MATH 499 -- Putnam Competition Preparation Sessions

The world's toughest mathematical contest.

The William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition was was founded in 1927 by Elizabeth Lowell Putnam, and is currently organized by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) .
The University of Hawaii at Manoa always participates.
Every year, around 4500 of the best math students from North America take the exam, and you are welcome to join the club!
Those who win the competition (making it at least into the list of the first 500) get serious advantages when applying for graduate school; the higher the score, the better.
Even if you do not do that well, your participation never hurts anything but indicates your interest in mathematics and earns the respect of your peers and faculty.
You may find exhaustive information about the competition at the Wikipedia entry.
An old archive of Putnam problems (with solutions) for the years 1938-2003 is still semi-alive on the web, while an archive which contains more recent problems, along with other useful Putnam-related links is maintained by Kiran Kedlaya.

These semester practice sessions are coached by Inquires, suggestions, and especially questions about specific math problems are welcome!





The Putnam competition at UH Manoa takes place on Saturday, Dec 2, 2023


Place: TBA


Time: 8am -- 4pm with a lunch break 11am -- 1pm
Every full time UH Manoa undergraduate student is eligible and invited to participate in the Putnam competition!




Math 499 Section 012, CRN# 72025 -- Putnam Competition Preparation Sessions at UH Manoa

Wednesday, 4-5 (5:30)pm at Keller 413

(You may, if you so prefer, attend the class without any formal registration.)

Every student willing to learn some problem solving arts is welcome!





Approximate list of topics covered during the semester