3MT at the University of Kansas
Brilliant ideas conveyed in three minutes or less.
What is the 3MT® Competition?
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. This event challenges graduate students to present a compelling speech about their research and its significance to non-academic persons in just three minutes using only one presentation image. 3MT® commenced in 2008 and is currently held in over 900 universities across more than 85 countries worldwide. In 2020, the 3MT® competition moved to a temporary virtual format due to COVID-19 and continues to be held around the world in either a virtual or live format (depending on local COVID-19 restrictions).
The goals of the competition are to (1) highlight the excellent research conducted by graduate students and (2) improve graduate students’ communication of research to non-specialist and non-academic audiences. The judges of the competition are educated professionals in a variety of positions in corporate, government, and non-profit industries.
3MT® Timeline
Graduate students are invited to register for the 3MT® Competition.
Graduate students registered for the 3MT® Competition will be required to participate in workshops to prepare them for the competition.
The Preliminary Heats usually take place in the first week of November to determine the graduate students that will advance to the final round of the competition one week later.
The KU winner moves on to represent KU at the regional 3MT® Competition, which takes place in late March or early April during the annual meeting of the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS).
Graduate students are invited to register for the 3MT® Competition.
Graduate students registered for the 3MT® Competition will be required to participate in workshops to prepare them for the competition.
The Preliminary Heats usually take place in the first week of November to determine the graduate students that will advance to the final round of the competition one week later.
The KU winner moves on to represent KU at the regional 3MT® Competition, which takes place in late March or early April during the annual meeting of the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS).