thesis in three minutes

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

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"

How to design an impactful 3MT slide (with examples!)

What can you do in three minutes? Brush your teeth, make a coffee?

How about explain your entire PhD thesis? 😅

Believe it or not, that’s what thousands of people do each year in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT ® ); a global public speaking competition where PhD students explain the scope and impact of their research in, you guessed it, just three minutes . ⏰

And if you’re reading this, perhaps you’re an aspiring 3MT-er yourself, on the hunt for some inspiration to design an impactful 3MT slide to accompany your talk.

Sound like you? Then you’ve come to the right place.

Previously, we gave you some tips and tricks on how to write a winning 3MT script , but in this instalment of our 3MT series, we’re switching gears to cover another very important aspect:

We’ve trawled the internet to discover what actually makes a good three minute thesis slide, and in this blog, we’ll cover some do’s and don’ts to help you design one that’s memorable and impactful. To help bring these concepts home, we’ll also include some examples that we love from past 3MT winners and finalists.

But before we do that, let’s recap some important rules related to the 3MT slide:

So, in short, the 3MT slide obviously needs to be fairly simple. But that doesn’t mean it has to be boring.

Hold up… if the 3MT is a public speaking competition, why is the slide even important? Surely only what you speak about matters, right? WRONG! 🙅‍♀️

The 3MT competition is about so much more than just what you say. It’s also about what you do and what you show And what you show during your 3MT is where your nifty little slide comes in.

Not only is the PowerPoint slide a key component of the 3MT judging criteria , it also helps create a lasting mental image for the judges. After all, you can’t win the 3MT if the audience and judges can’t even remember what your research is about!

So, hopefully we’ve been able to convince you about just how important having a good slide is. But how do you design an impactful 3MT slide, you ask?

Well, here are 5 of our top tips:

Tip #1 : Avoid data dumping 📊

You might be familiar with those boring old PowerPoint presentations that seem to appear at every conference. You know the ones I’m talking about. The ones cluttered with complex graphs, huge tables, and enough numbers to put even the most experienced professors to sleep.

May I present to you… Exhibit A:

Look familiar? Good. Now lock the memory away in a distant room of your mind palace, because that’s exactly what you DON’T want in a 3MT slide (or really, in any slide for that matter…)

Unlike a conference presentation, your 3MT slide should simply act to enhance and complement your script, rather than be used to display complex data and graphs. In fact, I would suggest avoiding the use of any complex graphs and data tables at all, because they just end up detracting attention from what you’re saying.

If you choose to present some important data or statistics in your 3MT slide, consider swapping out graphs with simple infographics , like pie charts or diagrams:

As you can see, simple infographics and eye-catching figures are a much more visually stimulating way to present information, especially compared to data-heavy graphs and tables. And they’re surprisingly easy to make using tools like Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Express .

So, if in doubt, leave complex data out. 🚫

In fact, you’ll find that most successful 3MT-ers show little to no data at all in their slides and intentionally keep them very conceptual, which brings me to tip #2 .

Tip #2 : Keep it conceptual 💡

Perhaps you’re sensing a general theme here… that typically less is more when it comes to a 3MT slide. This allows the focus of the presentation to be on the speaker, the slide simply acting as a visual aid to complement the story . And when it’s a public speaking competition, I’d say that’s pretty important.

In our humble opinion, some of the most effective and memorable 3MT slides are those that present an image or diagram that conveys a single underpinning concept or idea .

You might recall from our ‘ How to Write a Winning 3MT Script ’ blog post, that many successful 3MT scripts incorporate things like humour, analogies , or fictional characters. In these situations, it can be helpful for the contents of the slide to reflect this.

One of my favourite examples of this comes from 2016 Asia-Pacific 3MT Winner, Joshua Chu-Tan , who spoke about his research on gene therapy treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to target the root of vision loss. In his winning presentation, he says:

Rather than using complex diagrams to show the theory, he opted for this simple, yet extremely powerful image that highlights the impact of vision loss from age-related macular degeneration. And, seeing as this image has stuck in my memory for years, I’d say it was a pretty good choice.

As another example, back when I won the 3MT , I used an analogy to draw parallels between A) cars carrying passengers on a highway, and B) nanoparticles carrying drugs along a blood vessel. So, my 3MT slide portrayed a busy highway with signage to show which hypothetical organs the cars were headed towards:

Basically, the overarching message is to keep it simple.

And that’s all well and good… But where do you even start?

Your first step is to write your 3MT script . Then, once you have your script prepared, use it as a tool to help you brainstorm ideas for your slide. Note whether you’ve used any analogies, introduced any characters, or covered certain concepts, and then based on this information, find or create a visual to match! 🖼 This might be a little different to your usual scientific presentations, where you would normally prepare your slides first, then come up with what you are going to say after, but trust me – it works!

Tip #3 : Choose an eye-catching visual… or make one 👀

In the same way that ‘ the hook’ in your 3MT script helps to pique the audience’s attention, the slide is another important tool to capture their attention and keep them engaged. But to do this, it needs to be eye-catching and interesting .

We’ve noticed that most winning 3MTs have slides that generally fall under one of two categories: images or diagrams .

These are usually photographs or illustrations that complement the script in some way — containing a reference to the concept, analogy or character(s) that were introduced in the script.

