UCF Student Researchers Take the Stage at Fall Research Symposium
Graduate and undergraduate researchers from across the university will share their scholarship and compete for top honors on Nov. 19 during the UCF Fall Research Symposium at the Morgridge International Reading Center.
Hosted through a longstanding collaboration between the College of Graduate Studies and the Office of Undergraduate Research, the annual event highlights the impact of student research while helping participants develop skills in communicating complex ideas to broad audiences. The event is free and open to students, faculty, staff and the community.
The Symposium begins with the 5 Minute Launch Competition at 12:30 p.m., where undergraduate students will present their research and creative projects in concise, engaging talks designed for non-expert audiences. Graduate students will then compete in the 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, with master’s student presentations beginning at 2:30 p.m. and doctoral students are at 4:30 p.m.
From 3 Minute Thesis to a Campuswide Research Showcase
For years, UCF’s fall research event centered on the 3 Minute Thesis competition, an internationally recognized program first developed by the University of Queensland in Australia in 2008. The competition challenges graduate students to explain their thesis or dissertation research in just three minutes using a single presentation slide.
Building on 3MT’s success, the event expanded last year to include undergraduate researchers through the 5 Minute Launch Competition and was reimagined as the UCF Fall Research Symposium. The expansion created a unified showcase for student scholarship across academic levels while strengthening collaboration between the College of Graduate Studies and the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Today, the symposium brings together undergraduate and graduate researchers to share discoveries, creative works and innovations spanning a wide range of disciplines that is taking place across UCF.
The competitions not only challenge students to communicate their work clearly and confidently to audiences beyond their fields of study, but they also showcase the breadth of research taking place across UCF and highlight the students whose work is addressing real-world challenges and shaping the future.
