Student Services Center, Room 460
530-898-6880
graduatestudies@csuchico.edu

The Office of Graduate Studies
Business Hours
8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Monday–Friday

Mailing Address
Office of Graduate Studies
California State University, Chico
400 W. First St.
Chico, CA 95929–0875

Grad Studies YouTube Channel (@chicostate-gradstudies)

3-Minute Presentation

Application Deadline for 2025: TBD

This competition is designed for student scholars who are just beginning their research or engaging in course-based research projects. Competitors will prepare a single-slide PowerPoint and present a 3-minute mini-presentation to an audience and a panel of faculty adjudicators. Work is judged on clarity of purpose, appropriateness of methodology, interpretation of results, clear articulation of the research, and the ability to field questions from the jury and audience.

Students must submit an application including an abstract (a few sentences) of the research or creative project. During the competition, students will present their distilled work in 3 minutes using one slide. Each presentation is judged by a panel based on the presenter's ability to:

Clearly and concisely convey the key points from background to conclusions
Explain essential elements without jargon
Capture the attention of a broad audience while communicating the importance of the work

Individual students compete across disciplines, and top presenters receive recognition but do not advance to the statewide competition.

The research can focus on the development of new ideas, methods, or products, or it may focus on the application and revision of current methods or models. Students in creative degree programs should focus on how their creative work applies to the broader exchange of ideas and the role it plays in providing new perspectives or changing attitudes.
A single static PowerPoint slide in landscape format (no transitions, animations, sound, or media allowed) displayed throughout the talk
No props, costumes, instruments, equipment, etc. are allowed
Present for 3 minutes or less—spoken word only (no poems, raps, or songs)

Examples of One-Slide 3-minute presentations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyfyj-2O47Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYSQKAtMWT0&t=171s

3-minute presentations will be judged based on the following rubric:

Clarity: Did the speaker provide adequate background knowledge to make the talk and the importance of the project understandable?
Organization: Did the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence?
Language matches audience: Was the topic and its significance communicated in a language appropriate to an interested, but non-specialist audience? (For example, did the speaker avoid or explain discipline-specific jargon?)
Significance: Did the presenter explain why the project mattered, addressing the impact and results of the research?
Delivery: How was the delivery, including pace, enthusiasm, confidence, body language, and dynamism of vocal delivery?
Visual: Did the slide enhance the presentation and help to emphasize the primary points of the talk? Was the slide well-designed, clear, legible, and concise?
Engagement: To what extent did the talk speak to your intellectual curiosity? Did it make you want to learn more about the topic?

This rubric is based on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being “Excellent.”

Open to all undergraduate and graduate students.

Application deadline for 2025 is TBD