must not be a past recipient of the IEEE Women in Engineering Inspiring Student Member of the Year Award

Description: The purpose of this award is to recognize a professional member of IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) who has made an outstanding contribution to IEEE WIE, their community, and the engineering community, through their dedication and involvement in projects or activities directed toward fulfilling one or more of the IEEE WIE goals and objectives.

Eligibility: An IEEE Member grade or higher A professional member of IEEE WIE for at least two (2) years A professional working in industry/academia for greater than five (5) years Must not be a past recipient of the IEEE Women in Engineering Inspiring Member of the Year Award

Organizer: Region 9 SAC

Description: Exemplary Student Affinity Group will be considered those who demonstrate that they have good management of the institution’s internal and external resources and, mainly, effectively promote the theme of their affinity group through projects and activities. In addition, groups must have quality documentation, which can be used for the continuity of the group’s culture and dissemination of knowledge of good practices and ideas.

Description: If your organizational unit has carried out any innovative activity, which stands out among other activities within the Region, whether it had a correct organization, good audience, won a prize, generated funds and resources for the Branch or managed to have agreements with other universities, companies or institutions, is an excellent candidate to be chosen as a case of success!

Eligibility: • They have updated president and advisor / advisor information at IEEE vTools Officer Reporting; • They are active (have at least 10 members for Branches and 5 for Chapters / Affinity Groups). • Have submitted the 2020 student branch report. In addition, only activities carried out during the period of August 2019 until June 2020 will be considered. Each organizational unit can send just 1 (one) success case.

Description: Will be considered to be exemplary those Student Technical Chapters that prove to have a good internal and external resources management and, mainly, effectively promote their Society area of study through projects and activities. In addition, these chapters should have quality documentation that can be useful for the group continuity and to share good practices knowledge and ideas.

Description: The photo contest IEEE R9 is a fun way to show love by the institute through the activities that the Student Branches have done is through photographic records. Therefore, the photography contest of IEEE Region 9, in which all those registered images, related to IEEE can be a basis for the promotion of the Institute among the different branches, sections, advice or at the global level.

Description: The International Future Energy Challenge (IFEC) is an international student competition for innovation, conservation, and effective use of electrical energy.The competition is sponsored by the Industry Applications Society (IAS), Power & Energy Society (PES), Power Electronics Society (PELS), and Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA).

Eligibility: The competition is open to college and university student teams from recognized engineering programs in any location. Participation is on a proposal basis.

Organizer: HRL Laboratories, LLC, IEEE Photonics Society and APS Division of Laser Science.

Description: This competition was established in 2008 in memory of Theodore Maiman and in acknowledgement of his amazing invention, the first working laser, and his other outstanding contributions to optics and photonics. The program recognizes student innovation, research excellence and presentation skills in the areas of laser technology and electro-optics, and is endowed by HRL Laboratories, LLC, IEEE Photonics Society and APS Division of Laser Science.

Eligibility: undergraduate or graduate student of an educational institution of collegiate grade who is devoting more than half-time to studies within the institution at the time the paper was written.

Description: Autonomous underwater robotics is an exciting challenge in engineering, which participants get to experience at SAUVC. The competition is great learning ground for participants to experience the challenges of AUV system engineering and develop skills in the related fields of mechanical, electrical and software engineering.

Description: The NOSB is an academic competition and program that addresses a national gap in environmental and earth sciences in public education by introducing high school students to and engaging them in ocean science, preparing them for ocean science-related and other STEM careers, and helping them become knowledgeable citizens and environmental stewards.

Organizer: The IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS)

Description: For outstanding student poster or oral papers as desired by each of the technical committees of NPSS that organizes a conference. The purpose of these awards is to encourage both outstanding student contributions and greater student participation as principal or sole authors of papers as well as to acknowledge the importance of student contributions to the fields embraced by the NPSS.

Eligibility: Any student who is the principal or sole author/researcher and the presenter of either a poster or oral paper at any IEEE NPSS conference that has chosen to provide outstanding student awards, and who has been identified as an eligible student author, will be eligible. If there is a tie, preference will be given 1) to IEEE NPSS members; 2) to IEEE members; or 3) to non-IEEE members.

Organizer: IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society

Description: This prestigious academic competition, founded by the University of Queensland, is designed to enhance students’ research communication and presentation skills by challenging them to describe their thesis topic in just three minutes to a general audience using one static slide.

Eligibility: To participate, simply submit a 3-minute video describing your research and thesis topic to a video platform like YouTube or TikTok. or through a private URL accessible only by the evaluation committee. Your video will be evaluated in the first round based on presentation skills (40%), scientific quality (40%) and originality (20%) of the topic presented.

Organizer: The IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society

Description: The MTT-Sat Challenge is a worldwide competition for teams of undergraduate and graduate students to design and build radio frequency (RF) and microwave hardware for small satellites. The most promising designs will undergo space environmental qualification testing and will be incorporated in a cubesat, which will be launched into orbit (in case MTT-Sat Challenge secures enough funding and a participation in cubesat projects). The main goal of the MTT-Sat Challenge is to advance space RF and microwave education, inspire students to pursue science and engineering education and careers, and prepare tomorrow’s leaders with the interdisciplinary teamwork skills, which are necessary for success. The MTT-Sat Challenge is managed by the IEEE Microwave Theory & Techniques Society (IEEE MTT-S) with additional experts and advisors in the field.

Eligibility: undergraduate and graduate students

Organizer: sponsored by the Technical Committees of the MTT

Description: The competition encourages students to employ creative problem solving and gain practical design experience by developing a circuit, or system to address a problem stated in the competition rules while following specified constraints. The students will bring their designs to the competition where they perform measurements and compete against other student teams. The winning teams are awarded cash prizes and recognized at the IMS student luncheon awards. In the IMS 2020 SDC we have 12 different competitions spanning a wide range of topics from power amplifier design to spectral sensing radios. Links to descriptions and rules for each competition rules are below.Winning teams are awarded cash prizes and a chance to publish their designs in the IEEE Microwave Magazine.

