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The Putnam competition now takes place on the first Saturday in December, and consists of two three-hour sittings and a lunch break. Each competitor attempts to solve twelve problems, nearly all mathematical proofs, which can typically be solved with only basic knowledge of college mathematics but which require extensive creative thinking.
Each of the twelve questions is worth any amount from 1 to 10 points, but the most frequent scores above zero are 10 points, for a complete solution; 9 points, for a nearly-complete solution; and 1 point, for the beginnings of a solution. The examination is considered to be very difficult: it is typically attempted by students specializing in mathematics, but the median score is usually one or two points out of 120 possible.
A participating college may have as many participants as it wishes, but its team consists of three individuals whom it designates in advance. Its team score is calculated analogous to cross-country running, as the sum of the ranks of its three team members; lowest team score wins. It is entirely possible, even commonplace at some institutions, for the eventual results to show that the "wrong" team was picked — i.e. that some students not on the official team outscored the official team members.
In December 2003 the examination was taken by 3615 students from 479 colleges.
Many contestants have gone on to become distinguished researchers in mathematics and other fields. A number of them have received the Fields Medal or the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Since the second competition in 1939, competing teams have been ranked.
| Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
| 1938 | (teams were not ranked) | ||||
| 1939 | Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn College is a constituent college in the City University of New York. Distinguished Alumni and Faculty Stanley Cohen The 1986 Nobel Prize winner of Physiology and Medicine Michael Cunningham The 1999 Pulitzer Prize winner for The Hours Allen Ginsb | MITMotto Mens et Manus ("mind and hand") Established 1861 School type Private President Charles Vest (successor Susan Hockfield to take office in December 2004) Location Cambridge, Mass. USA Enrollment 4,112 undergraduate, 6,228 graduate Faculty 974 Campus U | Mississippi Women's College | ||
| 1940 | TorontoMotto Velut arbor aevo ("As a tree with the passage of time") Established 1827 School type Public President Frank Iacobucci (interim) Location Toronto, Ontario, Canada Enrollment 63,109 (48,863 at St. George Campus, 6,834 at UTSC, 7,412 at UTM) Faculty 2, | Yale | ColumbiaColumbia University officially known as Columbia University in the City of New York is a private institution of higher education. It is one of the world's foremost research universities and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1754 under a royal charter | ||
| 1941 | Brooklyn College | UPennMotto Leges sine Moribus vanae Laws without morals are in vain Established 1740 School type Private President Amy Gutmann Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Enrollment 9,917 undergraduate, 8,996 graduate Faculty 4,499 Campus Urban Athletics 33 varsi | MIT | ||
| 1942 | Toronto | Yale | MIT | City College of New YorkCity College of New York was originally founded as the Free Academy of the City of New York in 1847. It was subsequently named the College of the City of New York but that name was later transferred to the complex of the municipally-owned colleges in New | |
| 1946 | Toronto | MIT | Brooklyn College | Carnegie Institute of TechnologyThe Carnegie Institute of Technology was founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie. His stated intention was to build a "first class technical school" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the children of local steel mill workers. In about a century, it has expanded f | |
| 1947 | Harvard | Yale | Columbia | UPenn | |
