Scope

Undergraduate mathematics; demanding, clever and non-typical problems intended to challenge even excellent students.

Rules

The competition is open only to regularly enrolled undergraduates, in colleges and universities of the United States and Canada, who have not yet received a college degree. No individual may participate in the competition more than four times. An eligible entrant who is also a high school student must be informed of this four time limit. A college or university with at least three registered entrants obtains a team rank through the positions achieved by three designated individual contestants. No collaboration or outside assistance is permitted during the examination. Each contestant, even if designated as a team member, must work independently on the examination questions. Please note that there are no provisions for “unofficial’ entrants. The local supervisor must be a regular faculty member.

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Date for 2025: Saturday, December 6, 2025

The 86th Putnam Exam will take place on Saturday December 6, 2025.

Please find more information about the exam at https://maa.org/putnam/

Starting September 24, 2025, practice sessions will be held weekly:

Wednesdays at 12:30-1:20 in HH102 with Dr Lovric, and on

Fridays at 11:30-12:20 in BSB115 with Dr Rooney.

All are encouraged to attend!

We will discuss exam details and begin discussing how to prepare for the exam.
Note: One does not need to be a Math and/or Stats student to participate. Also, they can join the practice sessions even if they are not able to write the exam.

For any questions, or to receive future emails about the Putnam exam, please email James Rooney at rooneyjp@mcmaster.ca or Miroslav Lovric at lovric@mcmaster.ca