Organizer: jointly promoted and organized by IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society (IMS), IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) and IEEE Sensors Council (SC) and is sponsored by STMicroelectronics

Description: The IEEE International Contest of Sensors and Measurement Systems is jointly promoted and organized by IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society (IMS), IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) and IEEE Sensors Council (SC) and is sponsored by STMicroelectronics who will provide one SensorTile.box® to each team admitted to the competition. This multisensory device will be the common technology platform of the contest. Those willing to participate will have to submit a proposal, will have to develop their application at their University laboratories and attend one of the scheduled live demonstration sessions co-located with international conferences in the areas of sensors and instrumentation and measurement. For each demonstration event, two awards will be assigned (1st and 2nd place) for the best “Sensors and Measurement Systems” application.

Eligibility: teams of Ph.D., Master and advanced undergraduates (particularly those in fast-track, dual BS/MS, Master programs) students

Organizer: Industrial Electronics Society Awards and Honor Committee (IES A&H Committee).

Description: To recognize the student best paper in The Industrial Electronics Society publications and to encourage the student or graduate student author to contribute further in the field of industrial electronics.

Eligibility: Author(s) of papers in the Industrial Electronics Society publications during the year specified for the award, where the first author must be a student or a graduate student IEEE member. Must be student or graduate student member of the IEEE.

Description: The GRSS Student Prize Paper Award was established to recognize the best student paper(s) presented at the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS). It is believed that early recognition of an outstanding paper will encourage the student to strive for greater and continued contributions to the Geoscience and Remote Sensing profession. The award shall be considered annually. These awards go to the 2nd and 3rd place students. For the 1st place student award refer to the Mikio Takagi Student Prize.

Eligibility: The (first) author(s) must:

• contribute more than 60% of the content of the presented paper (if the contribution is less than 60%, the paper is not suitable for a student paper competition and can be submitted to the normal track),
• be a student,
• be under 33 years of age,
• be a candidate for a graduate degree (PhD students included),
• be an IEEE member,
• publish the paper in the IGARSS digest,
• be registered at IGARSS,
• personally present the paper at IGARSS, and
• be present at the IGARSS banquet to receive the award

Multiple eligible authors are allowed. An ineligible co-author, or an advisor, must verify on university letterhead that the candidate is a student, under 33 years of age, a candidate for a graduate degree, and an IEEE member on the submittal date of the paper. Eligibility and Selection process shall comply with procedures and regulation established in IEEE and Society governing documents, particularly with IEEE Policy 4.4 on Awards Limitations.

Organiser: Image Analysis and Data Fusion Technical Committee (IADF TC) of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) and the Technical University of Munich Description: The Data Fusion Contest, organized by the Image Analysis and Data Fusion Technical Committee (IADF TC) of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) and the Technical University of Munich, aims to promote research in large-scale land cover mapping from globally available multimodal satellite data. The task is to train a machine learning model for global land cover mapping based on weakly annotated samples. The 2020 IEEE GRSS Data Fusion Contest consists of two challenge tracks: Eligibility: The Contest is open not only to IEEE members but to everyone, with the goal of promoting innovation and benchmarking in analyzing multi-source big earth observation data.

Organizer: IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society, in connection with the Annual International EMB Conference

Description: Annually the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society, in connection with the Annual International EMB Conference, sponsors a Student Paper Competition (SPC).

Eligibility: an active member of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society at a Student Grade; Graduate Student Member or Undergraduate Student Member

Organizer: IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society

Description: The Radar Challenge is a new event co-hosted with radar conferences that enables participants to experience the magic of radar in a personal, tangible and experiential way—offering an opportunity to create and “see” invisible radar waves interacting with their environment. The event will host an unknown target scene that participants will then sense and decipher using their self-engineered “home-brew” radar. The goal is to build a community of radar builders that collectively explore the art of the possible in making “COTS-based” radars.

Description: The Radar Challenge is a series of events co-hosted with radar conferences that enable participants to experience the magic of radar in a personal, tangible and experiential way. ​ The events invigorate participants to experiment with their self-engineered “home-brew” radar, low-cost commercial-off-the-shelf RF sensors, and publicly available radar datasets. The goal is to build a community of radar engineers that collectively explore the art of the possible for a new generation of radars by creating and experimenting with prototype radars.

Organiser: IEEE Computational Intelligence Society

Organizer: Region 10 SAC

Description: The IEEE Region 10 Student Branch Website Contest is designed to encourage student volunteers to fully utilize the power of the Internet for keeping members informed about the local activities and opportunities to participate. A well-maintained website with ease of navigation can be a great source of timely information and an appealing showcase for the local IEEE activities. IEEE Region 10 Student Activities Committee annually conducts a website contest and the Student Branches under the Sections of Region 10 are invited to submit entries of their websites.

Eligibility: IEEE Student Branches in Region 10

Description: The IEEE Region 10 Student Activities Committee recognizes the importance of research and dissemination of the findings for the The IEEE Region 10 Student Activities Committee recognizes the importance of research and dissemination of the findings for the advancement of science and technology. Researching, writing, and presenting a paper provides students with invaluable early experience in communicating ideas related to their professional fields. The contest offers IEEE Student members an opportunity to exercise and improve both written and verbal communication skills.

Eligibility: Open to all IEEE Student Members with basic degrees in electrical engineering, electronics, computer science or any other fields of interest of an IEEE Society, and are currently enrolled in a postgraduate course at a recognized educational institute. The contest is open only to IEEE Student Members in Region 10. The papers may be on any engineering subject in the field of interest of IEEE (within the scope of IEEE transactions).

