What is a Graduate Research Competition?

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Graduate research competitions, or GRCs, are opportunities for doctoral and master’s students to showcase their highly specialized research to a general audience. Many universities around the world sponsor an annual research competition, and the reward of a win usually includes financial prizes along with enhanced professional recognition. 

There are several GRCs, including the 3MT, Falling Walls, FameLab, and others. To give you an idea of how popular these competitions are, the 3MT—which started in 2008 at the University of Queensland in Australia—now takes place at over 900 universities around the world![1] A rough estimate of how many graduate students have competed in a 3MT would put the number in the tens of thousands, not including the number who participate in other GRC formats! 

Keep in mind that Take First! is not a review of different GRC formats, but rather a strategic handbook for you to win your GRC. While the rules may vary slightly among GRCs, the goal of communicating your research clearly is true for all of them. Nevertheless, make sure you confirm the mechanics of the particular GRC that your school hosts. Forgive me if I repeat myself on that point, but such confirmation is essential! 

[1] “An 80,000 Word PhD Thesis Would Take 9 Hours to Present. Your Time Limit…3 Minutes” The University of Queensland, accessed May 4, 2025.

While the rules of the particular GRC hosted by your university will differ slightly, in general they look something like this: 

• Presentations are limited to a short period of time, usually ranging from 90 seconds to three minutes. Some GRCs require a video submission. 
• A presentation slide (or slides) is generally allowed, but not always.
• Sound or video are often not allowed. 
• Props, such as a small piece of lab equipment or model, are occasionally allowed.
• The decision of the judges is final.

If you are interested in an overview of international and US-specific GRCs, see Tables 1 and 2 here. 

If you are still reading this information, there is a decent chance you are close to deciding whether you will compete in your local GRC. If you are still undecided, ask yourself the following questions: 

• Do I have 3–5 hours a week for 8 weeks (or 25–40 hours before the competition) to commit to preparing my talk?
• Am I confident that this experience will bring value to me as a researcher and future scholar? 
• Do I have a support system (partner, family, friends, lab mates, advisor, etc.) who will encourage and sustain me on the hard days? 

If you can answer “yes” to these questions, you are well-positioned to be successful in your GRC. If a couple of them are “maybes,” consider doing more research by speaking to those who have competed before, or consulting with trusted friends and family who would be your potential support systems. 

In theory, yes—all disciplines are eligible to participate in a GRC. In both my personal experience and background research, I haven’t found any official rule excluding specific fields. That said, in practice, most GRC participants tend to come from STEM [1] disciplines.

It’s unclear why we don’t see more competitors from the social sciences or humanities. One explanation might be that the GRC format naturally favors research that presents a clear problem and a corresponding solution. Scholars in the social sciences and humanities often focus on raising new questions or exploring complex issues that don’t always lend themselves to a tidy resolution.

Another hypothesis for seeing fewer competitors from non-STEM fields is specific to the 3MT. Their rules prohibit: “poems, raps or songs; sound or video files; and costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment” [2]. For researchers in fields where such elements are essential to their work, these restrictions might feel limiting or unwelcoming.

In summary, unless your discipline is explicitly excluded, you absolutely should consider participating.

[1] STEM = science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

[2] “Three Minute Thesis: Competition Rules,” The University of Queensland, accessed May 1, 2025, 

There are three answers to this question. Weird, right?

The first answer is that some GRCs stipulate that competitors must have reached a certain point in their academic journey before they are eligible to participate. For doctoral students, this point commonly occurs when the student has passed their qualifying exams. Be sure to check the guidelines for the competition you are interested in.

The second answer is that you should compete when you have something to share: your research question, your approach in terms of methods, and maybe even some preliminary findings. That mark is likely to be around the third or fourth year of your doctoral studies. 

The third answer is “more than once.” Of the people I interviewed, about 80% had competed more than once: 

• When a PhD student in paleontology competed the first time, he realized he could do much better than the other competitors he observed. So, he tried again two years later and won! 
• Another person competed in his local university 3MT and then entered the international Falling Walls competition, finishing in second place.
• One competitor participated as a PhD student in Europe and then as a postdoc in the U.S. where he won first place. 

