Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Pitt 3MT Competition!
The following Pitt 3MT participants were selected as the 2025 awardees.
- First Place: Helena Zhang, School of Pharmacy
- Runners-up: Jie Sun, School of Public Health, and Brent Vasquez, School of Dental Medicine
- People's Choice: Mihir Khanna, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Learn more about the winners and their presentations
2025 Pitt 3MT Competition Timeline
The 2025 Pitt 3MT Competition is now open to ALL eligible PhD and SJD students.
- March 2025: School-level 3MT competitions
- Monday, April 7, 2025: Pitt 3MT Competition
Hillman Library, Archives and Special Collections Room, 3rd Floor
This annual event is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and University Library System with support from the University Center for Teaching and Learning.
National Competitions
- April 2025: The winner of Pitt’s competition will advance to the virtual 3MT Competition hosted by the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS).
- December 2025: The NAGS winner and runner-up will progress to the Council of Graduate Schools’ national 3MT Competition in December 2025.
What is a 3MT competition?
The 3MT competition celebrates the exciting research conducted by Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) students. Developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), 3MT cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. The competition supports their capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.
Who is eligible to enter?
PhD and SJD students who have successfully completed the dissertation proposal defense (candidate status) and are actively in the dissertation stage of training are eligible.
Prizes for the Pitt 3MT Competition
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost and University Library System.
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First place prize: $1,000 travel/research grant
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Two runners-up prizes: $500 travel/research grant
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People's Choice prize: $1,000 travel/research grant
School Competitions
As part of the events leading up to the main competition, schools will be hosting their own individual competitions from which they will send finalists (one per school) to compete on April 7.
We encourage interested and eligible students to contact their school’s 3MT representatives for more details on how to participate, if you haven’t already done so.
The school competitions will occur in March. Dates and times are listed below along with each school's 3MT contact.
Arts and Sciences, Bill Yost
Thursday, March 27, 10 a.m.-noon
Computing and Information, Panos Chrysanthis
Monday, March 24, noon-1:30 p.m.
Education, Michael Gunzenhauser
Friday, March 21, 1p.m.–2:30 p.m.
Engineering, Meagan Lenze
Wednesday, March 19, noon
Medicine, Natalia Guimaraes
Friday, March 28, 3 p.m.
Nursing, Heidi Donovan
Monday, March 10, 4 p.m.-5 p.m.
Pharmacy, Bailey Tobias
Thursday, March 13, noon-1 p.m.
Public Health, Mike Dolinger
Thursday, March 27, 4:30 p.m.
Online Competition
Eligible students from the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Law, the School of Social Work, the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs can compete online to represent their school in the April 7 University-wide event.
To compete online, you will need to do the following:
- Create a 3MT presentation that is less than three minutes and one 3MT presentation slide.
- Record your 3MT presentation and upload it to a YouTube account. Note that if you do not already have a YouTube account, you will need to set one up. The video style and recording quality will NOT be considered when judging. Your 3MT slide does NOT need to be visible in the video.
- The YouTube link and presentation slide in PDF format is due no later than Monday, March 24.
- After entries are received and judged, winners will be notified by email by Wednesday, March 26. One winner from each school will be selected to compete in the April 7 competition.
- Upload your 3MT video and slide via Qualtrics.
Presentation Resources
To help you prepare, participants are highly encouraged to watch the following video recording: “Basics of Effective Communication to a General Audience” from Dr. John Radzilowicz, University Center for Teaching and Learning. This resource provides crucial tips on how to develop a winning 3MT presentation. Note that students must log in with Pitt credentials to view the recording.
To learn more about the competition history, rules, and to gain valuable preparation tips, visit the official 3MT website.
We are following the 3MT competition rules suggested by the University of Queensland, which founded the event.
Judging Criteria
Check back to see who our distinguished judges will be—and who will hear our competitors talk about their research.
Competitors are assessed on the judging criteria listed below. Each criterion is equally weighted and has an emphasis on audience.
- Comprehension and Content
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- Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background and significance to the research question being addressed while explaining terminology and avoiding jargon?
- Did the presentation clearly describe the impact and/or results of the research, including conclusions and outcomes?
- Did the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence?
- Was the thesis topic, research significance, results/impact, and outcomes communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience?
- Did the presenter spend adequate time on each element of their presentation—or did they elaborate for too long on one aspect or was the presentation rushed?
- Engagement and Communication
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- Did the oration make the audience want to know more?
- Was the presenter careful not to trivialize or generalize their research?
- Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their research?
- Did the presenter capture and maintain their audience’s attention?
- Did the speaker have sufficient stage presence, eye contact, and vocal range; maintain a steady pace; and have a confident stance?
- Did the PowerPoint slide enhance the presentation—was it clear, legible, and concise?
The 2025 panel of judges includes:
- Aaron Brenner, Associate University Librarian for Research and Learning, University of Pittsburgh
- Scott McMurtry, Chief of Staff, Pittsburgh City Council, District 8
- Sarah Wheeler, Associate Professor Pathology, Division of Clinical Chemistry
Questions?
Email graduate@pitt.edu.