Description: The IEEE Region 10 Student Activities Committee recognizes the importance of communication skills for fresh graduates as throughout their engineering career, they are constantly called upon to communicate ideas to others. The contest offers IEEE student members an opportunity to exercise and improve both verbal communication and presentation skills in a concise manner suitable for wider audience. The contest provides students with invaluable early experience in communicating ideas related to their professional field via electronic media.

Eligibility: Open to all IEEE Student Members who currently enrolled or graduated within the last six months for degrees in electrical engineering, electronics, computer science or any other field of interest of an IEEE Society. The contest is open only to IEEE Student Members in Region 10. The project video may be on any engineering subject in the field of interest of IEEE (within the scope of IEEE transactions).

Organizer: Region 8

Description: The IEEE Region 8 Student Paper Contest (SPC) started in 1967, only four years after IEEE R8 was formed. The SPC was an initiative of the second R8 Director, Jean Lebel. The first SPC was held in Lausanne, Switzerland in conjunction with the IEEE R8 Committee Meeting. Since then, it has been held every year without exception, and it is one of the main technical activities in Region 8. By organizing the Student Paper Contest, the IEEE Region 8 Student Activities Committee recognizes the importance of student research and the dissemination of their results and findings.

Description: In 1983, the Lance Stafford Larson Award was established by the Larson family in memorial for their son, who died in an electrical accident while an undergraduate at the University of Maryland. The Larson family, which includes IEEE Past President Robert Larson, created this award to encourage students to develop excellence in their communication skills and to motivate students toward achievement in the field of Computer Science.

One award of $500 is given each year to the first-place winner. First, second, and third place winners also receive a certificate of commendation. The prize is awarded to the best paper. In the case of multiple authors, the prize will be divided among the student authors.

Organizer: Partnered with IEEE RAS

Description: RoboCup is arranged with the intention to use RoboCup as a vehicle to promote robotics and AI research, by offering a publicly appealing, but formidable challenge. One of the effective ways to promote science and engineering research is to set a challenging long term goal. When the accomplishment of such a goal has signifRoboCup is an international scientific initiative with the goal to advance the state of the art of intelligent robots. When established in 1997, the original mission was to field a team of robots capable of winning against the human soccer World Cup champions by 2050. While that mission remains, RoboCup has since expanded into other relevant application domains based on the needs of modern society. Today, RoboCup covers the themes of robot soccer, personal service robotics in living spaces, manipulation and manufacturing at work, and rescue robotics. In addition, RoboCupJunior is a project-oriented educational initiative that sponsors local, regional, and international robotic events for young students. It is designed to introduce RoboCup to primary and secondary school children.

Description: This year’s challenge will be based on a study recently published in Cancer Cell by the ProCan team (Gonçalves et al., 2022). The study aimed to generate a comprehensive pan-cancer proteomic map of human cell lines to aid in the discovery of cancer biomarkers and the development of new cancer treatments. The main challenge will be to create an integrated overview of cell-type / tissue-type / cancer-type distributions of both single proteins as well as protein categories. There will also be a re-design challenge connected to the improvement of the representation/interaction strategies used for one of the figures in the paper.

Organizer: IEEE VIS 2020

Description: The 2020 IEEE SciVis Contest is dedicated to create novel approaches or state of the art visualizations to assist domain scientists to better understand the complex transport mechanisms of eddies in the Red Sea under uncertainty.

Description: The MATE competition challenges K-12, community college, and university students from all over the world to design and build ROVs to tackle missions modeled after scenarios from the ocean workplace. Eligibility: Pre-University Students

Organiser: IEEE IAS Eligibility: Open for all

Organiser: IEEE IAS Eligibility: At least one member of the team should be an IAS, IEEE member.

Description: The IEEE Xplore® Challenge for Researchers is open to academics, research scholars, and engineers from select areas, who are from universities, corporations, and government institutions and who have a subscription to IEEE Xplore, and are at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time of entry. The respondents with the highest quiz scores will be entered into a drawing to win one of several prizes.

Eligibility: All academics, research scholars, and engineers from Pakistan, Brazil, Asia, or Mexico, who are from universities, corporations, and government institutions who have a subscription to IEEE Xplore, and are at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time of entry.

Organizer: IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society

Description: Each year the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society sponsors the Student Poster Competition at the spring and fall OCEANS Conferences. Cash awards for the winning posters and the travel, food, lodging, and registration expenses of all students participating in the competition are provided by OES.

Eligibility: Open for all

Organizer: IEEE Signal Processing Society

Description: The Signal Processing Cup (SP Cup) competition is held annually and encourages teams of students to work together to solve real-world problems using signal processing methods and techniques. Each year, three final teams are chosen to present their work during ICASSP to compete for the US$5,000 grand prize!

Eligibility: Each team participating should be composed of one faculty member or someone with a PhD degree employed by the university (the Supervisor), at most one graduate student (the Tutor), and at least three, but no more than ten undergraduate students. At least three of the undergraduate team members must hold either regular or student memberships of the IEEE Signal Processing Society. Undergraduate students who are in the first two years of their college studies, as well as high school students who are capable to contribute are welcome to participate in a team. A participant cannot be on more than one team.

Organiser : IEEE Circuits and Systems Society (CAS)

Description: The CASS Student Design Competition is a worldwide competition where undergraduate students will team with high school students. The teams should suggest and execute projects aimed at encouraging High School Students to study Electrical Engineering and related areas. The focus should be on finding a solution to a real-life problem based on circuits and systems.

Organizer: IEEE Communications Society

Description: The competition, Communication Technology Changing the World, recognizes students or teams of students who demonstrate the capacity to improve the lives of people through the application of communication technology and the development of projects that meet the needs of humanity.

Organizer: IEEE Computer Society Description: IEEEmadC (Mobile Applications Development Contest), is a 6-8 month competition which was initially focused to inspire student members in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to develop mobile applications. It has escalated into a globally recognized competition.

