William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition

The William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition, known more briefly as the Putnam Exam or the Putnam, is an annual mathematics competition open to undergraduates in the United States and Canada. Administered by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), the Putnam is widely regarded as the most challenging undergraduate mathematics examination given in America. The exam is written to test both technical competence in undergraduate mathematics and problem-solving skills. The Putnam is given the first Saturday in December. It consists of twelve problems; six are given during the three-hour morning session and six are given during the three-hour afternoon session. The two sessions are separated by a two-hour lunch break.

By tradition, Bona's Putnam participants eat lunch during the two-hour break at the Beef `N Barrel Restaurant. Lunch is paid for by the Department of Mathematics.

A student must register to take the Putnam Exam. To register, see Dr. Hill (De La Roche 301 C, chill@sbu.edu) during the fall semester. The deadline for registration tends to be mid-October. Note that a student who has registered to take the exam is free not to take it, but a student who has not registered may not take the exam. Students will be alerted in mathematics classes and by email when they may register for the 2008 Putnam. As a practical matter, a student should have taken Calculus II (Math 152) and have taken or be taking Discrete Mathematics I (Math 207) before attempting the Putnam Exam.

The Problem-Solving Seminar (Math 281), offered during the fall semester, prepares students to take the Putnam Exam. In this one-credit course, techniques of mathematical problem-solving are studied and applied to a wide range of problems (including problems from previous Putnam Exams). The prerequisites for Math 281 are Calculus II (Math 152) and Discrete Mathematics I (Math 207). Math 281 may be repeated for credit. Please note that students who register for the Putnam are not required to take the Problem-Solving Seminar and students who take the Seminar need not take the Putnam Exam.

The official Putnam web site contains a helpful description of the Putnam, the history of the exam, and the complete set of rules, but it does not include past exams. Numerous past exams are available online in the University of Nevada at Lincoln's Putnam Directory. Free paper copies of recent Putnam Exams may be found in the "Resources" bookcase in the Mathematics Suite (De La Roche 301). 

Early in the spring semester, the SBU Student Chapter of the MAA sponsors a Putnam Free-For-All, which is an informal discussion of the problems on the previous year's Putnam Exam.