Tenth Annual Three Minute Thesis Competition

Eligibility

Currently enrolled doctoral students actively engaged in dissertation research who have been admitted to candidacy are eligible to participate. UB 3MT finalists who competed in previous years are not eligible.

A competitive candidate should have a well-conceived dissertation project, compelling data collected and a novel story to share. The work presented must have been conducted at the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ for the student's current degree program. Participants must be available to present on the day of the competition. All presentations will be videotaped and appear on the Three Minute Thesis website and Graduate School YouTube channel.

Preliminary Competition

Eligible doctoral students interested in competing in the Tenth Annual Three Minute Thesis competition must first compete in the preliminary competition. This year's preliminary competition will take place Oct. 27-30, 2025.

To register, interested students must do the following:

  1. Complete the by Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.
  2. Submit two PowerPoint slides that adhere to the preliminary competition PowerPoint slide rules below, by 11.59 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. You will be sent more information about how to submit the slides after registering.

Doctoral students who plan on competing are encouraged to complete the 3MT Micro-Credential to prepare for the competition but it is not required.

Preliminary Competition PowerPoint Slide Rules

Title Slide

The title slide should indicate the competitor's name, 3MT presentation title, department name and supervisor's name.

Presentation Slide

The presentation slide should adhere to the following rules:

  • No transitions or animations allowed.
  • Use standard 4:3 ratio. You will be provided PowerPoint slide templates that will adhere to this slide.
  • In order to avoid formatting issues, all text should use standard fonts (e.g., Arial).
  • Images are acceptable, but video and audio are not.

Submitted files must adhere to the following naming convention: "Lastname_Firstname.pptx".

3MT Final Competition

The final competition is scheduled for Friday, March 6, 2026. Participants in the final (live) competition will be chosen from the preliminary round participants.

Visit the 3MT Past Competitions page to learn more about previous winners and finalists.

Questions? Email grad@buffalo.edu