Princeton's Inaugural 3 Minute Thesis Competition

Join us to cheer on 10 graduate student finalists as they present their research in just three minutes using a single static slide. Vote to select the People's Choice award!

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a competition for master's and doctoral students to develop and showcase their research communication skills in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience, while earning recognition and competing for prizes.

Final Competition Judges:

• Sarah- Jane Leslie, Former Dean of the Graduate School
• Rodney Priestley, Dean of the Princeton University Graduate School
• Peter Schiffer, Dean for Research

As the final scores are tabulated, three Princeton University faculty members are put to the 3 Minute Thesis test and will communicate their own research using the 3MT rules.  

Faculty Members:

• Daniel Cohen, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Erika Milam, Charles C. and Emily R. Gillispie Professor of the HIstory of Science\
• Sophie Gee, Assistant Professor of English

The event will be followed by a networking reception

This event is a part of the 2026 GradFUTURES Forum, an annual professional development conference, that is open to the entire Princeton graduate community (including Ph.D. and master’s students and alumni) as well as to graduate students and staff from graduate institutions across the country and around the world. Offering a full week of engaging keynote speakers, skill-building workshops, alumni panels, and networking sessions, the GradFUTURES Forum features dozens of online and in-person sessions with real-time relevance to success in graduate school and a glimpse into a world of possibilities beyond. As we celebrate The Graduate School's 125th anniversary, this year's GradFUTURES Forum theme is "Preparing Graduate Students for Transformational Impact.