3MT at the University of Kansas
An 80,000 word PhD thesis would take 9 hours to present.
Your time limit... 3 minutes.
What is the 3MT® Competition?
Participating in the 3 Minute Thesis develops academic, presentation and research communication skills, while developing research candidates’ ability to effectively explain their research in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.
The competition is open to all KU Lawrence Graduate Students!
Participants in the 3 Minute Thesis Competition will compete to win cash prizes of $500, $300, and $150, in addition to getting to present at the Graduate Student Research Symposium in the Spring, an opportunity to have their research feature on Kansas Public Radio as apart of Research Matters, and the ability to compete in the larger Midwest competition with travel expenses covered by KU .
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. 3MT® commenced in 2008 and is currently held in over 900 universities across more than 85 countries worldwide.
3MT® Timeline
- Applications for Graduate Students to apply for the 3MT® competition open
- 8/29/2025 2:00–3:00 p.m 3MT Virtual Info Session #1 (Zoom)
- 8/29/2025 11:00–12:00p.m. Watson 455 3MT In Person Info Session #2
- 9/30/2025 3:30–5:00 p.m. 3MT Workshop 1: Verbal Communication (Zoom)
- September 30th Applications Close
- 10/2/2025 3:30–5:00 p.m. Watson 455 3MT Workshop 1: Verbal Communication (
- 10/7/2025 3:30–5:00 p.m. 3MT Workshop 2: Visual Design (Zoom)
- 10/9/2025 3:30–5:00 p.m. Watson 455 3MT Workshop 2: Visual Design (In Person)
- 10/10/2025 Last day to drop participation
- 10/16/2025 2:00-4:00 p.m. Alderson Auditorium 3MT Preliminary Round
- 10/30/2025 2:00-4:00 p.m. Alderson Auditorium Final 3MT Competition
- Applications for Graduate Students to apply for the 3MT® competition open
- 8/29/2025 2:00–3:00 p.m 3MT Virtual Info Session #1 (Zoom)
- 8/29/2025 11:00–12:00p.m. Watson 455 3MT In Person Info Session #2
- 9/30/2025 3:30–5:00 p.m. 3MT Workshop 1: Verbal Communication (Zoom)
- September 30th Applications Close
- 10/2/2025 3:30–5:00 p.m. Watson 455 3MT Workshop 1: Verbal Communication (
- 10/7/2025 3:30–5:00 p.m. 3MT Workshop 2: Visual Design (Zoom)
- 10/9/2025 3:30–5:00 p.m. Watson 455 3MT Workshop 2: Visual Design (In Person)
- 10/10/2025 Last day to drop participation
- 10/16/2025 2:00-4:00 p.m. Alderson Auditorium 3MT Preliminary Round
- 10/30/2025 2:00-4:00 p.m. Alderson Auditorium Final 3MT Competition