Schedule and Format

Contest Format

For the inaugural Illini Math Tournament in November 2026, we will only have an Undergraduate competition. Any student who has not yet obtained a bachelor's (or equivalent 4-year) degree and is at least 18 years of age will be eligible to participate.

Undergraduate Competition

The Team Round will consist of 10 proof-based questions to be completed in 60 minutes by a team of up to five students, each scored out of 10 points, for a total of 100 points. All work must be shown to receive full credit; partial credit may be awarded for sufficient progress towards a solution.

The Individual Round will consist of 8 proof-based questions to be completed in 90 minutes, worth a total of 100 points. Like the Team Round, all work must be shown to receive full credit. Partial credit may be awarded.

The Theme Round is a multi-section proof round with questions based on one or several closely-related themes, to be completed in 2 hours by a team of up to five students, and is worth a total of 200 points.

Scoring and Awards

The Team Round and Individual Round are both scored out of 100 points, while the Theme Round is scored out of 200 points. An individual's score is exactly their score on the Individual Round, which is the only round that contributes to individual rankings. A team's score is calculated as one-fifth the sum of its Individual Round scores (max possible: 100) plus its Team Round score plus its Theme Round score, for a maximum possible team score of 400 points. Team rounds make up 75% of a team's possible score; as such, it's essential for high-scoring teams to work well with each other! (Note: if a team has fewer than five students, zeros will be used for the missing students.)

In the event of a tie between two individuals ranking highly enough to receive an award, points earned on each problem will be considered, with the last problem having highest priority breaking ties, then the second-to-last problem, and so forth. If two students have earned the same scores on every problem, their individual solutions will be re-read and a final decision will be made based on, e.g. elegance/novelty of the solution and neatness and concision of the presentation. If two teams are tied, the order of tie-breaking precedence is Theme Round > Team Round > sum of Individual Round scores. As such, there is no need for a tiebreaker round.

Awards will be given to the top 3 teams and the top 5 individuals, and the top 5 teams and the top 25% of individuals will also be recognized!

Tournament Day Schedule

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM: Registration

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Theme Round

11:15 AM - 12:15 PM: Team Round

12:15 PM - 1:45 PM: Lunch

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM: Individual Round

3:30 PM - 6:00 PM: Activities and Talks

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Awards Ceremony