Putnam Exam
The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is a renowned undergraduate math competition for students in the US and Canada. The exam takes place on a Saturday in early December and is an all-day affair consisting of two 3-hour sessions with a 2-hour break for lunch in between. The (notoriously challenging) problems are designed to test creativity and problem-solving just as much as, if not more than, technical math skills. The Putnam exam is open to all undergraduates; you do not need to have taken any specific courses, and you do not need to be majoring or minoring in math to participate.
If you are interested in taking the exam or looking for more information, please contact Prof. Malen (gmalen@skidmore.edu).
Students who want to take the exam should also consider signing up for our Fall Problem-Solving Seminar, MA 125/225/325. This (incredibly fun!) seminar is designed to help students prepare for the Putnam Exam, and, more importantly, to expose students to beautiful ideas in mathematics that you may not see anywhere else in the standard curriculum. The seminar and the exam are intended to complement each other, but they are not tied to each other, and you can sign up for one without doing the other. The Fall 2024 seminar meets at 4-5:20pm on Mondays.