Overview. The contest promotes mathematics education in New Mexico by rewarding students, teachers, and their schools for mathematics excellence. Between 700 to 1200 New Mexico students benefit from this program annually. The contest is designed at high-school level, and New Mexico students from grades 5 through 12 have been participating. It has two examination rounds, each testing mathematical potential and ingenuity in addition to formal knowledge. Round I is administered at testing centers throughout NM and online. The top finalists from Round I are invited to the UNM Campus in early February to compete in Round II, administered as an in-person written exam. Prior to the Round II examination, a prominent mathematician or statistician gives a presentation available to all. Recent invited guest speakers for Round II of the contest include Yuliya Gorb of the National Science Foundation, Stefan Steinerberger from the University of Washington, Poh-Shen Loh from Carnegie Mellon University. and Elizabeth Gross from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Co-directors. The 2026-2027 contest is co-directed by Professor Cristina Pereyra and Associate Professor Stephen Lau of UNM Mathematics and Statistics.

Support. Sponsorship of the UNM-PNM Statewide High School Mathematics Contest comes from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and a grant from the PNM. The contest also awards prizes, through gifts from Mu Alpha Theta (the National High School and Two-Year College Mathematics Honor Society) and a generous discount from the American Mathematical Society.

To find out more about Mu Alpha Theta, their scholarships, grants, free math competitions, and other benefits, please visit www.mualphatheta.org. NCTM, MAA, SIAM, and AMATYC are sponsoring organizations of Mu Alpha Theta.

Donations. If you wish to support our contest, please click here to make a donation.

New Mexico Math Meet. Another event for middle school students is NM³. The second NM³ will be held September 19th at UNM. Please follow the link to the webpage for information registration.

2026-2027 contest

• Poster for this year's contest.
• Round 1 of the contest will be administered at test centers throughout the State over an arranged 3-hour window during the period November 6th to 9th, 2026.
• Round 2 will be held at in-person at UNM on February 13th, 2027 in the afternoon. The speaker for the morning Public Presentation will be John Wright (Jet Propulsion Laboratory).
• The Awards Banquet will be on April 27th, 2027.
• School and Club Registration. Registration for teachers and schools is now open. After registering you will receive an email with information. Either click on the link above or use the following QR-code. Registrants should receive a new update by email on or about September 1st, 2026.

  

From the 2025-2026 contest

• Public presentation for the 2025-2026 contest, Saturday, 14 February 2026, 10:00 AM
  Speaker: Professor Elizabeth Gross (University of Hawaii at Manoa)
  Title: "What Do Ecosystems Look Like? Geometry in Evolution and Ecology"
  
• Poster for this year's contest.
• Strategy sessions. Sean Choi will run two strategy sessions by Zoom: one on Friday, September 12th, and another on Wednesday, November 5th. Please follow the link above for details.
• Round I of the contest will be administered at test centers throughout the State over an arranged 3-hour window during the period November 7th to 10th, 2025
• Round II will be held at in-person at UNM on February 14th, 2026.
• Awards Banquet will be held at UNM in the SUB Ballroom C on April 18th, 2026.

From 2024-2025 contest

• Important dates.
  • Round 1: Friday to Monday, 22-25 November 2024
  • Speaker's presentation and Round 2: Saturday, 8 February 2025. Schedule.
  • Awards Banquet: 11:00 AM Saturday, 19 April 2025, Ballroom C, Student Union Building (SUB) at UNM.


• Public presentation for the 2024-2025 contest, Saturday, 8 February 2025, 10:00 AM
  Speaker: Po-Shen Loh (Carnegie Mellon University)
  Title: "How To Thrive In the Age of AI"
  
  In the afternoon, while the students are busy with the Round-2 contest, Professor Loh will be available to meet with parents as a group. See the schedule above.


• Special colloquium, Friday, 7 February 2025, 4:00 PM
  Speaker: Po-Shen Loh (Carnegie Mellon University)
  Title: "Using Math to Invent Solutions to Large-Scale Human Problems in Education and Healthcare"