Three Minute Thesis

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an academic research communication competition developed by the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. Through the competition, graduate and professional students can hone their academic and research presentation skills and their ability to effectively explain their research to a general audience. Each competitor has three minutes to speak and can use only one presentation slide.

Registration for the 2025-26 Competition Has Closed

Competitor and judge registration for the 2025-26 Three Minute Thesis competition has now closed. Judging for the first round of this year's competition will take place the first few weeks of January, and finalists will be announced in late January.

Final Round Details

Join us in person or tune in live to the final round of the competition, taking place Saturday, March 28, at the Nittany Lion Inn, University Park. The livestream link will be added to this page once available.

On this Page
3MT Format
Prizes
Competition Information
Last Year's 3MT
Contact

Competition Format

First Round - Video Submission

Submissions judged by alumni, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, staff, and others. Submissions due by December 5.
Final Round - In-Person

The top-ranking students from the first round are invited back to a final, in-person round live streamed from the University Park campus on Saturday, March 28.
Regional Competition

The top-ranking final round Penn State master's or doctoral student is invited to compete in a regional competition hosted by the Northeast Association of Graduate Schools.

: Open call to any Penn State graduate or professional student conducting research to submit three-minute videos. Submissions will be judged by alumni, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, staff, and others. The top 10 students get invited to the final round as well as a free lunch at Penn State’s annual Doctoral Alumni Recognition Luncheon hosted by the Dean of the Fox Graduate School.
: The final round will be live streamed from the University Park campus and will include a people’s choice prize selected by virtual and in-person audience ballots. Winners will be announced shortly after the competition.
: The top-scoring master's or doctoral student from Penn State’s final round will be invited to the regional 3MT competition hosted by the Northeast Association of Graduate Schools. Winners of the regional competition are invited to the national competition hosted by the Council of Graduate Schools. Students in master's and professional degree programs are eligible to participate in Penn State's competition but are not eligible for the regional or national competitions.

Prizes

First Place: $1,000
Second Place: $500
People's Choice: $500 (sponsored by the Graduate and Professional Student Association)

Co-Sponsors

Information for Students

Learn more about eligibility requirements, the upcoming timeline, prize money, and more.

Learn more

Information for Judges

Learn about remote judging for the opening round, who can be a judge, judging criteria, and more.

Learn more

<p>Tricia Hart, a recent doctoral graduate in nutritional sciences, took home first place in Penn State Three Minute Thesis competition, which challenges graduate students to highlight the impact of their research in three minutes. Chemical engineering doctoral candidate Adam Smerigan earned second place, and energy and mineral engineering doctoral candidate Patrick Sarpong earned the People's Choice Award in the 2025 competition, hosted by the Fox Graduate School on March 29. </p>

Congratulations to the 2025 Award Recipients!

The final round of the 2024-25 Penn State Three Minute Thesis competition was exciting and engaging! The ten finalists did an outstanding job highlighting their experiences. The awardees include:

First Place

Tricia Hart, Nutritional Sciences

Second Place

Adam Smerigan, Chemical Engineering

People's Choice

Patrick Sarpong, Energy and Mineral Engineering

The People's Choice Award is sponsored by the Graduate and Professional Student Association.

View the Final Round

Contact Us

If you have questions you can reach out to the Fox Graduate School.