Math Competitions

A number of prestigious national and regional organizations have organized annual matches in which teams of undergraduate college students compete for prizes. These matches both encourage and recognize mathematical excellence.

The CUNY Math Challenge is a 3-month competition, running from February through May each year, and is open to all matriculated CUNY undergraduates (not just mathematics students). It consists of four rounds of problem solving, culminating in a 3-hour exam at the Graduate Center. Prizes range from $500 to $2500.

The Putnam Competition is administered by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) annually, in the first week of December. Team cash prizes range from $5000 to $25,000, and individual prizes are $2500.

The MAA maintains a list of mathematics competitions.

The Mathematical Contest in Modeling is sponsored by the Consortium on Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP). Each team is presented with two problems, one requiring discrete mathematics and the other continuous mathematics. Winners receive a bronze plaque and have their solution papers published in “The UMAP Journal”.

The Student Mathematics League of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) pits teams of students from community colleges against one another. Each year, this competition involves several thousand students from all around the country.

The Mathematics League of the New York State Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges is sponsored by NYSMATYC, the state affiliate of AMATYC.

If there is a college mathematics competition for CUNY students you would like listed on this site, please contact us.

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