The William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition, also called the Putnam competition, is an annual mathematics contest administered by the Mathematical Association of America for undergraduate students at institutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico who have not received a bachelor's degree. It takes place on the first Saturday in December, and consists of 12 challenging mathematical problems. Beginning in 2026, contestants are given four 90-minute sessions to attempt solutions (Mathematical Association of America 2026). Individual and team winners receive a small monetary award. Results are announced after the competition.
Putnam Mathematical Competition
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References
Alexanderson, G. L.; Klosinski, L.; and Larson, L. The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, Problems and Solutions: 1965-1984. Washington, DC: Math. Assoc. Amer., 1986.American Mathematics Competitions. "William Lowell Putnam Competition Archive." http://www.unl.edu/amc/a-activities/a7-problems/putnam/.Gleason, A. M.; Greenwood, R. E.; and Kelly, L. M. The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, Problems and Solutions: 1938-1964. Washington, DC: Math. Assoc. Amer., 1980.Mathematical Association of America. "Putnam Competition." 2026. https://maa.org/putnam-/.Rusin, D. "Putnam Exams." http://www.math.niu.edu/~rusin/problems-math/.William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition. http://math.scu.edu/putnam/.Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha
Putnam Mathematical CompetitionCite this as:
Weisstein, Eric W. "Putnam Mathematical Competition." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/PutnamMathematicalCompetition.html