National 3-MINUTE Thesis Competition

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) in Canada

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an internationally recognized competition for thesis-based graduate students in which participants present their scholarly and creative activity and its wider impact in 3 minutes or less.

The challenge is to present complex research in an accessible and compelling way with the assistance of only static slide. Created in 2008 at the University of Queensland, Australia, the competition celebrates exciting and innovative graduate student research while promoting communication, public speaking, and storytelling skills.

The first 3MT competition to be held in Canada took place at the University of British Columbia in 2011, and in 2014 the first national 3MT competition was held. Today, dozens of Canadian universities and research institutes host annual competitions, with winners moving on to one of three regional competitions (Western, Ontario, Eastern) before competing in the National 3MT Showcase. The latter event will be hosted by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) in November 2022.

Regional Competition Dates:

2022 Eastern Regional

University of New Brunswick
Date: Thursday, 16 June 2022 (virtual)
Contact: Sasha Mullally
Email: sasham@unb.ca

2022 Western Regional

University of Winnipeg
Date: Friday, 6 May 2022 (in-person)
Contact: Carolyn Garland
Email: c.garland@uwinnipeg.ca

2022 Ontario Regional

University of Guelph
Date: Wednesday, 4 May 2022 (in-person)
Contact: Ben Bradshaw
Email: parkesj@uoguelph.ca

2022 National 3MT Showcase:

To be held in a hybrid format as part of the 60th Annual CAGS Conference, 1-3 November 2022 (Le Centre Sheraton Hotel, Montreal)
- Live in-person performances will include the winners of the three regional competitions
- Live virtual performances will include the top finalists from the three regional competitions
For more information please contact: Ian Wereley at Ian.Wereley@cags.ca

3MT Handbook for Participating Universities