Organizer: MGA Student Activities Committee Description: IEEEXtreme is a global challenge in which teams of IEEE Student members – advised and proctored by an IEEE member, and often supported by an IEEE Student Branch – compete in a 24-hour time span against each other to solve a set of programming problems.

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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.

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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]

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Three Minute Thesis Competition

The 3-Minute Thesis, Essay, or Creative Project Competition gives JCU graduate students the opportunity to present an original research topic to a panel of judges in just three minutes with the aid of a single PowerPoint slide.

5th Annual 3-Minute Thesis, Essay, or Creative Project Competition

Application now open | apply today, application deadline: sunday, january 26, 2025.

• Open to ALL JCU Graduate Students
• Research presentation for anyone to learn
• 3 minutes ONLY
• 1 PowerPoint Slide
• Sharing YOUR research with JCU on Wednesday, February 19, 2025
• Competition winner advances to Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) competition April 2-4, 2025 in Indianapolis, IN

For more details, review the "Competition Timeline" and "Competition Guidelines" sections below.

Application Submission Deadline

• Sun., January 26, 2025 - Follow this link to Apply

Virtual Preliminary Competition

• End of January-Early February - The Graduate School will contact all participants to set up a preliminary round presentation

In-Person Final Competition

• Weds., February 19, 2025 | 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM | Dolan Science Center, Room E130

MAGS Competition 

• 3MT Winner advances to MAGS Competition  - April 2 - 4, 2025 in Indianapolis, IN
• Graduate students enrolled in any Master's program at John Carroll may compete.
• The degree program need not formally require a thesis, but topic must cover an original research project.
• There will be one preliminary round of virtual judging with top choices selected to advance to final in-person John Carroll competition.
• Gift card prize awarded to peer choice award and competition winners.
• Competition winner advances on to Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) 3MT Competition
• One single static PowerPoint slide permitted, but not required. Slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of any description of slide content not allowed.
• No additional electronic media (e.g., sound and video files) or props (e.g., notecards, scripts, pointers, costumes, instruments, lab equipment) permitted.
• Presentations limited to 3 minutes; competitors exceeding that are disqualified.
• Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g., no poems, raps or songs).
• Presentations are considered to have begun when a presenter begins via movement or speech.

Developed by The University of Queensland , the Three Minute Thesis competition cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. The competition supports their capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

• Visit the University of Queensland website above for tips on how to craft your presentation and watch example videos from past winners.

The John Carroll University Graduate School hosted its first annual 3-Minute Thesis, Essay, or Creative Project Competition virtually in 2021. The 2022 competition was offered as a hybrid event and can be viewed on the Graduate School YouTube  Channel along with the 2024 event.

Past Winners

Competition Winner:  Katherine Porras Brenes

Project Title: Bright Does Not Always Mean Toxic: The Case of the Green and Black Poison Frog in Costa Rica

Peer Choice Winner:  Sr. Cynthia El Kassis

Project Title: Sustainability & Development

Competition & Peer Choice Winner: Katelyn Gobbie

Project Title: The Biocrust Canopy Beneath Your Feet

Competition & Peer Choice Winner: Emily Staufer

Project Title: Toxic Toads: Characterizing Chemical Defenses in Understudied Poison Frogs

Competition & Peer Choice Winner: Kelsey Garner

Project Title: Assessment of Differential Behavioral Syndromes in Genetically Distinct Clades of Eastern Red-backed Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus)

3-Minute Thesis Competition

3-minute thesis final competition.

The 3-Minute Thesis competition challenges Yale PhD students to clearly and compellingly describe their thesis to a broad audience – in 3 minutes!  By preparing a successful presentation, students will develop a key professional asset that is just as critical for academic conferences and job talks as it is for a job search outside of the academy.  We welcome all Yale students, postdocs, faculty, and staff to attend this exciting and enlightening annual event!   Register here .

Friday, April 12, 2024, 4:00 - 6:00 pm OC Marsh Auditorium, Yale Science Building  260 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511 

Watch as winners from the preliminary divisional rounds compete for recognition and cash prizes.  Cheer on the presenters as you learn about the diverse range and profound impact of graduate student research at Yale. A panel of esteemed judges drawn from Yale alumni will decide the first and second prizes, while the live and virtual audience will vote on “people’s choice” awards. The audience includes graduate students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and GSAS alumni. Join us for this celebration of professional communication!  

Congratulations to our Preliminary Round Winners!

Social Sciences

• Meera Choi (Sociology), “The Rise of Heterosexual Refusal?”
• Leonardo de Siqueira Lima (Economics), “Paying Students to Graduate from High School”

Engineering

• Theodoros Trochatos (Electrical Engineering), “Fortifying Quantum Clouds: Securing Information in the Quantum Era”
• Alev Baysoy (Biomedical Engineering), “Spatial CRISPR Screening”

Physical Sciences

• Lihao Yan (Physics), “Traveling Waves Perpendicular to Macaque’s V4 Area”
• Yanyu Zhao (Chemistry), “Secret Talent of the Gut Microbiome: Metabolism of Small Molecule G Protein-coupled Receptor Drugs”
• Jenna Andrews (Microbiology), “Strike an Adipose: Illuminating Fat as a Reservoir for Q Fever”
• Arya Ökten (Immunobiology), “Making a Norovirus Vaccine: All Good Things Take Time”
• John Webley (Slavic L&L, History of Art), “Ink, Paint, and Blood: India and the Great Game in Russian Culture”

3MT Judging Criteria

Cash prizes for winners of the final round.

• 1st Prize: $1,000 
• 2nd Prize: $500
• 3rd Prize: $300
• Audience Choice (Humanities/Social Sciences): $300
• Audience Choice (STEM): $300

Resources to Enhance Your 3MT Presentation

Workshops and Programs at Yale

Student participants have had access to a series of workshops and programs offered jointly by the  Office of Career Strategy  and the  Graduate Writing Lab  in the  Poorvu Center for Teaching & Learning . Where possible, these sessions will be recorded so that 3MT participants can revisit this information throughout the process.

