2023 Vanderbilt 3MT Competition!

10th Annual Vanderbilt University Three Minute Thesis Competition

Date: Friday, November 10th, 2023, 9:00 AM

Location: Student Life Center

 Vanderbilt University’s Graduate Student Council will be hosting the 10th annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition on Friday, November 10th from  9:00 AM CST until 4:00 PM CST. The event is scheduled to be in person and open to the public, and we would love for you to join us! 

 We anticipate over an influx of graduate students to compete in 3MT this year! Come support the graduate students in your department, and be sure to stick  around at the end of the event to vote for your favorite talk. The presenter with the most votes will win the People’s Choice Award with a prize!

 You do not have to stay for the entire event, so feel free to enter and leave as your schedule allows.

Registration Application:  Google form
Early registration for the event is during the month of February and you will be automatically entered into a raffle! The last day to register is October 25th and the deadline to submit your slide is also October 11th.

Early Registration Period: September 6th – October 4th, 2023
Registration Deadline: October 25th, 2023
Deadline for Slide Submission: October 25th, 2023

 Vanderbilt has hosted the Three Minute Thesis Competition for its students since 2013. 3MT® is a research communication competition developed by The  University of Queensland. It challenges students to present their research for a non-specialist audience. Students are allowed only two things: (1) up to three  minutes to talk and (2) a single, static PowerPoint slide.

To get more involved, or for more information, contact the Co-VPs of Academic Affairs:

Arijit Sengupta: arijit.sengupta@vanderbilt.edu and Alicia C Lane: alicia.c.lane@vanderbilt.edu

Information for Participants 

 There will be 10 finalists chosen by the judges. Finalists will receive prizes of $100, unless they are People’s Choice, Honorary STEM recipient, Honorary  Humanities recipient, or Grand Prize recipient. This is also an opportunity to develop an elevator pitch for job interviews.

 To be eligible, participants must be in at least their 2nd year of a Vanderbilt Graduate School program pursuing a research-based degree. Students pursuing  M.Ed, EdD, MDiv, MEng, MD, JD, or MBA are not currently eligible. The research must be original to the participant, undertaken while at Vanderbilt, and more  extensive than a course assignment.

 The application asks for biographical information, your field of research, and a 3MT title (which must be free of jargon and interesting to a general audience)  Once you register, you will receive an email with a link where to edit it and update when submitting your slide.

 Students will submit a 3MT PowerPoint slide. The slide must be 4:3 or 10”w by 7.5”h (Design –> Slide Size). No transitions, animations, movements, or  sounds are allowed. No graphics or text are required, and less is generally more. Use the content to cue your audience to something important or give them a  way of understanding your explanations.

Registration and Slide Submission Deadline: October 11th, 2023

 On the day of the competition, all participants will be evaluated in three areas: how well the audience understood the research (comprehension), how much  the speaker made the audience want to learn more (engagement), and whether the participant spoke in language that non-academics could understand  (communication style). The top 10 participants will advance to a final round for a shot at the Grand Prize, Honorary STEM, Honorary Humanities, and People’s  Choice prizes.

For a complete list of rules, click here.