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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 85th Annual Putnam Competition

The 85th Putnam Competition will take place on Saturday, December 7th, 2024.

Register as a Putnam Local Supervisor by Dec 3. Refer to this guide for assistance with registration.

Supervisors need to invite participants to the Putnam Student Registration form through a personalized, unique link. Learn more in our guide to student registration.

Supervisors should review the following documents to prepare for competition day:

The 84th Annual Putnam Competition

The 84th William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition® took place on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, 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. 

Last year's winners

The Putnam Fellows – Ranked 1-5

Ankit Bisain – Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jiangqi Dai – Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Papon Lapate – Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Brian Liu – Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Luke Robitaille – Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Winners ranked 1-5

Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Ankit Bisain, Papon Lapate, Luke Robitaille

Harvard University – Kevin Cong, Andrew Gu, Arav Karighattam

Duke University – Erick Jiang, James Rydell, Kaixin Wang

Stanford University – Jack Albright, Quanlin Chen, Andrei Mandelshtam

University of Toronto – Ethan Bottomley-Mason, Michael Li, Zhiyuan Li

Honorable Mentions ranked 6-10 (Listed by university in alphabetical order)

Brigham Young University – Gradin Anderson, Caleb Dastrup, Ethan Katz

Princeton University – Benjamin Lemkin, Austen Mazenko, Atharva Pathak

University of Maryland, College Park – Omar Habibullah, Andrew Parker, Vincent Trang, Daniel Yuan

University of Michigan – Tuong Le, Alex Xu, Yuchong Zhang

University of Waterloo – Andrew Dong, Yundi Duan, Richard Kang

Yale University – Ruben Carpenter, Anshul Guha, Michael Ying

Find the full list of winners and score distributions below.

And a huge thank you to everyone who made the 84th Putnam possible: 

  • Putnam Problems Committee
  • Contributors Of Additional Problems For The Competition 
  • Competition Leadership
  • William Lowell Putnam Prize Fund

Putnam FAQ

Supervisor registration opens September 1, 2024 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. 7, 2024.

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.

If 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.