WASHINGTON - Five graduate students were each awarded a $500 travel award for participating in Howard University Graduate School’s inaugural Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Mock Competition workshop at the 14^th Annual Edward A. Bouchet National Graduate Forum. The stipend can be used toward research travel related to the students’ dissertations.  

The University of Queensland (UQ) founded the 3MT competition in 2008. Since its inception, the competition has gained popularity among Ph.D. students, academic scholars and researchers worldwide. Competitors are tasked with effectively presenting their research in three minutes “in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.” Additionally, presenters could only use one single static PowerPoint slide.

The 3MT competition was open to active Ph.D. students who have entered into candidacy.

The following Ph.D. candidates participated in the mock competition:

• Kasun S. Millawithanachchi, MPA, Political Science; Peace Education and Truth & Reconciliation in Sri Lanka: Assessing Policy Effectiveness as a Panacea for Post-Conflict Resolution
• Richmond Danso, MPA, Political Science; From an Uncut Diamond to a Gem: The Untold Story of Botswana
• Mary Katherine Howell, M.S., Clinical Psychology; Nocturnal Vigilance
• Md Ahasanur Rahman, Biology; RACK1B to the Rescue: A Solution to the Global Food Security
• Carter Clinton, Biology; You Must Look to the Past to Know Where You’re Going: Insights from the New York African Burial Ground

“This experience was extremely challenging for me. When you’re in the lab every day, you focus on the results of your experiment. And when you look at the broader impact, you put those things into grants that are 11 pages. With this competition, I had to put that into three minutes,” said Clinton, who recently made a new discovery regarding the diets of enslaved Africans through his research at the New York African Burial Grounds.

“Each presenter had to convince the audience and judges that they thoroughly understood their research and could also connect to the audience in a logical way that makes their research significance as accessible as it is clear. We decided to add the workshop element to the 3MT mock competition so that all of the Ph.D. candidates who were bold enough to apply had the opportunity to receive constructive feedback from a panel of judges skilled at presenting research,” said Dana A. Williams, Ph.D., Interim Dean of the Graduate School.

Eight graduate directors, chairs, and professors served as judges for the mock competition:

• Wei Sun, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor and Graduate Director, Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Preethi L. Chandran, Ph.D.; Associate Professor and Graduate Director, Chemical Engineering
• Omari Swinton, Ph.D.; Associate Professor, Department Chair and Graduate Director, Economics
• Thomas Heinbockel, Ph.D.; Professor and Interim Chair, Anatomy
• Martha I. Davila-Garcia, Ph.D.; Associate Professor and Graduate Director Pharmacology
• Xingting Wang, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor, Mathematics
• Alaina S. Davis, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Gregory J. Hampton, Ph.D.; Associate Professor and Graduate Director, English

Judges provided feedback based on a standard 3MT scoring rubric, which rates competitors by the presentation title, comprehension, content, audience engagement, and grammar and mechanics. All candidates appreciated constructive feedback since it helped them communicate their research effectively.

“Because I’m training to be a clinical scientist, its really important that I’m able to distill complex scientific ideas—even to patients. This was a great opportunity to do that in an environment where the pressure is on to communicate effectively in a short amount of time,” said Howell.

The Graduate School plans to hold the official 3MT Competition in Fall 2020.

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(Group photo of the Ph.D.student winners - photo credit: James Griffin)

About Howard University Graduate School

Howard University offered its first master’s degree in 1867—the same year it was established. In 1934, the Graduate School was formally established and reorganized to its current structure with divisions in the arts and humanities, biological and life sciences, engineering and physical sciences, and social sciences. The school awarded its first doctorate degree in 1958 in the field of chemistry. The school offers 24 master’s, 31 Ph.D. and 7 M.D./Ph.D. Programs. The Graduate School has consistently issued on average over 100 doctoral degrees per year for the last three years.  For more information, visit, www.gs.howard.edu 

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 70 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States.  For more information on Howard University visit www.howard.edu

Media Contact: Imani Pope-Johns, Imani.popejohns@howard.edu