The Department of Mathematics offers many opportunity-rich experiences for travel and seeing the broad world of mathematics. Here are a few competitions in which our students can participate:

Indiana Collegiate Mathematics Competition (ICMC)

This is a competition for teams of size three held every spring at the Indiana Section Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). Students interested in participating should contact us. Funding is typically available for registration, transportation, lodging and meals for all participants.

Virginia Tech Regional Math Contest

The Virginia Tech Regional Math Contest is a three-hour examination given each fall. The test consists of six or seven questions from a number of mathematical topics studied by undergraduates. These questions are typically challenging.

Reasons for students to take this examination include:

• Participation in such competitions is a nice resume enhancement.
• Cash awards with a total value of $1,000 are given to top scorers.
• Breakfast goodies are provided.

William Lowell Putnam Math Competition

The William Lowell Putnam Math Competition is a two-part examination comprised of two three-hour blocks. It is given on the first Saturday in December.

Each part has six very challenging questions from a number of mathematical topics. Scores on this test are typically lower than those on the Virginia Tech Regional Math Contest (see above). More information about this competition can be found at the Putnam Exam website or the Mathematical Association of America website. Registration is in mid-September.

Reasons for students to take this examination include:

• Participation in such competitions is a nice resume enhancement.
• Scoring higher than zero is a very nice resume enhancement.
• Breakfast goodies are provided.
• Cash prizes up to $2,500 are awarded to the top five individuals.
• Lunch is provided.

CSBS 2023 Data Analytics Competition

What will be the potential impact on banks (earnings, deposits, asset quality, etc.) from the recent rapidly rising interest rate environment? And how should banks prepare? This competition is open to teams of 3-5 undergraduate and/or graduate students working with a faculty advisor.

ASA DataFest

The American Statistical Association (ASA) DataFest is a celebration of data in which teams of undergraduates work around the clock to find and share meaning in a large, rich, and complex data set.

Undergraduate Statistics Project Competition and Electronic Undergraduate Statistics Research Conference (USPROC)

The purpose of USPROC is to encourage the development of statistics and data science skills, to enhance presentation skills, and to recognize outstanding work by undergraduate statistics and data science students.

The Undergraduate Research Project Competition (USRESP)

The research project competition is for undergraduate statistics and data science students who conduct research projects coming from activities like summer research projects, advanced senior-level course research projects, independent research projects (e.g., independent studies), Honors or capstone research projects, or extensions of class research projects. Some submissions to USRESP are applied research projects using existing statistical/analytical techniques to solve real world problems, while others are methodological research involving statistical applications or simulation studies evaluating different techniques.

The Undergraduate Class Project Competition (USCLAP)

The class project competition is for undergraduate students who conduct projects as part of an introductory or intermediate level statistics or data science course. Most projects submitted to the USCLAP competition involve analyzing real data using existing statistical techniques. Students may choose any topic on which to conduct a study and students may use existing data or collect their own.