• Poorvu’s CTL Certificate for Public Communication  

One-on-One Consultations

All participants are encouraged to schedule one-on-one advising appointments with  Hyun Ja Shin  and  Jacob Gonzalez  from the Office of Career Strategy. Available appointments can be seen and scheduled via  Yale Career Link . Participants can also  schedule writing consultations with the Graduate Writing Lab .

PitchVantage Public Speaking Studio at the Graduate Writing Lab

PitchVantage  is a program designed to help improve public speaking skills in a variety of different sectors of life.  Easily navigating the space between boardroom and lecture hall, this program focuses on different aspects of public presentation, from pacing to pitch, and evaluates performance in real time.  For more information and to book time in the GWL’s PitchVantage studio, please visit the  online scheduler , select the PitchVantage schedule, and reserve an appointment.

The 3-Minute Thesis Competition is sponsored by the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and is a collaboration of the offices of the McDougal Graduate Student Center. Yale’s competition is modeled on the 3MT® competition founded by the University of Queensland.  

/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="student thesis competition"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Physics ph.d. candidate wins 2024 three minute thesis competition.

“I want you to remember a time when you were in a setting where you felt like you didn’t belong. I want you to remember how you felt in that setting, maybe isolated or out of place, and how much you felt like you wanted to continue going back to that setting—probably not much. These feelings are all too familiar for undergraduate women pursuing their studies in science, and in physics specifically,” began Meagan Sundstrom, a doctoral candidate in physics at the ninth annual Cornell University Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

Alongside seven other finalists, Sundstrom presented her dissertation research in just three minutes on March 20 to a panel of judges and an audience from across campus while additional friends, family, advisors, and lab mates watched online. In the first in-person Cornell 3MT since 2019, presentations were judged by how clearly and compellingly students summarized their research to a general audience, using only one static slide.

Sundstrom’s presentation, “Recognizing and Removing Barriers for Women in Physics,” earned her first place and $1,500. Second place and $1,000 was awarded to information science doctoral student Sterling Williams-Ceci for her presentation, “AI Helps us Write – but at What Cost?”

After nearly 60 in-person and 70 virtual audience members cast their ballots, votes were tallied and the People’s Choice Award and $250 were presented to biomedical and biological sciences doctoral candidate Sharada Gopal for her presentation, “Worming Our Way to a Longer Life.”

This year’s judges included Jane Bunker, director of Cornell University Press; Joe Ellis, director of online degree program development at eCornell; David Lodge, the Francis J. DiSalvo Director of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability; and Bob Riter, patient advocate for the Cornell Community Cancer Partnership. Organization of the competition and coaching of presenters was provided by the Graduate School Office of Career and Professional Development.

“As grad students, there are a lot of opportunities to give your elevator pitch at conferences and more professional settings to more senior people in your field, and I thought this would be a really cool opportunity for me to try to tailor that pitch to a more general audience—how would I describe my research to my family and friends?—so that was fun,” said Sundstrom.

Being able to “zoom out” and view her topic from a different perspective was also helpful for Sundstrom, who is currently writing her dissertation and appreciates having both formulated a storyline and thought about the broader impacts of her work.

Williams-Ceci similarly enjoyed the chance to speak to a different type of audience than she is used to addressing.

“I hadn’t really had an opportunity in grad school to try communicating to a broad audience, it’s always just to my lab, so I wanted to practice having a chance to really tell a story and not just go through the slides,” she said. “It really helped me know for a fact that I can tell a convincing story about a project that I’ve done.”

Gopal shared that the 3MT was a fun way to combine her longtime artistic interests with her science.

“It seemed like such a fun event. I did a lot of theatre in college so I thought, ‘What can I do artistically here?’ and this seemed like a good mix of my scientific interest and my artistic theatre interests,” she said, adding that she also benefitted from looking at the bigger picture of her work and its impacts.

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. As the winner of Cornell’s competition, Sundstrom will now go on to compete in northeast regional competitions.

“Our Three Minute Thesis final round is a highlight of the year for those of us in the Graduate School—literally we talk about it all year long,” said Kathryn J. Boor, dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education. “We look forward to it because it’s just plain fun, and it’s an opportunity for us to watch and learn from our accomplished and creative graduate researchers.”

“I could not possibly be more proud of the work we saw,” she said.

2024 3MT Finalists

Watch the 2024 Three Minute Thesis final competition .

First Place: Meagan Sundstrom, physics doctoral candidate

Watch Meagan Sundstrom’s presentation .

Special Committee Chair: Natasha Holmes

Area of Research: Physics education research, peer recognition

Biography: Meagan Sundstrom is a doctoral candidate in physics. Her research uses social network analysis to examine undergraduate physics students’ recognition of their strong peers, with a particular focus on the role of gender in such recognition.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: State parks and ice cream!

Second Place: Sterling Williams-Ceci, information science doctoral student

Watch Sterling Williams-Ceci’s presentation .

Special Committee Chairs: Michael Macy and Mor Naaman

Area of Research: Psychological impacts of technology

Biography: Sterling Williams-Ceci is a Ph.D. student in information science co-advised by Michael Macy and Mor Naaman. She graduated summa cum laude as a Merrill Presidential Scholar from Cornell University in 2021 with a B.A. in psychology and as a college scholar. She studies how our interactions with technologies shape our attitudes and beliefs.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: The wonderful people I’ve gotten to work with and learn from.

People’s Choice Award: Sharada Gopal, biomedical and biological sciences doctoral candidate

Watch Sharada Gopal’s presentation .

