EUGENE, Ore. -- (April 22, 2013) – Making a strong first impression and concisely explaining complicated research will be the goals for 40 University of Oregon graduate students competing in a Three Minute Thesis™ competition over the next few weeks.
The UO Graduate School will host its first Three Minute Thesis competition with two rounds of preliminary competition (April 23 and May 1) before a championship event (May 8) that will award prize money to judge- and audience-voted winners. The graduate students will have three minutes to explain their research in layperson language accompanied by a single, static PowerPoint slide. No other props are permitted.
“The competition provides students with a lively and challenging forum in which to succinctly explain the essence and value of their research,” said Sandra Morgen, vice provost for graduate studies and associate dean of the graduate school. “And for the audience, it’s kind of like speed-dating. It’s speed-learning. Attendees get the opportunity to digest a treasure trove of very cool research in a short amount of time.”
Graduate students may present research they are conducting for a thesis, dissertation, terminal project or any other research project in process. Participants in the competition are master’s and doctoral students in fields ranging from biology to business, English to environmental studies, and philosophy to psychology.
All three rounds of the competition are open to the public:
- Tuesday, April 23, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., 221 McKenzie Hall: Preliminary Round 1 (20 students)
- Wednesday, May 1, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Lee Barlow Giustina Ballroom, Ford Alumni Center: Preliminary Round 2 (20 students)
- Wednesday, May 8, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Fir Room, Erb Memorial Union: Championship Round (Up to 10 finalists: 5 from each preliminary round)
Students will be evaluated by a panel of three judges on their communication style, comprehensibility and ability to engage the audience. During the championship round, the audience will be invited to vote for their favorite presentation.
Three prizes will be awarded in the championship round: $500 for first place, $200 for the runner-up, and $200 for the people’s choice (audience favorite).
In 2014, the UO, Oregon State University and Portland State University plan to conduct a state-wide competition with winners from each campus vying for the state championship. Earlier this month, OSU hosted a similar event on its campus.
Three Minute Thesis is a trademarked academic competition developed by the University of Queensland, Australia.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities. The UO offers nearly 90 graduate programs, in which approximately 3,000 graduate students are pursuing degrees.
MEDIA CONTACT: Kassy Fisher, assistant dean, UO Graduate School, 541-346-2807, kmfisher@uoregon.edu
LINKS: Three Minute Thesis: http://gradschool.uoregon.edu/3mt; UO Graduate School: http://gradschool.uoregon.edu
Note: The University of Oregon is equipped with an on-campus television studio with satellite uplink capacity, and a radio studio with an ISDN phone line for broadcast-quality radio interviews.