Kaitlyn Haynal places 3rd in the humanities division of the 3 Minute Thesis Competition

Kaitlyn Haynal recently participated in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, placing third in the humanities division. The 3MT requires participants to condense their dissertation research into a three minute speech, to be judged by a non-specialist panel, in one of three divisions (natural sciences, social science, and humanities). The 3MT is designed to cultivate students' academic, presentation, and research communication skills. Kaitlyn's presentation highlighted her interrogation into what is meant by sustainability, or, the capacity to endure. In her research, she asks first, how is rhetoric as a practice sustained, and second, what does rhetoric of environmental sustainability in urban spaces look like, specifically tracing opportune moments of change throughout the rise, fall, and recovery of industrialization in Pittsburgh over the last century.

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an international competition celebrating the exciting research conducted by PhD students. Developed by the University of Queensland in 2008, the competition requires contestants to condense their research into a three minute, one-slide presentation for a non-specialist audience. The 3MT process cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. Students are judged by professors from an academic division (i.e. natural sciences, social science and humanities) other than their own.

Click here for details about University of Pittsburgh's 3 Minute Thesis Competition