The Princeton University Mathematics Competition, also known as PUMaC, is an annual high school mathematics competition started in 2006. The competition typically takes place in January each year, organized entirely by the students of the Princeton University Math Club with hundreds of students participating from across the United States.
For 19 years, the competition was only held at Princeton University, attracting high school students and high school math teams from all across the country who prepared for PUMaC and other similar competitions throughout the year. In 2026, PUMaC organizers partnered with Beijing's ASEEDER to hold the competition in China for the first time. Kenya's Learning Sprouts organization will also partner with Princeton to hold the first African PUMaC in Nairobi, Kenya in 2027.
The competition has two divisions: Division A and Division B. Division A is intended for teams with more competition experience while Division B is designed for teams that are more new to competition. Both divisions are the same structurally.
Teams and individuals both are able to apply to participate within the competition. A full team consists of 8 individuals.
The table below shows the layout for the tournament.
| Round | Format |
|---|---|
| Individual Round | Each individual round participant will take two Individual Tests out of a selection of 4 categories: Algebra, Geometry, Combinatorics, and Number Theory. Each individual test is 50 minutes. |
| Individual Final | The top 10 students in each division qualify for the Individual Final, a series of 3 difficult proof questions. The contestants are given 90 minutes for the 3 problems. |
| Team Round | Teams work together to solve 15 problems with 1 bonus question. Teams are given a varying amount of time yearly, typically ranging between 30 and 60 minutes. |
| Power Round | Teams work together on a variety of proof-style theorems and conjectures. Problems are usually released a week beforehand and teams are allotted that time to work. Proofs are due the date of the competition. |
The competition is scored by a specific system available here.
| Individuals | Teams (overall) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Subject | Division A | Division B | # | Division A | Division B |
| 2025 | Algebra | Liam Reddy | Eden He | 1st | Lehigh Valley Fire | PHS Avocado |
| Geometry | Nathan Lu | Liran Zhou | 2nd | Washington Gold | PRISMS Young Falcons | |
| Number Theory | Alexander Wang | Arjun Pandey | 3rd | Texas Ramanujan | Jericho A | |
| Combinatorics | Shaohuan (Nick) Zhang | Brandon Ni | 4th | Mad Hatter | Gunn Math | |
| Overall | Liam Reddy | Eric Dai | 5th | Florida Alligators | Greater Boston | |
| 2024 | Algebra | Zongshu Wu | Qiao Zhang | 1st | Lehigh Valley Fire | Ward Melville Math Team |
| Geometry | Jason Mao | Jason Lian | 2nd | TJ A | Sierra Canyon School | |
| Number Theory | Alexander Wang | Harry Gao | 3rd | Lexington Alpha | Jericho A | |
| Combinatorics | Edward Li | Qiao Zhang | 4th | Texas Ramanujan | Theta Math Club | |
| Overall | Alexander Wang | Qiao Zhang | 5th | Washington Gold | Big L | |
PUMaC partnered with China's ASEEDER competition organization to hold China's first PUMaC on January 10-11, 2026. The scores for the Chinese competition were held separate from the scores within the US.
Through a partnership with Kenya's Learning Sprouts, an African education-focused organization, PUMaC is set to organize its first competition in Nairobi for 2027, accessible to students across the entire continent.