Pitt Undergraduate Integration Bee

The Annual Pitt Undergraduate Integration Bee is an exciting campus-wide mathematics competition proudly supported by the Department of Mathematics and the Frederick Honors College.

Open to all Pitt undergraduate students, the Integration Bee celebrates mathematical creativity, speed, and precision. In this fast-paced competition, participants solve integrals under time pressure in front of a live audience. The event features preliminary rounds, showcase rounds, lightning challenges, and a bracket final, with raffle prizes and cheering spectators adding to the lively atmosphere.

Over the years, the Integration Bee has grown into a vibrant tradition that brings together students from diverse academic backgrounds — participants, audience members, and volunteers alike — in a shared celebration of problem solving and mathematical insight.

How to participate: 
Students MUST REGISTER by filling out this Google form Registration is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis while the form remains active.

Prizes:
A total of $200 in bookstore certificates will be distributed among the winners (see competition rules below).

Contact:
If you have any questions, email Dr. Linhong Wang at lhwang@pitt.edu.

Organizers and Sponsors:
The year’s event will be hosted by Sasha Bakrenev, President of the Math Club, who will serve as the announcer and emcee for the competition. The Integration Bee is organized and run by Dr. Linhong Wang, with support from the Math Club, undergraduate and graduate math students, and faculty members. Our sponsors are the Frederick Honors College and the Department of Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh.

Official Rules for the Competition

1. Participants must correctly evaluate indefinite single-variable integrals in the time allotted.
2. Participants will first compete in the pre-qualifying rounds for a spot in a showcase round.
3. Participants take turns solving integrals in showcase rounds:

• The first participant has 2 minutes.
• If incorrect, the next participant gets 1 minute.
• A third, if needed, gets 30 seconds.
• If all three are incorrect, a new integral is presented to the next participant.
• In the second round, only two students attempt each integral.

1. Each participant is allowed one lifeline — a 20-second consultation with the audience (no written work during this time).
2. A participant who misses an integral is eliminated in this round.
3. After two rounds, remaining contestants compete in a speed challenge. The four fastest solvers advance to the final bracket. Additional qualifying rounds may be held if needed to determine four finalists.
4. The final tournament bracket consists of head-to-head matches:

• Ranks 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3.
• Winners advance to the final; the champion is determined by solving an integral correctly first.
• 2nd place goes to the other finalist; 3rd and 4th are determined by preliminary rankings.

Prizes are awarded to all participants who make it to the final tournament bracket.

More info can be found at the Integration Bee website here.