Three Minute Thesis – Graduate students, get ready to submit your applications
Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an international research communication competition developed in 2008 by The University of Queensland, where graduate students have three minutes to explain to judges and an audience why their research is important. The challenge is to succinctly convey ideas and principles of research in a way that will be understandable to a non-specialist audience.
“Outstanding communication skills are essential for graduate students. The 3MT competition is the perfect opportunity to showcase these skills, while also sharing the innovative research that our graduate students are engaged in at UM,” states Dr. Kelley Main, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
At UM this annual competition grants graduate students in thesis-based programs a platform to share the research that drives their work while competing for $6,300 in total prize money.
The inaugural 3MT competition at UM was held in 2013, making this the tenth year the university is set to share the groundbreaking research being done by UM graduate students. In the past nine years, 337 challengers have presented, with four PhD and five master’s students from eight different departments taking home first place in the UM competitions.
The 3MT eligibility, rules, and judging criteria for the 2022 UM competition can be found on the Faculty of Graduate Studies 3MT website.
To apply, students must upload a 30-second video and submit a short questionnaire prior to the January 21, 2022 deadline. Applications will be assessed by the selection committee, with challengers announced in mid-February.
The challengers will compete virtually in three online heats scheduled for March 2, 3, and 4. The top three challengers from each heat will advance to the final competition.
Find out more about the past prize recipients and their research on the Faculty of Graduate Studies 3MT Website.
The 2021 final competition program can also be found online.