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Three-Minute Thesis Competition

Saint Louis University will host two Three-Minute Thesis (3MT®) competitions for master’s and doctoral students. 

Three-Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a competition for graduate students to hone and display their research and communication skills. The competition challenges master’s and doctoral students to effectively and concisely present their research in three minutes on one digital slide to a diverse, non-specialist audience. 3MT competitions are held at 900 universities in more than 85 countries worldwide. 

2026 Competition Dates

The Saint Louis University competitions will be held:

  • Master’s competition: 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026
  • Doctoral competition: 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026

Both events will be held in the AnheuserBusch Auditorium in Cook Hall. 

The 3MT is open to current SLU master’s and doctoral students who have successfully passed their confirmation milestones (including thesis or dissertations under submission) by the presentation date. 

There will be a first, second and third place winner from both master’s and Ph.D. students. 

  • First place: $750 (the first-place Ph.D winner will have the opportunity to compete and represent SLU in the regional 3MT competition held during the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) conference in Kansas City in March 2026). 
  • Second place: $500
  • Third place: $250

Presentation and Competition Rules

  1. All presentations are limited to three minutes maximum. Any presentations that exceed the three-minute allotment will be disqualified.
  2. The slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration.
  3. Presentations will be executed from a stage.
  4. Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter begins via movement or speech.
  5. Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g., no poems, raps, or songs).
  6. Only one single static Powerpoint presentation slide is permitted.
  7. Slide dimensions must be 16:9 aspect ratio to fit the height and width ratio of the wide-screen Powerpoint display.
  8. Slide transitions, animations or "movement" of any description of the slide content are not allowed.
  9. No electronic media (e.g., sound and video files) are permitted.
  10. No additional props (e.g., notecards, scripts, pointers, costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
  11. Submissions will be judged based on comprehension, content, engagement, and communication. All panel judgements are final.