About the 3MT®

Three minutes. One slide. No jargon.

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition challenges graduate students to explain their research and its significance to a general audience in just three minutes. It’s your chance to step back from the technical details, find the story in your research, and share why your work matters.

Along the way, you’ll build valuable communication skills, gain experience presenting to a broad audience, and learn new ways to talk about your research with clarity and confidence.

3MT® Prep Workshops

Get ready for the 3MT, one step at a time. This three-part workshop series will help you prepare for the virtual preliminary round, from breaking down what makes a strong 3MT talk, to crafting your research story for a broad audience, to putting the finishing touches on your presentation and getting it ready to submit.

Deconstructing the 3MT

What makes a 3MT talk stand out? We’ll break down a Three Minute Thesis presentation to uncover what works, what doesn’t, and why. Come away with practical strategies and inspiration you can incorporate into your own 3MT talk.

Hosted by University Library Learning Specialist Jill McMillan, this session is designed to teach you what your 3MT talk needs to make an impact with the audience.

Crafting Your Research Story

How do you make your research matter to someone outside your field? In this workshop, we’ll explore how to find the story in your research, connect with a broad audience, and translate technical ideas into clear, accessible language without losing what makes your work interesting.

Hosted by the Director of Research Profile and Impact at USask Leslie-Ann Schlosser, this session will help you focus on the impact your research has on the world.

Submitting Your 3MT

Are you ready to submit your 3MT talk? The virtual preliminary round of the USask 3MT competition opens on February 1st. Students are tasked with filming their 3MT talk and submitting their PPT slide to competition standards.

Hosted by CGPS Communication Specialist Kassidy Guy, this session will run through the basics of filming, formatting, and submitting your 3MT presentation for optimal quality for the preliminary judging panel. Questions about the preliminary round? Now's your chance to ask an expert!

2027 3MT® Schedule

Showcase your presentation skills in the 3MT virtual preliminaries. Impress a panel of judges, including professional communicators, with your top-tier presentation. The 10 best presentations will advance to the in-person finals to compete for cash prizes and a chance to represent USask at the Western Regionals.

Submissions Open: February 1, 2027 @ 8:30AM

Submission Deadline: February 22, 2027 @ 4:30PM

You have delivered a clear, concise, and engaging virtual presentation with confidence and empathy. Your compelling research story left the judging panel wanting more! Now is your opportunity to win cash prizes and earn a spot to represent USask at the Western Regional competition.

March 25, 2027 - Convocation Hall, Peter Mackinnon Building, Room 120

Bringing together first-place 3MT competitors from universities across Western Canada, this competition extends your network of colleagues. It is an opportunity to showcase your hard work in a compelling format and potentially advance to the National Showcase.

TBD

The 3MT National Showcase, hosted by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS), brings together regional finalists from Western, Ontario, and Eastern Canada. It provides a platform to highlight graduate student research and exceptional communication skills.

TBD

The 3MT competition was a fantastic opportunity to showcase my research in a unique and challenging format. Condensing years of work into a three-minute presentation was no easy task, but it taught me how to communicate my ideas clearly and effectively. The support and camaraderie among the participants were amazing, and I learned so much from watching others present their work. Winning the People's Choice Award was a highlight of my academic journey, and I am grateful for the experience. The 3MT is a must for any graduate student.

History of 3MT®

The first 3MT was held at the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2008 with 160 students competing. Enthusiasm for the 3MT concept grew and its adoption by numerous universities led to the development of an international competition in 2010.

The inaugural Trans-Tasman 3MT was held at UQ in 2010 with 33 universities participating. In 2011, 43 universities were represented in the Trans-Tasman 3MT that was hosted by The University of Western Australia. Today students from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Hong Kong take part in their own regional events.

For nearly ten years, the Graduate Student Association was USask's 3MT host, sponsored in part by the College of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (CGPS). CGPS assumed all responsibility for the 3MT in 2022.

CGPS was the Western Canadian Finals host in 2017 and 2023 and saw one of their standout competitors, Antonia Powell, rise above the rest to claim victory and advance to the Canadian Nationals.