| 1948 | Brooklyn College | Toronto | Harvard | City College of New York (tie) McGill | |
| 1949 | Harvard | Toronto | Carnegie Institute of Technology | City College of New York | |
| 1950 | Caltech | Harvard | New York University (NYU) | Toronto | |
| 1951 | Cornell | Harvard | Cooper Union | City College of New York | |
| 1952 | Queen's University | Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn | Harvard | MIT | |
| 1953 | Harvard | City College of New York | Cornell | UC Berkeley | |
| 1954 | Cornell | Harvard | MIT | Toronto | |
| 1955 | Harvard | Toronto | Yale | Kenyon | |
| 1956 | Harvard | Columbia | Queen's University | MIT | |
| 1957 | Harvard | Columbia | Cornell | Caltech | |
| Spring 1958 | Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn | Harvard | Toronto | University of Manitoba | |
| Fall 1958 | Harvard | Toronto | Caltech | Cornell | |
| 1959 | Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn | Caltech | Toronto | Harvard | Case Western Reserve |
| 1960 | UC Berkeley | Harvard | MIT | Michigan State | Cornell |
| 1961 | Michigan State | MIT | Caltech | Harvard | Dartmouth |
| 1962 | Caltech | Dartmouth | Harvard | Queen's University | UCLA |
| 1963 | Michigan State | Brooklyn College | UPenn | Caltech | MIT |
| 1964 | Caltech | MIT | Harvard | Case Western Reserve | UC Berkeley |
| 1965 | Harvard | MIT | Toronto | Princeton | Caltech |
| 1966 | Harvard | MIT | Chicago | Michigan | Princeton |
| 1967 | Michigan State | Caltech | Harvard | MIT | Michigan |
| 1968 | MIT | Waterloo | UCLA | Michigan State | Kansas |
| 1969 | MIT | Rice | Chicago | Harvard | Yale |
| 1970 | Chicago | MIT | Toronto | Illinois Institute of Technology | Caltech |
| 1971 | Caltech | Chicago | Harvard | UC Davis | MIT |
| 1972 | Caltech | Oberlin | Harvard | Swarthmore | MIT |
| 1973 | Caltech | University of British Columbia | Chicago | Harvard | Princeton |
| 1974 | Waterloo | Chicago | Caltech | MIT | University of British Columbia |
| 1975 | Caltech | Chicago | MIT | Princeton | Harvard |
| 1976 | Caltech | Washington University in St. Louis | Princeton | Case Western Reserve (tie) MIT | |
| 1977 | Washington University in St. Louis | UC Davis | Caltech | Princeton | MIT |
| 1978 | Case Western Reserve | Washington University in St. Louis | Waterloo | Harvard | Caltech |
| 1979 | MIT | Caltech | Princeton | Stanford | Waterloo |
| 1980 | Washington University in St. Louis | Harvard | Maryland, College Park | Chicago | UC Berkeley |
| 1981 | Washington University in St. Louis | Princeton | Harvard | Stanford | Maryland, College Park |
| 1982 | Harvard | Waterloo | Caltech | Yale | Princeton |
| 1983 | Caltech | Washington University in St. Louis | Waterloo | Princeton | Chicago |
| 1984 | UC Davis (tie) Washington University in St. Louis | Harvard | Princeton | Yale | |
| 1985 | Harvard | Princeton | UC Berkeley | Rice | Waterloo |
| 1986 | Harvard | Washington University in St. Louis | UC Berkeley | Yale | MIT |
| 1987 | Harvard | Princeton | Carnegie Mellon | UC Berkeley | MIT |
| 1988 | Harvard | Princeton | Rice | Waterloo | Caltech |
| 1989 | Harvard | Princeton | Waterloo | Yale | Rice |
| 1990 | Harvard | Duke | Waterloo | Yale | Washington University in St. Louis |
| 1991 | Harvard | Waterloo | Harvey Mudd | Stanford | Yale |
| 1992 | Harvard | Toronto | Waterloo | Princeton | Cornell |
| 1993 | Duke | Harvard | Miami University | MIT | Michigan |
| 1994 | Harvard | Cornell | MIT | Princeton | Waterloo |
| 1995 | Harvard | Cornell | MIT | Toronto | Princeton |
| 1996 | Duke | Princeton | Harvard | Washington University in St. Louis | Caltech |
| 1997 | Harvard | Duke | Princeton | MIT | Washington University in St. Louis |
| 1998 | Harvard | MIT | Princeton | Caltech | Waterloo |
| 1999 | Waterloo | Harvard | Duke | Michigan | Chicago |
| 2000 | Duke | MIT | Harvard | Caltech | Toronto |
| 2001 | Harvard | MIT | Duke | UC Berkeley | Stanford |
| 2002 | Harvard | Princeton | Duke | UC Berkeley | Stanford |
| 2003 | MIT | Harvard | Duke | Caltech | Harvey Mudd |