Three Minute Thesis

The Division of Graduate Studies will host our third annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition at Kent State University in October 2017.

Preliminary rounds are scheduled for October 18, 19, 20 at 12pm. The top presenters from each preliminary round will be selected to present in the 3MT Finals on Friday, October 27 at 12pm.

Registration for the 2017 3MT will open in mid-September.

3MT was developed at the University of Queensland and is now offered at over 170 universities. The exercise develops academic, presentation, and research communication skills and supports the development of graduate students' capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes in a language appropriate to an intelligent, but non-specialist audience. 3MT is not an exercise in trivializing or 'dumbing-down' research but forces competitors to consolidate their ideas and crystalize their research discoveries.

The trademarked name of this event is Three Minute Thesis, but students are able to present research they are conducting for a thesis, dissertation, terminal project, or any other research project they are engaged in. Students may present on research that is in progress. All currently enrolled graduate students are eligible to participate and compete for cash prizes. Students are given just three minutes and one powerpoint slide that they can use to discuss their research in an engaging and concise manner.

View the Complete Rules and Judging Criteria.

Review the 2016 preparation workshop presentation on 3MT.

2016 3MT Award Winners

First Place: Crystal Oechsle, doctoral student in Biomedical Sciences: Cellular and Molecular Biology
Second Place: Gaelle Muller-Greven, doctoral student in Biomedical Sciences: Cellular and Molecular Biology
Third Place: Michael Levinstein, doctoral student in Higher Education Administration
People's Choice: Mel Dickey, master's student in Higher Education Administration

You can view all four presentations on our 3MT playlist .

View highlights from the 2015 3MT competition at Kent State below.