Three Minute Thesis

One slide. Three minutes.  Cash prizes.  Give voice to your thesis in SFU's annual 3 Minute Thesis competition.

The Three Minute Thesis is about sharing your research story. An opportunity to explain the breadth and impact of your cutting-edge graduate work using an accessible format. Effectively communicating your research to a wide-reaching audience is crucial to engaging with others, bringing them into your expertise.

3MT challenges grad students to develop critical skills for their academic and professional journeys while also revealing the passion that led them to pursue their studies in the first place. 

"I wanted to let you know about a phone call I had today. A previous contact was looking for information on my work, and Googled my name. He found the 3MT video and watched it, and shared it at his office. The company he works for is now asking if I would be interested in consulting with them, and if there are other people in my department with similar skills.

His comment was that it was excellent advertising for me, as well as excellent marketing for my research lab, and for our whole department."

— Mary Ann Middleton, 3MT 2013 competitor

3MT News

Congratulations to our 2024 SFU Winners

First Place: Erin Williams, Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, The Rhythm Beneath the Waves: the challenges of fainting during artistic swimming Runner Up: ​Soobin Yim, Biological Sciences, What’s your favourite drink? Mine’s water! People’s Choice: Sarah Aufrère, Earth Sciences, A Volcanic Time Machine And, a special Judges Honourable Mention went to Talha Usmani, Sustainable Energy Engineering, Elastomeric Piston Seal Performance Assessment for High Pressure Direct Injection Systems

Faculty Heats

If your faculty is not listed below, you can participate in 3MT by signing up to the wildcard heat (more info below).

3MT SFU Final

Apr 4, 2024 | 12:30 - 2:30pm
Big data Hub (ASB10900)

Workshops

There are a variety of workshops and resources available to help graduate students describe their research in interesting and novel ways, and be able to communicate it in a variety of settings and contexts. These sessions are offered by a mix of service providers: Centre for Educational ExcellenceResearch Commons,  Graduate Studies and Mitacs.

History of 3MT

Developed by The University of Queensland in 2008, the competition challenges higher-degree research students to present a compelling oration on their thesis and its significance in just three minutes in language appropriate to a general audience. 3MT is not an exercise in trivializing or ‘dumbing-down’ research but forces students to consolidate their ideas and crystallize their research discoveries.

Since 2011, the popularity of the competition has increased and 3MT competitions are now held in over 200 universities across more than 18 countries worldwide.

Meet the 2024 SFU Finalists

Curious to know more about our SFU finalists?

Learn More