The GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge
Breaking News from the GSAS Master’s College…
The Third Annual GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge took place this past Friday and Saturday. The Qualifying Rounds of the tournament-style competition took place on Friday, April 12 in the Silver Center. A record number of students participated in the Qualifying Rounds vying for a spot in the Finals. Competitors presented their own research in engaging talks of three minutes or less to panels of judges comprised of faculty representing the three disciplines of the Graduate School of Arts and Science: the Humanities, the Social Sciences and Science.
Faculty advanced two competitors from each of the six qualifying groups using a three –part criteria: how well the competitor grasped their research, how accessible the language of the presenter was and how engaging the presenter made the three minutes. The resulting twelve finalists took the big stage in the Eisner & Lubin auditorium the following day to compete for the top prizes and coveted titles.
Finalists from across the GSAS disciplines engaged a packed house and an esteemed finalist - judging panel composed of the Deans for the Humanities, Social Sciences and Science as they reached for the top titles. From talks ranging in topic from Black Carbon Exposure in the NYC Subways to the use of Freud’s “uncanny” in Gothic “Monster” Literature. The captivated audience and judges had their hands full selecting the winners. Dean Lauren Benton and two past first place winners Jailee Rychen (2011) and Christopher Cappelluti (2012) presided over the awards ceremony.
Congratulations to the 2013 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge Winners:
First Place: Alexsandra Mitchell, Africana Studies
It’s All in the Music: Afro-Cuban, Afro-Puerto Rican and African-American Communities in New York City and Cuba 1940-1960
Second Place: Cody Upton, Journalism
These Things or Something Better
Audience Choice: Ruzmyn Vilcassim, Environmental Health Sciences
Black Carbon Exposure in NYC Subways
A special thank you to every GSAS Master’s Student who participated in the 2013 Threesis, the Wasserman Center for Career Development, the Threesis Mentors, The Threesis Qualifying and Finalist Judges, the Threesis Event Team, The GSAS Master’s College Program Board and the GSAS Master’s Alumni Association Executive Board without whom this event would have been impossible.
Congratulations to all the 2013 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge Participants!
The Threesis Challenge is an academic competition for GSAS master's students. Students present the work of their thesis or final project (eg. creative project, science experiment or research paper) to a panel of judges in accessible language a non-expert can understand in three minutes or less. Competitors are judged on how well they grasp the subject of their thesis, their ability to discuss the topic to non-experts and presentation skills. Students compete for a grand prize of $1,000 and other prizes while learning to organize ideas and speak about them persuasively in a fun, academic atmosphere. This competition is adopted from the Three Minute Thesis Challenge currently taking place in Australia and New Zealand. The Master's College is proud to bring this "American Idol" style academic competition to this hemisphere.
Eligibility
You must:- Be a master's student in the Graduate School of Arts and Science
- Have a thesis advisor or final project advisor
- Have a working title for your thesis or final project
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