IB Maths AA vs AI: what is the difference, and which should you take?
IB Maths AA (Analysis and Approaches) centres on algebra, proof and calculus and has one paper sat with no calculator. AI (Applications and Interpretation) centres on modelling and statistics and allows technology in every paper. Both run at SL and HL, and several UK mathematics, economics and engineering degrees require or prefer AA at Higher Level.
By Archie Dyer, founder of Cognivia Tutoring · Last checked 11 October 2026
Two courses, two levelsAA and AI, each at SL and HL: four options in all.
Cambridge asks for AAHigher Level AA for most courses where Mathematics is required.
Some courses accept bothImperial Mechanical Engineering takes either at HL, and prefers AA.
It varies by courseLSE sorts its degrees into three groups: AA required, AA preferred, either.
One no-calculator paper in AAEvery AI paper allows technology. The exploration is 20% in both.
How do UK universities treat AA and AI?
They treat them differently, and the treatment changes from course to course. Some courses accept only AA, some prefer AA but consider AI, and some accept either. The table records what six admissions pages said when checked, all for Higher Level.
How selected UK university courses treat IB Mathematics AA and AI at Higher Level
Course
Analysis and Approaches (AA) HL
Applications and Interpretation (AI) HL
Cambridge: Engineering; Economics (2027 entry)
Asked for
Not named. If AA is not offered at your school, Cambridge says to contact the College
Cambridge: Medicine; Natural Sciences (Biological); Psychological and Behavioural Sciences
Recommended “for the most competitive application”
Will also be considered
Warwick: BSc Mathematics (2027 entry)
Required
Not accepted: the offer says “‘Analysis and Approaches’ only”
What is the difference between IB Maths AA and AI?
AA and AI are two separate mathematics courses in the IB Diploma. AA emphasises constructing and justifying mathematical arguments and includes a paper with no calculator; AI emphasises mathematics in context, modelling and statistics, and uses technology in every paper. Both are offered at Standard Level and Higher Level, with the same teaching hours and the same 20% exploration.
The IB describes them in its own words. AA “has a strong emphasis on the ability to construct, communicate and justify correct mathematical arguments”. AI “emphasizes the meaning of mathematics in context by focusing on topics that are often used as applications or in mathematical modelling”, and the IB adds: “All external assessments involve the use of technology.”
IB Mathematics AA and AI compared: papers, timings and weightings for the current courses (first assessments 2021)
Current course
Analysis and Approaches (AA)
Applications and Interpretation (AI)
Paper 1
No technology allowed. Short-response and extended-response questions
Technology allowed. Short-response questions
Paper 2
Technology allowed. Short-response and extended-response questions
Technology allowed. Extended-response questions
Paper 3 (HL only)
Technology allowed. Two extended-response problem-solving questions
Technology allowed. Two extended-response problem-solving questions
Standard Level
Papers 1 and 2: 1 hour 30 minutes each, 40% each
Papers 1 and 2: 1 hour 30 minutes each, 40% each
Higher Level
Papers 1 and 2: 2 hours each, 30% each. Paper 3: 1 hour, 20%
Papers 1 and 2: 2 hours each, 30% each. Paper 3: 1 hour, 20%
Exploration (internal assessment)
20% at SL and HL
20% at SL and HL
Recommended teaching hours
150 at SL, 240 at HL
150 at SL, 240 at HL
Where the teaching time goes
The clearest measure of the difference is the IB’s own recommended teaching hours. At Higher Level, AA gives 55 hours to calculus and 33 to statistics and probability; AI gives 41 to calculus and 52 to statistics and probability.
Recommended teaching hours by topic for IB Mathematics AA and AI, current courses
Topic
AA SL
AA HL
AI SL
AI HL
Number and algebra
19
39
16
29
Functions
21
32
31
42
Geometry and trigonometry
25
51
18
46
Statistics and probability
27
33
36
52
Calculus
28
55
19
41
Exploration and investigational skills
30
30
30
30
Total
150
240
150
240
This guide does not say that one course is harder than the other. That depends on the student, and neither the IB nor the admissions pages above claim it. What the figures show is a difference of emphasis: more calculus and algebra in AA, more statistics and modelling in AI.
Papers, timings, weightings, teaching hours and quotations are taken from the IB’s Diploma Programme subject briefs for Mathematics: analysis and approaches and Mathematics: applications and interpretation (“First assessments for SL and HL—2021”). Checked on 11 October 2026 against archived copies of those briefs. Cognivia Tutoring is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the IB.
Is IB Maths changing? The new course, first assessed in 2029
Yes. The IB has published new subject briefs for both AA and AI marked “First assessment 2029”. The Diploma is a two-year course, so that points to students who begin it in 2027. Students sitting exams before then are on the current course described above. Ask your school which version it is teaching.
In the new briefs both courses keep the same shape: two papers at SL, three at HL, and an exploration worth 20%. The details that differ from the current course are below.
Papers
SL: 3 hours of external assessment, worth 80%. HL: 5 hours, worth 80%. Papers 1 and 2 are 1 hour 30 minutes each at SL (40% each) and 2 hours each at HL (30% each); Paper 3 is HL only, 1 hour, 20%.
