MAA Putnam
The Premier Undergraduate Mathematics Competition
The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition® (the Putnam) is the preeminent mathematics competition for undergraduate college students in the United States and Canada.
What began as a friendly competition between mathematics departments at colleges and universities back in 1938 has become the leading university-level mathematics examination in the world – and winning a prestigious accomplishment.
Each December, thousands of the brightest math students from hundreds of colleges and universities compete to win top honors. Although participants work independently on the six-hour exam’s problems, there is also a team aspect to the competition.
Cash prizes are awarded to the highest-ranked team’s math department and their student members and Putnam Fellows who are the highest-ranking individuals.
The Elizabeth Lowell Putnam Prize is also awarded to a woman whose performance in the competition is particularly meritorious.
The MAA is proud to organize the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition through the generous support of the William Lowell Putnam Prize Fund.
The 86th Annual Putnam Competition
The 86th Putnam Competition will take place on Saturday, December 6th, 2025.
Registration will open on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
The 85th Annual Putnam Competition
The 85th William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition® took place on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, and was proctored in person on campuses across the US and Canada.
Congratulations to all of the winners. Expand each category below for a list of winners listed alphabetically.
The 85th Putnam Competition Winners
The Putnam Fellows – Ranked 1-5
Jiangqi Dai – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Papon Lapate – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Brian Liu – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Luke Robitaille – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Qiao Sun – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Winners ranked 1-5
Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Papon Lapate, Luke Robitaille, Qiao Sun
Harvard University – Kevin Cong, Andrew Gu, Eric Shen
Stanford University – Robert Dragomirescu, Andrei Mandelshtam, Worrawat Rungaramsin
Carnegie Mellon University – Alan Abraham, Lei Li, Bo Peng
University of California, Santa Barbara – Victor Bernal Ramirez, Pico Gilman, Om Mahesh
Honorable Mentions ranked 6-10 (Listed by university in alphabetical order)
Brown University – An Cao, Luke Choi, Nathan Smith
University of Chicago – Qingcheng Hu Cong, Hung Le Tran, Hung Pham
University of Maryland, College Park – Clarence Lam, Isaac Mammel, Daniel Yuan
University of Michigan – Tuong Le, Deron Lessure, Bohang Yu
University of Waterloo – Valentio Iverson, Milo Stammers, Mars Xiang, Xuezhi Wang
Find the full list of winners and score distributions below.
And a huge thank you to everyone who made the 85th Putnam possible:
- Putnam Problems Committee
- Contributors Of Additional Problems For The Competition
- Competition Leadership
- William Lowell Putnam Prize Fund
Find more past Putnam competition problems and winners in our Putnam Archive.
Putnam FAQ
Supervisor registration opens September 2, 2025 and closes on November 15.
Students will register by following a link obtained from the supervisor at their institution. Students may register until the competition begins on Dec. 6, 2025.
No. The Putnam Competition is open only to actively enrolled undergraduate students who have not yet received a bachelor’s degree.
No. You must be enrolled in an undergraduate institution in the US or Canada to be eligible to participate.
RIf you meet the eligibility requirements but your institution does not have a Putnam local supervisor, ask a faculty member (perhaps the math department chair) to become the Putnam local supervisor for your institution. If no faculty member is willing to play this role, then you will be unable to participate.
No. Students who are concurrently in high school but are also taking classes at a US or Canadian college or university on a regular basis are deemed to be “regularly enrolled” undergraduates.
Please note: A student may participate in the official Putnam Competition at most four times. Generally, we discourage high school students from exhausting their eligibility.
Remember, you are ineligible if you are not regularly enrolled as an undergraduate at an institution of higher education.
Yes. A student may participate in the official Putnam Competition at most four times.
Note: The 81st Putnam Competition which took place in February 2021 was unofficial and does not count toward the maximum four entries.
Yes
Yes
Possibly. Arrangements can sometimes be made to take the exam at another registered institution. Discuss this with your local supervisor.
Bring pencils or pens (blue or black ink) and the Putnam Identification Number (PIN) that you were given at the registration platform. Nothing else is needed.
Supervisors provide clean, white paper. Calculators, computers, references, and drawing tools are not allowed, and cell phones must be turned off and stowed away during the exam.