3mt winners 2023

I'll give you 3 minutes!

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) celebrates the exciting research conducted by Master's, PhD, and DNP students. Developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), the exercise cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills.

The competition supports students’ capacity to effectively explain their research and its significance in three minutes using language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

3MT® is now a globally recognized competition held at over 900 universities located in more than 85 countries.

Why Participate?

This event is part of an effort to provide our master’s and doctoral students with an opportunity to develop their oral communication and presentation skills. It also provides a valuable opportunity for research students to come together, network, and discuss their research in a supportive environment. Did we mention the cash prizes?

Prizes

  • First Place: $250.00
  • Second place: $200.00
  • Third place: $100.00
  • People's Choice: $100

The 1st place winner will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to represent UAH at the regional 3MT Competition held by the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools at their annual spring meeting.

Rules

  • ONE single, static PowerPoint slide is permitted - no slide transitions, animations or “movement” of any description.
  • No additional electronic media (e.g., sound or video) are permitted.
  • No additional props (e.g., costumes, instruments, equipment) are permitted.
  • Competitors exceeding three minutes are disqualified.
  • Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g., no poems, songs) in English.
  • Presentations are considered to have commenced as soon as a presenter starts the presentation through movement or speech.
  • Presentations must be aimed at the educated non-specialist; no disciplinary jargon or specialized vocabulary can be used unless the explanation is part of the three minutes.

Eligibility

  1. The student must be a currently enrolled graduate student in good standing at UAH.
  2. The topic must come from a research or scholarly/creative project of significant scope (thesis, dissertation, capstone research, product of learning).
  3. The student should have research and at least preliminary results to present. This is not a presentation about what one plans to research.
  4. The topic must be interesting enough to hold the attention of a non-specialist (e.g., Smithsonian magazine, Discovery Channel).

Judging

The competition will be judged by a panel of individuals from the community, industry, and/or alumni. The judges will score based on comprehension, content, and engagement.

  • Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background and significance to the research question being addressed while explaining terminology and avoiding jargon?
  • Did the presentation clearly describe the impact and/or results of the research, including conclusions and outcomes?
  • Did the oration make the audience want to know more?
  • Was the presenter careful not to trivialize or generalize their research?

If you have any questions, please email gradstudent@uah.edu. For those interested in competing, look for an email with an online registration form that will be sent to all graduate students in Fall Semester.