Three Minute Thesis Competition
Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition developed by the University of Queensland. First run in 2008, 3MT® has grown to become a global competition, with universities around the world holding their own events. The exercise challenges doctoral students to present a compelling talk on their thesis topic and its significance in just 180 seconds to a non-specialist audience.
3 Minutes, 1 Slide…..Your Thesis!
A 50,000 word thesis would take 7 hours to present; how about in just 3 minutes with the aid of a single slide? We are inviting DPhil students to do just that.
The annual Three Minute Thesis competition challenges doctoral candidates from across the University of Oxford to present a compelling spoken presentation on their research topic and its significance in just three minutes to a non-specialist audience.
Training is available in April and May, and the Oxford Final will take place on Wednesday 23rd June 2027, with participants competing for prizes.
ELIGIBILITY
Active DPhil candidates who have successfully passed their confirmation milestone (including candidates whose thesis is under submission) by the date of their first presentation are eligible to participate in 3MT competitions at all levels. If you have already sat the Viva Voce examination you are not eligible. Post-doctoral graduates are not eligible.
Applications
Applications for the 2027 3MT competition will open on 1st April 2027. Deadline to apply will be 28th May 2027.
AUDIENCE TICKETS
Free audience tickets will be available for the Oxford final. More details will be release in June 2027.
TIMELINE
- Training:
- Wed 21st April 2027 - Online
- Mon 10th May 2027 - In person (Oxford)
- Tues 25th May 2027 - Online
- Applications open: Wednesday 1st April 2027
- Deadline to apply to the competition: 5pm 28th May 2027
- Oxford Final: Wednesday 23rd June 2027
- Early July: National semi-finals
- Aug/Sept: National finalists announced by Vitae
- Vitae National Final: October 2027. Online broadcast.
THE 2026 OXFORD COMPETITION
We are delighted to announce the winners of the University of Oxford 2025 competition:
- Winner: Jonathan Chan, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, Medical Sciences Division - “3 Factors, 1 Score: Reading the Risk of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.”
- Runner-up: Lara Bolte, Department of Psychiatry, Medical Sciences Division - “Longitudinal Assessment of White Matter Integrity in Clinical High Risk and First Episode Psychosis: Investigating Progression, Transition and Cognitive Correlates in the PSYSCAN Dataset.”
- People’s Choice Award: Katerina Jennings, Faculty of Philosophy, Humanities Division - “The Ethics of Single-Sex Spaces.”
- Judges Commendation:
- Ruonan Ji, Department of Sociology, Social Sciences Division - “Navigating Between Groups: Belonging, Friendships, and Partner Choices among Children of Inter-ethnic unions in Europe.”
- Bethan Wallace, Department of Biology, Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division - “An Environmental History of Yellowstone National Park.”