Special Committee Chair: Siu Sylvia Lee

Area of Research: Aging

Biography: Sharada is a fourth year doctoral candidate. Prior to starting her Ph.D. she obtained her master’s in biomedical engineering from Cornell. Apart from her Ph.D. she enjoys public speaking, cooking, hiking with her dog, and swimming in beautiful waterfalls and lakes in Ithaca.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: Beebe Lake

Cátia Dombaxe, biomedical engineering doctoral candidate

Watch Cátia Dombaxe’s presentation .

Special Committee Chair: Yadong Wang

Area of Research: Tissue regeneration, drug delivery, and biomaterials

Biography: Cátia P. Dombaxe is a biomedical engineering Ph.D. candidate whose research focuses on tissue regeneration and functional recovery after spinal cord injury. She founded STEAMpact Foundation, aiding STEM education in rural Angola. Dombaxe is passionate about STEM and photography, and she aims to empower young minds worldwide.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: The staff!!!

Amanda Domingues, science and technology studies doctoral candidate

Watch Amanda Domingues’s presentation .

Special Committee Chair: Rachel Prentice

Area of Research: Ethics in scientific research

Biography: Amanda Domingues is a Ph.D. candidate in science and technology studies (STS). STS scholars study the social implications of science and technology. Her research explores how scientists have approached the challenges of incorporating community partners in their research projects. She is interested in what is at stake when science and ethics intersect.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: The supportive intellectual community

Viviana Maymi, biomedical and biological sciences doctoral candidate/doctor of veterinary medicine candidate

Watch Viviana Maymi’s presentation .

Special Committee Chair: Brian Rudd

Area of Research: CD8+ T cell immunology, T cell exhaustion

Biography: Viviana is a dual D.V.M./Ph.D. candidate in biomedical and biological sciences. She graduated with a B.A. in neurobiology from Harvard in 2018. Her Ph.D. research focuses on the T cell response to chronic infection. She hopes her findings will push forth new treatments for humans and animals alike.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: The vibrant nature that surrounds us!

Agustín Olivo, animal science doctoral candidate

Watch Augstín Olivo’s presentation .

Special Committee Chair: Quirine Ketterings

Area of Research: Dairy systems’ environmental sustainability

Biography: Agustín Olivo is Ph.D. candidate in the department of animal science, part of the Nutrient Management Spear Program. His work focuses on assessing and benchmarking greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient use efficiency in New York dairies. He holds a B.S. from the National University of Córdoba, Argentina, and a M.S. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Jerry Richardson, psychology doctoral candidate

Watch Jerry Richardson’s presentation .

Special Committee Chair: David Pizarro and Tom Gilovich

Area of Research: Moral psychology

Biography: Jerry is a Ph.D. candidate in psychology mentored by David Pizarro and Tom Gilovich. He holds degrees from the University of Maryland (B.A.) and Cornell University (M.A.). Following a 24-year arts career, his research explores moral psychology, focusing on altruism, empathy, cynicism, prosocial behavior, and moral emotions’ origins and impacts.

Favorite Thing About Cornell: The academic freedom to explore any questions that pique my interest.

2024 Final Round 3MT Competition

• The 2024 final round competition was held in person on March 20, 2024 at 3 pm ET.
• At the live competition, First Place, Second Place and People’s Choice awards were selected by judges and audience members.
• The First Place winner will be eligible to represent Cornell in any additional Ivy League or northeast regional competitions or showcases held in 2024. 

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an international competition to help graduate students develop and showcase their research communication skills. The annual university-wide competition hosted by Cornell Graduate School challenges research-degree 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 Competition

• All competitors submitted a recorded presentation of their talk by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, March 1, 2024 in order to compete in the Preliminary Round.
• All enrolled graduate research degree students at the research stage (with at least some results to share) are eligible. Past competitors who did not place, and are still enrolled as graduate research degree students this year are welcome to enter the competition again.
• Registration opened in January 2024, and an information session was held on January 31, 2024. View the information session recording .

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

Graduate College

Three Minute Thesis

What is 3mt.

The University of Iowa’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a research communication competition that challenges graduate students to clearly and concisely articulate complex research to non-specialist audiences. Contestants represent a diverse array of disciplines and areas of study and reflect the passion and thirst for discovery common among all of Iowa's graduate students.

Participating in the Graduate College’s public scholarship competitions helps students develop communication skills, allows them to share and take pride in their work, and offers the chance to compete for prizes. You can view the presentations of all of our finalists on the  3MT spotlight page .

ELIGIBILITY:  Participants must be currently enrolled in a Masters or PhD degree program that requires the student to conduct their own research. You can prepare for the competition by following the steps below.

Step 1: Register for Info Session

Join our webinar on September 13th at 2:00 pm to learn more.

Step 2: Register for 3MT

Sign up for the Fall 2024 Preliminary Competition on October 10th and 11th.

Step 3: Attend the Workshops

Sign up and take advantage of these 3MT training opportunities

2024 3MT Timeline

Each contestant who advances to the final competition will win a $250 cash prize. There will be additional prizes for:

• $1,000 dollars for 1st place (decided by judges) and the option for funds to travel to the Midwestern  Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS)  
• $500 for honorable mention (decided by judges)
• $250 for the "People's Choice" winner, selected by the audience ballot
• Gain everlasting glory for your college with the 3MT Dean's Cup 

Participation

Registration Deadline:  Monday, October 7, 2024, by 11:59 PM CT Students: To compete, you must register. After the registration deadline passes you will receive an invitation to join the 3MT ICON course that will include instructions on how to participate in the preliminary competition. 

Improve Your Presentation

The Graduate College hosts a series of optional workshops to help competitors prepare their presentations:

• A Beginner's Guide to 3MT - September 13th at 2 pm (virtual)
• Narrating Research: Mastering the 3MT for Humanities and Social Sciences - September 20 at 11 am (virtual)
• Science in a Nutshell: Distilling Physical and Health Science Research - September 20 at 2 pm (virtual)
• Using Research Imagery to Enhance Your Pitch - September 27 at 2 pm (virtual)
• Speaking Confidently: Elevate Your Stage Presence and Practice Your Pitch - October 4 at 2 pm (in-person)

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?