Calculators
AA Paper 1: “No technology allowed”. AA Papers 2 and 3, and every AI paper: “Technology required”. The AA brief adds: “Each topic is studied with and without a calculator.”
AA focus
“The course has a specific focus on mathematical analysis using functions and calculus.” HL-only content includes complex numbers, vectors, differential equations and Maclaurin series.
AI focus
“The course has a specific focus on mathematical modelling and statistical analysis and includes the study of functions and calculus.” HL-only content includes matrices, vectors, graph theory and differential equations.
Exploration
20% at SL and HL, with the same criteria at both levels: problem specification (4 marks), abstraction (6), computation (4) and interpretation (6).
Teaching hours
Still 150 at SL and 240 at HL. At HL, AA gives 59 hours to calculus and 28 to probability and statistics; AI gives 41 and 52.
Check which version you will be taught. A subject brief is a summary. The full subject guide, which your school holds, is the authority on content and assessment for your cohort.
Should I take AA or AI for engineering, economics, mathematics or medicine?
For mathematics, engineering and the more mathematical economics degrees, the pages checked point to AA at Higher Level. The pages checked for medicine and for several social science degrees consider AI as well. In every case the course page decides.
Mathematics. Warwick’s BSc Mathematics offer for 2027 entry is 39 points with 6 in three Higher Level subjects, including Mathematics, “‘Analysis and Approaches’ only”.
Engineering. Cambridge says of its Engineering course: “If you’re studying IB, we ask for Analysis and Approaches for this course.” Imperial’s MEng Mechanical Engineering page says both syllabi “will be accepted at higher level”, “but Analysis and Approaches is preferred”.
Economics. Cambridge asks for AA for Economics, in the same words. LSE lists BSc Economics under AA Higher Level “preferred/desirable (but both streams considered)”, while its joint degrees with mathematics require AA.
Medicine. Cambridge recommends AA for Medicine “for the most competitive application” and says AI will also be considered. Other medical schools were not checked for this guide, so check each one.
Cambridge’s general rule is that for most courses where Mathematics is a requirement, IB applicants are expected to take Higher Level AA. All the requirements above are stated at Higher Level, so the choice of level matters as much as the choice between AA and AI.
Choose from the degree backwards: find out what the courses you might apply to ask for, then pick the course and level that keep those open.
List the degree subjects you are seriously considering, even loosely.
Open the entry requirements for a few courses in each and look for the words “Analysis and Approaches” or “Applications and Interpretation”. If a page only says “Mathematics”, ask the admissions office.
Ask your school which courses and levels it offers, and which version of the curriculum it will teach.
If the course you need is not offered, say so early. Cambridge, for one, asks applicants in that position to contact the College for advice.
Read the IB subject brief for each option with your teacher, who knows your work.
How Cognivia can help
Archie Dyer, the founder of Cognivia Tutoring and its only tutor, sat the IB himself: 43 out of 45, with 7s in HL Maths, Physics and Economics. He tutors AA and AI at both Standard and Higher Level, one to one, in one-hour lessons. The price is £45 online on Google Meet or £55 in person around Marylebone, London; a 5-pack of five lessons saves £15, at £210 online or £260 in person. A 30-minute online trial is free and needs no card. He will not promise a grade, and the choice of course is one for the student, the family and the school.
Cognivia Tutoring is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the IB or any university.
FAQ
AA vs AI questions, answered
They are the two mathematics courses in the IB Diploma Programme: Mathematics: analysis and approaches (AA) and Mathematics: applications and interpretation (AI). Each is offered at Standard Level and Higher Level. For university entry, the practical difference is that some UK courses require or prefer AA at Higher Level.
This guide does not rank them, because that depends on the student. What can be checked is how universities treat them: for example, Warwick’s BSc Mathematics accepts Analysis and Approaches only, and Imperial’s MEng Mechanical Engineering accepts both at Higher Level but prefers Analysis and Approaches.
Some courses do and some do not. LSE lists courses where either stream is acceptable at Higher Level, such as BSc Management, and others where Analysis and Approaches is required, such as BSc Mathematics and Economics. Check the entry requirements on each course page.
Cambridge asks IB applicants for Analysis and Approaches for its Engineering course. Imperial’s MEng Mechanical Engineering page says both syllabi are accepted at Higher Level but Analysis and Approaches is preferred. Other engineering courses set their own requirements.
Cambridge asks IB applicants for Analysis and Approaches for Economics. LSE lists BSc Economics under Analysis and Approaches Higher Level preferred or desirable, with both streams considered. Requirements differ by university, so check each course page.
At Cambridge, Analysis and Approaches is recommended for Medicine for the most competitive application, and Applications and Interpretation will also be considered. Other medical schools were not checked for this guide, so confirm with each one.
Yes. The IB has published new subject briefs for both AA and AI marked “First assessment 2029”, which points to students who begin the two-year Diploma in 2027. Students sitting exams before then are on the current course. Ask your school which version it is teaching.
In AA, Paper 1 is sat with no technology and Paper 2 (and Paper 3 at HL) with technology. In AI, every paper allows technology. That is true of the current course and of the new course first assessed in 2029.
20% of the final grade, in both AA and AI, at both Standard Level and Higher Level. The written papers make up the other 80%.
Where to go next
If the choice is made and the work has started, these pages cover what Cognivia teaches.
