UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School encourages all graduate students to submit videos to the first round of the 2025-26 Three Minute Thesis competition until Dec. 5.
Students who advance beyond the first round will compete for cash prizes of up to $1,000 in the final round.
Students who don’t wish to compete this year are encouraged to serve as judges alongside Penn State faculty, staff, postdoctoral researchers and alumni. Those interested should read the information for judges.
First developed by the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an academic research communication competition designed to help graduate students effectively convey their research in three minutes or less to a broad audience at varying levels of understanding. Each competitor also is allowed one presentation slide to assist as a visual aid in their pitch.
2025-26 marks the third consecutive academic year the Fox Graduate School has held the competition for the Penn State community. 3MT is sponsored by the Fox Graduate School in collaboration with the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA).
The competition not only helps students communicate their research concisely and effectively to those outside of their field but also prepares them for their career search after graduate school, better equipping them to highlight the main points of complex research in understandable terms.