Winners will be determined by a panel of judges using the official 3MT competition rubrics to judge the presentations. Judges will be invited from the University of Iowa faculty and staff, previous 3MT winners, and the local community.

Volunteer to be a judge at any of the qualifying rounds

PAST WINNERS SHOWCASE

Check out past 3MT competition results and finalists

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Penn Three Minute Thesis (3MT)

Basic page sidebar menu penn gsc.

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a competition for doctoral and research students to develop and showcase their research communication skills through brief, 3-minute presentations.

Penn's annual 3MT competition is sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Education, with co-sponsorship and support from Career Services, the Graduate Student Center, and GAPSA. 

Penn 3MT is a University-sponsored speaking competition designed to showcase graduate student research in three-minute talks to a general audience. This is a terrific opportunity for graduate students engaged in substantive original research to develop communication skills and share their work with faculty, students, and staff from across the University.

• 3MT Information Sessions : October 2024 & January 2025
• Research Communications Workshops : October 2024 &  February 2025 (optional)
• Practice and Feedback Sessions: February 2025 (optional)
• First Round Submission Deadline: Saturday, March 1, 2025
• Finalists announced: March 10-11, 2025
• Finalist Feedback Sessions: March 10-April 3, 2025
• Live Competition : Friday, April 4, 2025

In addition to bragging rights, a prize of $1000 will be awarded to the first-place winner and $500 to both the second-place and audience choice winners. Winners will also have the opportunity to participate in regional and national 3 Minute Thesis competitions!

To enter, students must register below and submit an abstract or video of their three-minute talk to Penn 3MT (details below) by the First Round Submission Deadline. Up to 10 finalists will be chosen from those first-round submissions to compete in the campus-wide, Live Competition on the date above.

Round 1 Submissions

The 3MT competition will teach you how to communicate effectively to specialists and non-specialists alike, preparing you to present your research at scholarly conferences and to take part in both academic and professional job markets.

Professional Development:  Penn 3MT is a great opportunity for graduate students to practice sharing their original research to general audiences. Participants have the opportunity to attend workshops and receive group and one-on-one coaching to  develop oratorical skills, dynamic deliveries, and compelling content  when presenting their academic research.

Networking:  3MT participants will have an opportunity to meet and engage with new faculty, staff, and students from across the University.

Impact:  Participants have the opportunity to make the importance and relevance of their research visible to a non-specialist audience. Participants can elect to have their presentation shared online, promoting both your own work and the value of graduate student research to a much wider audience.

Prizes:  Everyone who submits a video will receive prizes from GAPSA and the Grad Center! Please register at the blue button at the top of the page  if you plan on submitting a video so we can collect your contact information. Judges will select a first-place ($1000) and second-place ($500) winner at the live competition. There will also be an audience choice ($500) winner.

Active, full-time PhD and Professional Doctoral students with a dissertation requirement. Graduates are not eligible.

Please Note : Students enrolled in any of the following programs are not eligible to enter the 3MT Competition:

Professional Masters

Professional Doctorate without a dissertation requirement

Entries from all disciplines are welcome and encouraged.

In cases of presentation of a collaborative research project, the presenter’s contribution to the project must be salient and clearly specified.

If you are unsure of your eligibility or would like more information about 3MT, please contact [email protected] . You can also check the Graduate Catalog for your Penn School to see if your program is listed under the PhD and Research Master's Programs or if your professional doctorate requires a dissertation.

We are also looking for faculty judges for the live competition. If you are interested in being a judge, please contact us !

To enter, you must submit a slide and either a 1-page abstract of your talk or a 3-minute draft video geared toward a lay audience.

Please register at the blue button at the top of the page  if you are interested in participating . Be sure to read through the Rules and Guidelines also before submitting your videos!

Competition Process

Students may submit their slide and abstract/video anytime before the First Round Submission Deadline for feedback. You can also request a 1:1 session during this time for immediate feedback or to go over your presentation with the Associate Director of Student Programs.

Research Communications Workshops offered by the Graduate Student Center will occur during the Fall and Spring semesters. See our Events page for details.

Student videos submitted by the First Round Submission Deadline are reviewed by a panel of staff for compliance with the eligibility requirements.

Up to 10 Finalists are selected for the live competition at least one-month before the Live Competition date .

A  campus-wide competition between the finalists will be held on the Live Competition date. A reception will be held after the competition.

On the basis of these presentations, winners will be selected by the panel of judges and a “people’s choice” by audience members.  

Judging and Selection

A panel of non-specialist faculty and staff judges will evaluate student presentations. Presentations will be evaluated based on clarity, comprehension, content, engagement, and communication.

Everyone who submits a video will receive a gift for participating! Please fill out the interest form above if you plan on submitting a video so we can collect your contact information. Judges will select a first ($1000) and second-place ($500) winner at the live competition. There will also be an audience choice ($500) winner.

All decisions of the judging panel are final.

Abstract submission:

• Your abstract should be submitted using the button below.  Please register at the blue button at the top of the page  if you are interested in participating .
• All abstract files should be named: "Title_of_Talk.pdf" or "Title_of_talk.docx". Please do not include your name or any other identifying information in the name of the abstract file.
• At the beginning of your abstract, please state your full name, graduate program, and the title of your presentation. The space it takes to do this will not be counted in your document submission.

