MATH 499 -- Putnam Competition Preparation Sessions


Math 499 Section 012, CRN# 71642 -- Putnam Competition Preparation Sessions at UH Manoa

Wednesday, 4-5 (5:30)pm at Keller Hall 414

Please request a late registration to the course at Math departmental office at office@math.hawaii.edu

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

Every student willing to learn some problem solving arts is welcome!
Those who take the class are not obligated to participate in the competition.



Every full time UH Manoa undergraduate student is eligible and invited to participate in the Putnam competition!



The Putnam competition at UH Manoa takes place on Saturday, Dec 5, 2026


Place: Keller Hall, 414


Time: 6am -- 2:15pm.


The Putnam Competition will have 4 parts, each part lasting 90 minutes.
Specifically, we have the sessions:

  • Session A: 6am - 7:30am
  • Session B: 7:45am - 9:15am
  • Session C: 11am - 12:30pm
  • Session D: 12:45pm - 2:15pm


    During the 9:15am - 11am break, free food for the participants will be catered.

    The inconvenient time frame comes from the necessity to synchronize the competition throughout the globe (stretching from Honolulu to Budapest).

    Every session offers 3 separate problems to work on.
    Every registered participant may choose sessions to attend:
    there is no requirement to attend all sessions unless one plans to solve all 12 problems (which is as unrealistic as ambitious).

    • 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 5000 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
  • Prof. Pavel Guerzhoy
    • Inquires, suggestions, and especially questions about specific math problems are welcome!




    Every full time UH Manoa undergraduate student is eligible and invited to participate in the Putnam competition!


    Every competition participant must register (while a registered student is not obligated to participate).

    As soon as the registration of participants is open, a link to register will appear here (and the MATH 499 class participants will be informed.



    Approximate list of topics covered during the semester