The William Lowell Putnam Competition is an annual mathematics competition for regularly enrolled undergraduates in colleges or
universities of the United States and Canada, who have not yet received a college degree.
Prizes are awarded to individual participants and institutions.
Fall 2007 Putnam competition: Here you can find location and schedule of meetings, sets
of problems, links to Putnam archives and additional information
for Fall 2007.
The UCLA Mathematics Department coordinates the UCLA Putnam team and runs
activities such as
- A "Problem solving" course (Math 199/1) is offered fall quarter, which is an excellent
preparation for the Putnam competition. Fall 2007 the course meets MWF
2:00-2:50 in La Kretz 120.
- Year round consulting for students who want to learn more about the Putnam competition,
for example study old exam questions.
- Free pizza for lunch at the day of the competition
Participation: All enrolled UCLA undergraduate students
which do not have a collecge degree may participate in the UCLA
Putnam team. There is a four time limit for any
participant. Three team members are designated every year
prior to the competition whose score will contribute to the
UCLA team score. In addition, they
and all other team members compete for individual scores.
Reasons to participate: While the material in the exams
covers only a fraction of mathematics, students taking part in
and preparing for the competition learn a lot about general mathematical
skills such as solving problems and proving statements. Graduate
schools and other employers can be impressed
by high Putnam scores.
Time and Location: The Putnam examination takes place every
year on the first Saturday of December. There are two 3 hour sessions,
one in the morning and one in the afternoon. UCLA team takes the
examination in some room in the Mathematics Department. Results of the
Competition become known around March of the following year.
Registration: Participants should register prior to the competition: deadlines are
near the beginning of the Fall quarter. Most years there are some spots
available for late registration because some registered students drop out.
Contact: Check with Kristin (kristin@math.ucla.edu) in the Mathematics Student's
office MS 6356 for more information and find out about faculty in charge of
the Putnam examination and preparation (e.g. Math 199/1).
History of Putnam at UCLA: The best rank of a UCLA team ever was a third place in 1968/69.
Check here for more recent history. |
