William Lowell
Putnam Undergraduate Mathematics Competition
This page is for Rutgers University Undergraduates who are interested in
learning more about the Putnam Exam.
Details about the next exam
General Information about the
Putnam Exam
The William Lowell Putnam Undergraduate Mathematics Competition is an annual prestigious mathematics contest that is open to all full-time undergraduates in the U.S. and Canada. It offers prizes for individuals and teams. The competition consists of a challenging 6 hour examination that is usually held the first Saturday of December. (Note: if you can't make this time because of religious observance, it may be possible to arrange an alternative time.) The questions are chosen to test ingenuity and insight rather than knowledge of advanced material.
Undergraduates from Rutgers University have participated in the exam for many years. Here are results of Rutgers students past exams .
Additional information including past exams can be found here. If you look at old exams, keep in mind that the exam is intended to be very difficult. Only about 1/2 of the students taking the exam get even one problem correct out of the twelve problems in the exam!
There is no cost for participating, and no penalty for participating and doing poorly.
Registration for the exam
If you want to take the exam, you need to register between September 1 and
October 1. Send email to swastik@math.rutgers.edu with subject line ``Putnam
registration'' and include the following information:
·
Your
name
·
Student
number
·
Expected
graduation year
·
Are
you a full time undergraduate?
·
Do
you already have a college degree?
·
How
many times have you taken the Putnam exam before?
·
Do
you require an alternative time because of religious observance?
Students interested in learning some of the problem solving techniques
needed for the exam may wish to enroll in (or attend without credit) the Seminar
in Mathematical Problem Solving this fall. If you have any questions,
contact Professor Swastik Kopparty.