Help your graduate students showcase their research and sharpen essential communication skills- 3MT nominations are now open!

The Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholars (OGSPS) annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition is scheduled for April 22! To increase academic representation in our 3MT® competition, we are asking that faculty members nominate talented graduate student(s) to represent their academic units.

Nominees must be current Purdue graduate students or postdoctoral scholars in the final stages of their research. Each nominee will be contacted by OGSPS staff and encouraged to register for the competition. Nominations are not required for students to submit a draft video; they are simply intended to help our office identify and encourage talented students to participate.

I have shared the link to the nomination form below, as well as some additional information about the competition.

Nominate Your Student | February 16 Deadline

What is 3MT®?

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition that helps graduate students develop academic, presentation, and research communication skills so that they can effectively explain their research to a non-specialist audience. During each competition, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars will have three minutes to present a compelling discussion on their research topic, including its significance and relevance, to the public. This is a fast-paced competition where the top 10 finalists compete by summarizing their two to three-plus years of research in only three minutes with only one slide. 

The cash awards for this year’s competition are $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place, and $2,000 for the People’s Choice Award winner. The first-place winner will also be invited to compete in the Midwestern Association of Graduate School’s (MAGS) annual 3MT® competition.

2025 Competition Timeline

• Friday, February 16, 11:59 PM - Faculty Nominations Due
• Monday, March 6, 11:59 PM – Student and Scholar Video Submissions Due
• Thursday, March 27, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM - Semi-finals - YONG B 83
• Wednesday, April 8, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Practice, Hail Purdue Stage PMU
• Monday, April 21 - Rehearsal, Fowler Hall 5:00 PM EST - mandatory
• Tuesday, April 22 - Competition, Fowler Hall, 7:00 PM EST

Please email me, Allison Loy (Loy2@purdue.edu), with any questions!

Best Regards,

Alli 

Allison Loy

Events Coordinator

Loy2@purdue.edu

Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Professional Development | profdev@purdue.edu

The Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars (OGSPS)

Ernest Young Hall | Room 160 | 155 S. Grant St. | West Lafayette, IN 47907

*Please do not feel obligated to respond outside of your normal working hours.