The William Lowell Putnam Competition is an annual mathematics competition for undergraduate students in the United States and Canada. The competition is named after William Lowell Putnam, a mathematician and philanthropist who donated the funds to establish the competition. The Putnam Competition consists of two 3-hour sessions of six problems each, taken on the same day. The problems are designed to be challenging and to test the students’ ability to solve difficult mathematical problems. The competition is open to all undergraduate students, regardless of major or year of study.
Individual scores are based on the number of problems solved correctly, with ties broken by a formula that takes into account the difficulty of the problems. The top five individual scorers are designated Putnam Fellows and receive cash prizes, while the next ten individuals receive Honorable Mention.