For example, let’s say you introduced a fictional character in your 3MT script. By visually showing this character in your slide, it helps the audience form a connection with them and taps into their sense of empathy. Let’s look at an example:

As you can see, using this photograph makes for a really effective and impactful slide because it elicits a strong emotional response. Come on… how can you not love that adorable little face, right? 🥺

However, the images don’t have to be of people to be effective – they can also be more conceptual.

For instance, one 3MT finalist spoke about their research on detecting diseases, like cancer, based on characteristic molecules present in the breath. In their slide, they showed an illustration of breath molecules exiting the lungs and mouth to be caught in a net:

Not only is this image a great reference to the net analogy used, but we (as the audience) are able to get a basic idea about the research concept based on the slide alone, which really helps it stick in our memory!

Of course, while we’ve highlighted some great examples, you should choose whatever image speaks to you and your research. Some useful resources to find images for your 3MT slide include iStock Photo and Adobe Stock Photos (making sure to provide attribution where required), or you can even be extra creative and take your own photo, or create your own image ! 📸

Aside from images, schematic diagrams can be another great way to conceptualise and visualise your research. However, to be effective as 3MT slides, the diagrams need to be simple and easy to understand.

Ideally, they should be short, and the outcomes immediately recognisable . Avoid using complex diagrams that you’ve directly copy-pasted from a paper, as these generally take a lot more time and concentration to understand.

A good example of a diagram for a 3MT slide was used by the 2020 Asia-Pacific 3MT winner , whose research focused on the development of a liquid glue to help measure electrical signals from plants as a way to measure their health:

In this example, it’s easy to understand what the research is about, what’s being measured, and what the desired outcomes are, thanks to the clear illustrations and emotive flower drawings.

So, if done well, diagrams can be a really powerful tool to conceptualise your research. If you want to try and create one yourself, there are lots of useful tools you can use, like Adobe Illustrator , Canva , or BioRender , to name a few.

Get creative!

Tip #4 : Minimise text 💬

When it comes to presentations, there’s nothing worse than being in the audience, staring at a PowerPoint slide, only to find a wall of text staring back at you. Not only is it super distracting, but aesthetically, it also leaves much to be desired.

And let’s be honest, if the audience is reading your slide, then they’re not listening to you… and vice versa. Which, for the 3MT, is a very big problem.

To prevent this, try to avoid including large bodies of text on your 3MT slide . See if you can verbally communicate the information instead, or alternatively, replace the text with an image that conveys the same message. After all, they say a picture speaks a thousand words.

If you really need to include some text, as in the case of simple diagrams, try to keep it to a minimum and limit yourself to 15 words maximum.

Any text you do include should use a font size that can be easily seen from the back of the room (i.e., 24 pt. minimum). And, while they sometimes have their time and place, try to avoid using any cursive, funky, or hard-to-read fonts . Comic sans, I’m looking at you. 😒

Tip #5 : Negative space is your friend 🔲

You might be tempted to fill every visible inch of your PowerPoint slide with images, diagrams, or just something to compensate for the very little time you have to present your 3MT.

Though, you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you did, because a little negative space can go a long way towards designing a great 3MT slide.

But what is negative space? Put simply, it’s the empty space around and between objects.

Leaving some negative space in your slide gives the audience some breathing room and helps them focus on what’s important .

For photographs, this might mean choosing an image that has one focal point. This doesn’t necessarily mean the background needs to be plain, but it may simply be out of focus to allow the objects in the forefront to stand out.

For diagrams, this means leaving some empty space between sections so that there’s a clearer distinction between them, or reducing the number of sections entirely.

Here are some great examples of 3MT slides that use negative space to draw our attention to a particular person or object:

By leaving some negative space, our eyes are immediately drawn to one particular focal point, letting us focus on what’s important: You.

The take-home message 📝

And that brings us to the end of the second blog for our 3MT series!

The 3MT slide can truly make or break a 3MT presentation, but the right one can take it to the next level. And, by following these simple tips, you’re well on your way to designing a slide that captures your research in an effective and impactful way:

Avoid complex graphs and data

Keep it conceptual

Choose an eye-catching image or diagram, or make one

Keep text to a minimum, and

Don’t be afraid of negative space

So get creative! And remember, if you want to learn more about how to create amazing graphics, or how to up your public speaking skills, we’d love to show you how in our in-person science communication workshop s or online courses!

Contact us here to find out more. 🤩

Cintya Dharmayanti

Dr Tullio Rossi

Related Posts

How to write a winning 3MT script

5 epic science communication conferences for your travel bucket list

The history of science communication methods and their evolution over time

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Preparing your 3MT presentation

• Back to previous menu
• Eligibility, Rules and Judging Criteria
• Sussex 3MT 2023
• Sussex 3MT 2022
• Sussex 3MT 2020
• Sussex 3MT 2019
• Sussex 3MT 2018
• Sussex 3MT 2016

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

/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="thesis in three minutes"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Three minute thesis.

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

3MT Competition

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

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

Learn more about the 2024 Graduate School 3MT competition.

Email [email protected] with any questions.

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

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

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

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

3MT Resources

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

Judging Criteria

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

Comprehension and Content

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

Engagement and Communication

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

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