Three Minute Thesis
Three Minute Thesis is a fast-paced research communication competition. Originally developed by The University of Queensland in 2008, it has now been widely adopted at universities around the world.
The exercise challenges master’s and doctoral students to present a compelling talk on their thesis/dissertation topic and its significance. Many theses and dissertations can be over 80,000 words and take hours to present, but students in this competition have just three minutes and one slide to convey their often highly-technical research to a lay audience.
Judging criteria is centered on three core competencies:
- Communication style: Was the thesis topic and its significance communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience?
- Comprehension: Did the presentation help the audience understand the research?
- Engagement: Did the oration make the audience want to know more?
View former VCU 3MT® Competition participants' presentations on VCU Scholars Compass.
Slides are due by September 19th!
The 3MT finals will take place on Friday, October 3rd, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Cabell Library, Room 303.
2025 VCU 3MT® Competition Winners
First place:
Rasajna Madhusudhana - PhD
Exploring Nicotinamidase Inhibitors as a Potential Treatment for Malaria
School of Pharmacy
Second place:
Sumit Saha - PhD
Taming Liver Cancer with Edited-Macrophage Therapy
School of Medicine
Third place (2 students):
Badi Quinteros - PhD
Intersectionality of Race and Socioeconomic Status in Genetic Counseling: A Focus on Patient Perspectives
School of Medicine
Caterina LaRocca - PhD
A Novel Perspective: Utilizing Mixed Methods Approach to Identifying Critical Intervention Periods and Factors that Impact Quality of Life for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease
College of Health Professions
People's Choice:
Simona Clement, PhD
Biphasic Propofol Sensing in Whole Blood
College of Humanities & Sciences
2024 VCU 3MT® Competition Winners
First place:
Sagun Poudel - PhD
Long Acting Polymeric Microparticles for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (video opens in Kaltura)
School of Pharmacy
Second place:
Jay Asawla - Master's
Unlocking the Mystery of Organic Cation Transporter (video opens in Kaltura)
School of Medicine
Third place:
Badi Quinteros - PhD
Comparing Basic Genetics Knowledge Between Medical School Students in Ecuador and Students in the USA (video opens in Kaltura)
School of Medicine
People's Choice:
Phillip Glass - PhD
3D Printing of Biomedical Devices (video opens in Kaltura)
College of Humanities & Sciences
