MAD Research: Video Competition

MAD (Made At Dartmouth) Research is a video competition that gives undergraduate students the opportunity to communicate their research to a broader audience.  Students at Dartmouth are doing research in every academic discipline, from the sciences and social sciences to the humanities and creative arts, but they don't have many opportunities to share their work with others.  Short videos are a great way for students to share their research and for the Dartmouth community to learn about the broad range of student projects.

The competition is jointly sponsored by UGAR and the Jones Media Center in Baker-Berry Library.

Any Dartmouth undergraduate who is engaged in research outside the classroom (including honors thesis research) with a Dartmouth faculty mentor.  This includes faculty at the College as well as Geisel, Thayer, and Tuck.  Students working on projects in groups may submit their own videos or may submit as a group.  Students submitting as a group should designate one person to be the main contact for the competition.

All you need to do is make a 2-3 minute video and submit it to the competition by the DEADLINE: AY 2025-2026 deadline to be determined. 

This is a great opportunity to communicate your research to the campus community. The video format lets you be creative in a way that you can't be in a written thesis, poster presentation, or formal talk.

Plus there are cash prizes! 

What does a research video look like?

Take a look at the MAD prize winning entries from last year and also check out other examples on the web:

• Rhodes Scholar research videos
• Texas Student Research Showdown
• Three Minute Thesis (founded by the University of Queensland)

What if I don't know much (or anything) about making a video?

The Jones Media Center can help!  They have a lot of information and resources, including recording space and loaner equipment.  They are also offering workshops and are available to answer your questions. There are no restrictions about how you make your video – you can talk to the camera, use props, incorporate animations, whatever you want to convey your research (and maybe the story behind it and why you did it).

Important tip: don't talk too fast! If your video is too long, think about what elements you can cut out. Don't just speed up the audio to make it fit in 3 minutes.

More information on the Jones Media Center MAD Research Video Competition webpage: https://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/mediactr/MADResearch.html