Video submission:   

• Your video should be submitted using the button below.  Please register at the blue button at the top of the page  if you are interested in participating .
• All video files should be named: “Title_of_talk.mp4” or “Title_of_talk.mov”.  Please do not include your name or any other identifying information in the name of the video file.
• You do not need to include your slide in your video. A video of you speaking is enough. You will upload your slide alongside your video.
• At the beginning of your video, please state your full name, graduate program, and the title of your presentation. The time it takes to do this will not be counted against the three minutes to present your research.
• You will not be judged on your skills as a videographer, and you do not need to use professional video equipment. The judges just need to be able to see and hear you clearly. You can record yourself using the Panopto interface in Canvas. You can also record yourself in Zoom. You may ask a friend or colleague for help creating your video, or you can get assistance and borrow equipment from the Vitale Digital Media Lab . You can also follow these tips for recording a presentation in Zoom . Here is one demonstrated on a Mac .

Slide submission :

• Your slide should be submitted using the button below.  Please register at the blue button at the top of the page  if you are interested in participating .
• Presenters may use a single image or static PowerPoint slide (no Prezi or other presentation formats) to enhance their presentation.
• Students must create their slides themselves – they cannot ask someone else to design the slides. Use of PowerPoint templates is allowed.
• Slides can include visual elements (charts, visualizations, photos, clip art, etc.) created by someone other than the student, as long as the slide credits the original creator.
• Embedded audio, animations, and/or video clips (including but not limited to .gif, .avi, .mp4, .mp3, and .wmv file types) are NOT permitted.
• Powerpoint slides should be named "Title_of_talk.ppt". Please do not include your name or any other identifying information in the name of the PowerPoint file.

Powerpoint slides and abstracts/videos can be uploaded below. If you are having difficulty, please upload it to Microsoft, Box, or Google Drive and email jomcb at upenn.edu the link to download.

Upload Your Abstract/Video & Slide

Length and Timing of Live Presentations: Presentations should be a maximum of three (3) minutes in length, commencing from the moment the speaker starts the presentation through movement or speech.

• The presentation  begins  at the moment the speaker engages with the audience (if they start with a hand clap, a gesture, or any other such engagement, prior to speaking, the clock begins at that time; if there is no such engagement the clock starts when the student begins speaking).
• If the speaker continues past three minutes, points will be deducted from the final score, beginning with one point at 3:03, and one point every two additional seconds thereafter.
• No props of any kind are permitted, and notes cannot be used during the presentation.

Want some help getting started? In need of Inspiration? Check out the resources below!

3MT® Resources

• Three-Minute Thesis Showcase :  Watch winning 3MT presentations from around the world.
• Three Tips to Help You Prepare a Winning Presentation
• 3MT: The Three Most Common Mistakes
• Sample 3MT Coaching Session

Past Penn 3MT ® Competitions and Workshops

Research Communications Workshops

Additional Resources

• Nature MasterClass: Effective Science Communication (PennKey login required)
• Alda Center for Communicating Science Creating Connections Workbook
• XKCD Simple Writer
• Dejargonizer
• TED Talks :  Short talks on “ideas worth spreading.” 
• PhD Comics Two-Minute Thesis  Competition
• Berkeley Grad Slam Competition

Have questions? Need more info? Fill out our contact form and our staff will get back to you!

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Fall 2024 UGA 3MT® Competition Results

Graduate studies news.

November 15, 2024

(l to r) Kyndra Higgins, Grand Prize Winner; Daisi Brand; Skye Remko; Nathanael Mickelson; Moses Okocha; Marco Garcia, People’s Choice Winner; Sarah Dhanji; Darrian Talamantes; Anthony Suryamiharja, Runner Up Winner; Sakshi Babar; Ron Walcott, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School

Thank you to all the students who participated in the Fall 2024 University of Georgia Three Minute Thesis (3MT ® ) Competition .

The Fall 2024 3MT ® Competition drew 64 submissions from students in 43 different departments across three of UGA’s campuses. Ten students advanced to the finals after scoring well with a team of judges during the preliminary heats. The 3MT ® Competition was open to any currently enrolled UGA master’s or doctoral student.

The final competition was held Thursday, November 14, 2024, at the Morton Theatre in downtown Athens and was livestreamed on Facebook .

Congratulations, Fall 2024 3MT ® Winners!

Kyndra Higgins and Ron Walcott

The Fall 2024 Grand Prize Winner was Kyndra Higgins for her presentation titled “Breast Cancer: How Cells Shape Up.”

Anthony Suryamiharja and Ron Walcott

The Runner Up Winner was Anthony Suryamiharja for presenting “The Development of Protein-rich Plant-based Milk through a pH-based Approach.”

Marco Garcia and Ron Walcott

The People’s Choice award, which is given to the contestant who receives the most votes from viewers of the competition, went to Marco Garcia for his presentation, “A Multi-model Approach to Evaluate Hybrid Coastal Features: A Resilience-based Assessment.”

Special Thanks

The Graduate School would like to extend our gratitude to the Fall 2024 Panel of Judges, Master of Ceremonies, and Graduate Student Musical Performers.

Judges: Stephen Nobles, Governance & Flexibility Specialist, Clarke County School District; Dana Nichols, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Student Success for the University System of Georgia; and Jeff Sherman, Member of the Graduate Education Advancement Board

Master of Ceremonies: Narke Norton, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Office of Academic Affairs, College of Veterinary Medicine

Graduate Student Musical Performer: Elena Minko, Coach Assistant in Opera Thea ter and doctoral student in piano performance, Hugh Hodgson School of Music

Graduate Student Musical Performer: Antonio Azpiri, Opera Graduate Assistant and Hoveland Fellowship Award Recipient , Hugh Hodgson School of Music

Graduate Student Musical Performer: Ziyi Zhang, Opera Graduate Assistant, Hoveland Fellowship Award Recipient, and doctoral student in vocal performance , Hugh Hodgson School of Music

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

Tags: #3MT , #College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences , #CollegeofEngineering , #Committo , #DepartmentofFoodScienceandTechnology , #GradStudies , #UGA , #UGAgraduateschool , #UGAGriffin , #unlockingpotential

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