>>>> Watch Antonia Powell deliver her 3MT

Resources

Why I 3MT®

I’ve seen firsthand how the Three Minute Thesis empowers students to turn complex research into clear, compelling stories. It’s more than a competition—it’s a celebration of creativity, confidence, and connection. Great research deserves great storytelling, and 3MT delivers. Here are just a few of my favourite resources to get you started.

Watch Stemventurist on YouTube (Dr. Ken Dutton-Regester)

If podcasts are your thing: Think Fast, Talk Smart: The Podcast

If you like blogs - check out Inger Mewburn @ The Thesis Whisperer.
Her guide “How to Talk About Your Thesis in 3 Minutes” is a must-read.

Margot Leitman's Long Story Short: The Only Storytelling Guide You'll Ever Need is an excellent choice for a graduate student preparing a Three Minute Thesis (3MT). It’s not just good—it’s strategically good.

Questions?

Connect with Kassidy Guy, CGPS Communications Specialist

Rules & Guidelines

All USask Master's and PhD thesis-based graduate students are eligible to participate.
A student whose thesis is under submission on the date of their first competition is still eligible to compete.
Presenters must register for the event and be able to present in person.
One single static PowerPoint slide is permitted.
No slide transitions, animations, or ‘movement’ of any description are permitted.
Your slide is to be presented from the beginning of your oration.
No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.

Submitting a recording for the virtual 3MT competition? Follow these steps:

1. Submit a recording of you speaking (no slide) | one file

Filmed on the horizontal
Filmed on a plain background
Filmed from a static position
Filmed from one camera angle
MP4 video format is preferred. Instructions on how to submit your video file will be sent to you after you complete the registration form.

2. Submit your 3MT slide | one file

Send only 1 static slide using 16:9 .pptx format then convert that to a .jpeg.
Do not include a title slide
Include this file with your registration form

Our team puts the two files together (the recording and the slide) once submitted to ensure a standardized format for every entry.

Presenters are allowed a single PowerPoint slide; no slide transitions, no animations or movement' of any kind, the slide is presented from the beginning and for the duration of the presentation.
No additional electronic media (ex: sound or video files) are permitted.
No additional props (ex: costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum; presentations running over 3 minutes will be disqualified.
Presentations are limited to spoken word (ex: no poems, raps, or songs).
Presentations are to commence from the stage (ex: no dramatic entrances).
Presentations are considered to have commenced when the presenter starts their presentation through movement or speech.
The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

The competitors will be judged based on two criteria:

Communication	Comprehension	Engagement
Did the graduate student use non-verbal communication (i.e. voice modulation, body language) effectively? Did the graduate student use language that was jargon-free, or if jargon was used, was it accompanied with an explanation to make terms understandable to a non-expert audience? Did the presentation follow a logical sequence? Did the graduate student use their three minutes effectively? Did they elaborate too long on a particular aspect? Did the presentation feel rushed or incomplete?	Did the presentation help you to understand the methodology behind the scholarly research being undertaken? Did the graduate student clearly outline the nature and purpose of their research? Did the graduate student clearly indicate the fascinating or compelling aspects of their research? Did the graduate student provide an understanding of the background and significance to the research question being addressed? Did the graduate student clearly describe the impact and/or results of the research, including any conclusions and outcomes, or further steps to be taken?	Was the presentation engaging? Did the graduate student use creative language and storytelling to capture and maintain the audience's attention? Did the graduate student convey enthusiasm for their work? Was the graduate student careful not to trivialise or generalise their research? Did the PowerPoint slide create intrigue without dividing your attention – was it clear, legible, and concise? Did the presentation inspire you to want to know more?

Preliminaries Our 3MT preliminaries are a low-pressure, closed competition. Entries are evaluated by a panel of communication experts. Submissions will not be posted. All competitors receive a certificate of participation and a summary of feedback, ensuring that you gain valuable experience even if you don't advance to the finals. Those selected for the finals will be contacted via email after the submission deadline for the next steps.	Finals Everyone at the finals gets a specially curated swag bag and a certificate of participation.
	First Place $1500 Plus, you will represent USask (expenses paid by the College of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies) at the Western Regional competition.
	Second Place $750
	Third Place $500
	People's Choice $250