Shannon Brady competed twice in the University of California at Riverside’s Grad Slam. She shared: 

" I was so worried and over prepared and over rehearsed for the first time I did it. I put so much personal stake into it. I was like, “I have to win. I have to win.” And then when I didn’t, it was really disappointing. So, the second time I did it, it was like, I just want to have fun. This time it’s a project that’s all mine. I conceptualized it. I’m doing all the data collection myself, like “it’s my baby.” I want to have fun with it. It’s an opportunity to share my research with other people. It wasn’t as much about the competition anymore. It was more about I want everyone to know about self-talk and how important it can be for helping us.  Before it was about the competition and the money and the prizes and the recognition. And then the second time it was more of I just want other people to know about my work."

If participating more than once is not prohibited by your GRC, you may consider whether that strategy is one that you want to consider. 

To reassure you that you are in the right place to prepare to win your GRC, allow me to share a little about my GRC experience. I have:

• served as judge for over 100 preliminary round talks
• coached over 50 graduate students to compete in the preliminary and final rounds of the 3MT (where 80% of finalists took my preparatory series)
• organized three 3MT competitions at a major U.S. university 
• Interviewed 15 winners of different GRCs
• Observed over 300 GRC talks

Based this extensive GRC experience, I have designed each chapter and exercise to prepare you to win. While preparing you to win is my goal, I remember what it is like to be a graduate student, so I have tried to design the exercises for minimum time, maximum impact (kind of like a GRC!). 

The book is organized as a schedule that begins eight weeks before the competition. Here is a quick overview: 

In Week 1, we map out your schedule.

In Week 2, we begin to draft the script for your narrative. 

In Week 3, we sketch your slide.

In Week 4, we focus on your physical delivery.

In Week 5, you do your first solo rehearsal.

In Week 6, you do a second rehearsal with friends.

In Week 7, you compete in the preliminary rounds.

In Week 8, (fingers crossed!) you compete in the final event.

If you get started 10 weeks ahead of time, or maybe only 7 weeks ahead, as long as you set aside the time to do the work, the rewards will come. 

There are two important topics that Take First! does not address. 

The first topic is how to record a GRC video. Prior to COVID (approximately 2020–2022), GRC competitions were generally held in person. During COVID, many schools pivoted to hosting their GRCs online. While we have (mostly) returned to in-person events, some schools still leverage videos for scale and efficiency, meaning they can handle an increased number of submissions more easily than if the competition were fully in-person. If you need additional guidance on developing your video, check out the resources available online and at your institution. 

The second topic that this guide does not address is training or preparation opportunities offered by your university or GRC organizers. Several of the GRC competitors whom I interviewed mentioned classes, workshops, and online resources that were available to them at their universities to help them prepare. Take First! can take you a long way, but there is no substitute for high-quality in-person coaching. Be sure to ask your GRC organizers about any training that is available to the competitors. 

Here are the key takeaways from this introduction:

1. Graduate Research Competitions (GRCs) are powerful communication platforms.

GRCs like the 3MT, FameLab, and Falling Walls give graduate students the opportunity to present complex research to general audiences clearly, concisely, and compellingly—helping bridge the gap between science and society.

2. Strong preparation leads to success.

Effective participation requires a serious time commitment—about 25–40 hours over eight weeks. The book provides a structured preparation plan, from drafting a script to practicing delivery and rehearsing with feedback.

3. Benefits go far beyond winning prizes.
While financial incentives exist, the true value lies in developing communication skills, building confidence, enhancing career readiness, networking, and learning to engage broader audiences with your work.

4. Multiple attempts can improve outcomes.

Many successful competitors have participated more than once, using early experiences to refine their message, adjust their focus, and reconnect with the joy and purpose of sharing their research.

5. Leverage all available resources.

Beyond this guide, students should explore local university workshops, coaching, and video training opportunities to strengthen their preparation. The combination of the Take First method and in-person support improve your chances of winning!