3 Minute Thesis

Eunji Kong, Skylyn Ferguson, and Abby Frank smile at the camera.

Three Minute Thesis (3MT)

One slide and three minutes. That's all that competitors can use during this lively competition that took place November 21, 2024. 

Congratulations to our top three competitors!

  • 1st place: Skylyn Ferguson, Human Physiology
  • 2nd place: Eunji Kong, Special Education
  • 3rd place: Abby Frank, Marketing

3 Minute Thesis

Prizes & Benefits

Honor Roll

Titas Sil presenting in front of a slide demonstrating results from research in immune functioning.
Presenter speaks from behind a podium.
Presenter holds a microphone and lectures.

Prizes & Benefits

Winners of the UO 3MT competition win cash prizes (First place wins $500; second place $300; third place $200). The first place competitor will be eligible to participate in the regional competition hosted by the Western Association of Graduate Schools in mid-March 2025.

Practice

Develop academic presentation and research communication skills and ability to effectively explain research to a non-specialist audience.

Network

3MT provides a valuable opportunity for graduate students (live or virtually) to get to network, get know one another, and talk about their research. 

Compete

Potentially attend national and international 3MT competitions which provides networking and professional development opportunities. 

A crowd watches a presenter speak about their research.

Participate in Fall 2025

To participate, be ready to submit a title and a 200-word summary describing the work or research you plan to present. All competitors should use inclusive language that avoids stereotypes, labeling, and pejorative comments. Competitors can expect to receive a feedback package after the event containing a video clip of their presentation and a summary of the judges' comments.

3MT Competitor Guide

About 3MT

Known as 3MT, the idea came out of the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2008. Since then, the competition has been adopted by institutions in 85 countries. 

You will have 3 minutes - and one slide - to present your academic interests, work or research, even if you have not completely finalized it yet. This is great practice for concise public speaking in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.