Southern Miss to Host Three-Minute Thesis Competition Nov. 1-3
Fri, 10/27/2017 - 11:02am | By: Van Arnold
Graduate students at The University of Southern Mississippi will have an opportunity to showcase their current thesis and dissertation efforts as part of the challenging Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition to be held on the Hattiesburg campus.
The competition's preliminary rounds will be held from 2-5 p.m. on Nov. 1-2 at the Trent Lott Center. Master's and doctoral-level finalists selected during the preliminary rounds will compete for the title Grand Champion and Runner-Up at 2 p.m. on Friday Nov. 3 in the same location.
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition invites graduate students to describe the significance of their thesis or dissertation to a general audience in three minutes or less. Cash prizes will be awarded to the eight finalists – ranging from $250 for finalists to $1,000 for the overall winner.
Dr. Karen Coats, dean of the Graduate School at USM, notes that the fourth annual competition complements the school's mission to assist graduate students in developing skills that will enhance their competitiveness in the job market and career advancement.
“The competition forces the student to think critically about their research, distill the message into a very few words, then present it in an engaging way that makes the listener want to know more,” said Coats. “It's tough to do. I'd challenge our faculty to give it a try.”
The competition is open to any active master's, specialist or doctoral student who has not graduated prior to Fall 2017. They must present current work. Students will compete in one of the following four categories: 1) arts and humanities; 2) life, health and environmental sciences; 3) physical sciences and mathematics; 4) social and educational sciences and business.
Participants are required to follow a spoken word format (no poems, raps, or songs permitted). A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted, but no additional electronic media or props are allowed.
“It's a great event that allows students to hone their communication skills, and the rest of us learn about the exceptional research our students are doing at Southern Miss,” said Coats.
To learn more about the Southern Miss Graduate School and the Three Minute Thesis competition, call 601.266.4369 or visit: http://www.usm.edu/graduate-school