Grad students face off in second annual Grad Slam competition April 6

justine smith
Doctoral candidate Justine Smith won the 2015 Grad Slam with her presentation of research with pumas in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Ten graduate students will face off April 6 in the second annual Grad Slam competition, a spirited forum during which doctoral students present their research in three minutes.

Sponsored by the Graduate Division, the Grad Slam challenges students to deliver short, engaging presentations geared toward a lay audience. Participants were selected based on video submissions screened by a team of volunteer judges from across campus.

On April 6, a panel of judges will choose the first-place winner, who will receive a $3,000 award, and a runner-up, who will receive $1,500; the audience will vote for a People's Choice award recipient, who will receive $750.

The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Music Center Recital Hall.

The campus winner will compete in the UC-wide Grad Slam in San Francisco on April 22.