The CEU Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) 2026 Final celebrated the diversity, depth, and societal relevance of doctoral research at Central European University. In just three minutes each, 11 PhD candidates presented their research to a broad audience, demonstrating how complex ideas can be communicated with clarity and impact.
This year’s finalists represented eight academic departments across CEU, including Cognitive Science, Philosophy, Environmental Sciences and Policy, Legal Studies, Network and Data Science, Sociology and Social Anthropology, and the Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy, and International Relations.
The presentations showed how CEU doctoral research engages with some of today’s most urgent and fascinating questions: how emotions shape the way we learn from others; how societies move from conflict toward peace; how media language influences what people come to accept as normal in politics; and how corruption networks respond to transparency rules. Other talks explored why some societies resist far-right politics, how ideas of success are used by authoritarian states, how racial and gender hierarchies are reproduced, and how rivers, cities, and security systems are governed in practice. The program also included philosophical reflections on what we take for granted as “certain” and how meaning itself is formed. Together, the talks offered a compelling glimpse into research that helps us better understand the world—and question how it is shaped.
Check out the event photos!
Following deliberation by the jury and audience voting, the CEU 3MT® 2026 awards were announced:
