Students from New Mexico State University’s Graduate School have an opportunity to showcase their research in a unique competition that aims to improve their scientific communication skills and a chance to earn funding for their scholarly activity.
The Graduate School will host the annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31 at Corbett Center Student Union auditorium. The event allows students to present key findings of their research in three minutes to a general audience.
The Graduate School formally began hosting the competition in 2024. It was previously hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences beginning in 2012.
“Academic research is often characterized by jargon and field-specific terms which are not necessarily applicable to general audiences,” said Rick Marlatt, Graduate School Associate Dean. “The work of condensing complex scholarly topics down to digestible lengths and translating specialized terminology into descriptions for broad society helps graduate students to clearly convey the significance and impact of their research.”
Participants in the competition are active in a doctorate research program, successfully passed their confirmation milestone, or active master’s degree thesis-option candidates who will graduate from their program in the spring 2025 semester.
The winner of the competition will be awarded a trip to the Western Association of Graduate Schools 3MT Competition in Denver, Colorado, March 16-19. The WAGS 3MT membership consists of universities from 14 states in the United States, four provinces from Canada and from institutions in Mexico and Pacific Rim.
“The opportunity for a graduate student to share key research findings in front of peers from diverse geographical locations would help bring visibility and help to promote the high quality of scholarly activity being pursued at NMSU,” said Ranjit Koodali, Graduate School Dean.
Second place will win a $500 scholarship, third place will win a $250 scholarship, and all other finalists receive a $100 participation scholarship award.
Beside the rewards, the competition offers students an experience that will cultivate their academic, presentation and research skills.
“3MT offers NMSU’s emerging researchers a dynamic platform to showcase the exciting research they have conducted alongside their major professors and thesis advisors, which accentuates the powerful relationships in research and scholarly activity afforded in higher education,” Marlatt said. “Such partnerships illustrate the power of graduate education at NMSU and beyond.”