3MT (Three Minute Thesis) Competition

3MT 2024: March 28, 2024 10:00 am - 12:00 pm at William Pitt Union, 548

The 3MT gives students valuable practice in explaining research to a non-specialist audience. Dietrich School PhD students have three minutes to present a compelling oration on their dissertation and its significance. Competitors will be judged on comprehension, content, engagement, and communication. Participants must be admitted to candidacy to be eligible.

The Office of the Provost – Graduate Studies, in conjunction with the Center for Teaching & Learning, will host two virtual 3MT workshops to help students prepare for the competition as follows:

Wednesday, February 7 at noon: Three-Minute Thesis: Speaking to Non-Specialists
Tuesday, February 13 at noon: Three-Minute Thesis: Speaking to Non-Specialists
Note that students entering a competition are encouraged (but not required) to attend a workshop

Key information:

• Eligible participants: Doctoral students who have passed their candidacy examination.
 Nomination procedure: Students are nominated by Faculty within programs/departments.
• ResourcesJudging criteria and competition rules
 Deadline for departmental nominations: March 15, 2024
• Number of nominations permitted per department: Three students maximum per department.
 Date of Dietrich School competition: March 28, 2024, 10 am – 12 pm
• Location of Dietrich School competition: William Pitt Union, 548
• Prizes: Finalists and Runners up ($250); Overall School Prize: ($1,000)

2023 Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences' Three Minute Competition

Overall 2023 Dietrich School 3MT Winner: Jincy K. Vinod - Chemistry - Is the term "metal-free” deceptive? Finding the answer using a fluorometric trace palladium detection method

2023 Runner up: Lacey Rzodkiewicz - Bio Science - Harmful Algal Blooms: An Evolving Problem

2023 Finalist: Travis Court - Physics & Astronomy - Type Ia Supernova Remnants - How Environments Shape an Explosion

2023 Finalist: Benjamin Patty - Bio Science - Decoding the dark matter of the genome