Take-Two for Your Thesis Video Competition

Your challenge: Share your thesis in a two minute video

Seniors! We know that you’re hard at work on your thesis. How can you share it with the world? (Particularly the part of the world that won’t read a thesis.) Package it for the YouTube generation as part of the Take Two for Your Thesis video competition!

Rules

  • All Honors seniors are eligible.
  • Your thesis does not need to be complete; talk about whatever aspect you’d like.
  • Videos should be between 1:45 and 2:15 minutes long.
  • Your name, major, hometown, and thesis title should be stated and/or displayed at the beginning of the video.
  • Your video should be published on your own social media account with visibility set to public and embedding allowed. (You can disable comments.) Acceptable sites:
    • YouTube
    • Vimeo
    • Flickr
  • Videos should play without advertising.
  • You must have permission or a license to include any content (such as images, video clips, music) that you did not create in your video. (YouTube has information on copyright and fair use.)
  • If anyone other than yourself appears in your video, you must obtain permission from them as well, unless you were recording public activity in a public area.
  • You retain ownership of your video. By entering this competition, you grant UConn and the Honors Program permission to (a) use, reproduce, exhibit, distribute, or broadcast your video for any purpose, including promotional efforts; (b) use your name, likeness, and biographical material in connection with any use of your video.
  • Entries due by 11:59 p.m., April 1, 2016.

Ready? Submit your entry!

Judging and Prizes

1st Prize: Dinner at Chuck & Augie’s with Dr. Jennifer Lease Butts plus $25 UConn Co-op gift card.
2nd Prize: $15 UConn Co-op gift card
3rd Prize: $10 UConn Co-op gift card

We’ll also brag about you in as many ways as we can!

  • The Take Two committee will review all entries. Videos will be judged based on:
    • Quantity and quality of information contained. We should learn something from your video.
    • Effectiveness of communication. Your target audience is one that is educated, but not necessarily in your field.
    • Excitement. You should be enthusiastic about your work, and your video should make your audience want to learn more.
  • Winners will be notified by email.

Suggestions

  • Check your sound. Make sure you can be heard and understood without making people adjust their volume.
  • Get creative! Use signs, pictures, other visual aids, or humor to help you get your point across.
  • “Sell” your ideas. Why should anyone want to know more about your research?
  • Personalize it. Why did you pick this topic? What do you think is the most interesting part?
  • The 3 Minute Thesis competition started at the University of Queensland and is now international, including a competition here at UConn. Our competition is far more open in style and content, but watching their winners’ videos may give you some ideas on effectively–and efficiently–communicating your research.

Questions?

Contact honors@uconn.edu.

Past Winners

2015 Winners

FIRST PRIZE: Elizabeth Rider (English), “Institutionalized Female Madness in American Literature from 1950-1999”
Thesis supervisor: Regina Barreca

What’s one piece of advice you have for future Honors seniors?
Make sure you set hard deadlines for yourself to complete your thesis throughout the semester; this will allow you time to really pay homage to the writing process and revise, revise, revise.

SECOND PRIZE: Roshni Patel (MCB), “Calcium-Sensing Receptor (CaSR) +986 G>T Associates with Habitual Physical Activity Levels and Muscle Size and Strength Response to Resistance Training Among Healthy Adults”
Thesis supervisor: Linda Pescatello

What’s one piece of advice you have for future Honors seniors?
Don’t rush to commit to something you may not like, take the time to investigate different fields and try new experiences to discover what you are truly passionate about!

THIRD PRIZE: Julianne Norton (Individualized: International Relations), “The Red Heifer: A Graphic Novel on Holocaust Postmemory”
Thesis supervisor: Francoise Dussart
Video credit: Cristobal Ortega

What’s one piece of advice you have for future Honors seniors?
Explore all the opportunities at UConn! If you haven’t yet applied for funding for your project, then you should definitely go learn more about the Office of Undergraduate Research.

2014 Winners

Rachel Stewart, Psychology:

Sam Darby, Economics and History:

Jesse Rifkin, Journalism: