The Graduate Showcase is a modification of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition,
created by the University of Queensland in 2008, in which graduate students are challenged
to summarize their research with only three minutes and one slide, to a general audience.
The competition was developed to help graduate students improve their oral communication
skills.
This is an incredibly exciting event and truly the cornerstone of our Graduate Student Appreciation Week. We encourage all graduate students to participate or attend!
Often called the 3-Minute Thesis, this contest challenges graduate students to improve
their oral communication skills by summarizing their research/project/passion in just
three minutes to a general audience.
You will encounter many potential audiences during your life where you'll need to
provide a quick and clear explanation of your research: a prospective employer; your
family; professional meetings and conferences, a TV talk show host. These are situations
in which your future career may depend on your ability to articulate a concise explanation
of what you’ve studied and why it is so important.
This is your academic "elevator speech" and the basis behind this competition.
Prizes: cash prizes will be awarded to first place ($300), second place ($150), and to a “People’s
Choice” winner chosen by audience members ($150).
Practice sessions will be available to those who register.
Groups of two or more graduate students are challenged to summarize their group research
within the confines of a 30”x40” poster for presentation to a general audience. Unlike
the 3MGS, your audience will have the chance to ask questions and interact with you.
Groups of up to three participants or individuals are welcome to participate.
Prizes: one poster will be selected "Audience Favorite" by electronic voting. Each individual
responsible for that poster will be eligible for a cash prize per person ($100).
Poster Deadline: April 1st
Thank you to our 2025 3MGS Judges!
We greatly appreciate the time, feedback, and expertise of our 3MGS final contest
judges.
Lee Clark, Learning Designer, Office of Online Learning
Sherry Hoyle, Program Director & Assocate Professor, Educational Leadership
April Mustian, Program Director & Professor, Special Education
How can you distill your research down to its absolute essence, its simplest possible
level or to the bumper sticker phrase?
What is the single most important motivation for your research?
Why should anyone care about your topic?
Three minutes is at the high end of the average person’s attention span for topics
in which they have no natural interest. It is your job to convince them to be interested.
This practice will also set you up for handling longer presentations, as it's the
first three minutes that will make or break the rest of the presentation. Think of
this presentation as the introduction that would whet the audience’s appetite to hear
more about your work.
Important considerations:
Everyone in the audience should understand your presentation without knowing anything
at all about the topic beforehand.
There is no possible way to explain everything in 3 minutes—don’t even try.
Don’t speak in “bullet points” – your talk has to make sense as a conversation.
Don’t explain your slide.
A 3‐minute presentation is roughly two pages of 12‐point text, double spaced.
Your slide:
should be visible, legible, and understandable from the back of the room.
should make sense on its own.
should include graphics and pictures
should have minimal, if any, text – too many words to read will distract the audience
from listening to you.
should not include your name or project title – a title slide with this information,
along with your major, will be provided for you.
like your talk, should not include everything that you want to convey– simple can
be more impactful.
At the end of your three minutes, the audience should know the following:
Why should they care about your research topic?
What did you do for your project?
Why is your research important to the public?
In what ways is your research original and interesting?
What are the key results (optional, you might not have any yet)?
Only a single, static PowerPoint slide is permitted. No slide transitions, animations,
or movement of any description.
No additional electronic media (i.e. sound or video files).
No additional props (i.e. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment).
Presentations are limited to three minutes maximum; competitors exceeding three minutes
will be disqualified.
The use of notes or cue cards are NOT permitted during the finals; however, they can
be used during practice sessions as needed.
Presentations are to be delivered via spoken word (i.e. no poems, raps, or songs).
The decision of the panel of judges, for first and second place,.is final.
Presentations will be recorded and may be shared on the WU Graduate Studies website
and through other media platforms.
Posters may be retained by Graduate Studies for use in promotions or other events.
Online 3MGS sessions:
Contestants will be held to the same standards of the in-person contestants.
Pre-recorded presentations are NOT permitted.
Presenters will need to be live during the session and during their three minute presentation
will need to have most or all of their body visible within the camera frame.
Only a single, static PowerPoint slide is permitted. No slide transitions, animations,
or movement of any description.
No additional electronic media (i.e. sound or video files).
No additional props (i.e. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment).
Presentations are limited to three minutes maximum; competitors exceeding three minutes
will be disqualified.
The use of notes or cue cards are not permitted during the finals; however, they can
be used during practice sessions as needed.
Presentations are to be delivered via spoken word (i.e. no poems, raps, or songs).
Presentations will be recorded and may be shared on the WU Graduate Studies website
and through other media platforms.
“People's Choice” winners will be decided by the audience during the poster session
and at the end of the 3MGS competition via online voting system.
A preselected panel of judges will determine the first and second place winners of
the 3MGS.
Judges will not be privvy to the audience selection for People's Choice winner so
it is possible that the same contestant may win two of the awards. Judges will only
be consulted in the event of a tie during the audience vote.
Judges will evaluate competitors on these general categories:
ORAL PRESENTATION - 40 points possible
Comprehension & Content
clear starting problem or question
clear description of the processes used, or research conducted
clear description of the conclusions, outcomes, and/or impact
call to action or description of future steps
Engagement & Communication
oration was delivered clearly, and the language was appropriate for a non-specialist
audience
enthusiasm was conveyed for their work
the presenter captured and maintained the audience’s attention
conveyed a reason to care about the premise
POWERPOINT SLIDE - 10 points possible
well-defined and enhanced presentation with graphics and pictures; any text is sparse
and legible
visible, readable and understandable from the back of the room
