The International Academic Competitions Portfolio

IAC is an organization that oversees a portfolio of academic competitions for students in over 50 countries. Please see below for an overview of our competitions that are offered in the USA on an annual basis. In addition to these events, IAC also administers four biennial World Championship level events:

International Geography Championships (next held in July 2026)    *    International History Olympiad (next held in July 2027)
International Science Championships (debuting in 2028)    *    International Environmental Science Olympiad (returning in 2029)
US students qualify for these events through participation in our annual history, geography, and science competitions in the USA.

Please also see these pages (also linked on the menu bar above) to learn about IAC’s expanded Model United Nations Program for students in Grades 4-8:

Model UN Regional Conferences   *   Intro to Model UN (at Nationals)   *   Model UN National Championships

Annual Competitions for Students in the USA

National History Bee

National History Bee

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger (at Regionals) / 3rd Grade, 2nd Grade & Younger (at Nationals)

  • Competitors: Individual Students

  • Competition Style:

    • Varsity / Junior Varsity – Buzzer-based at Regionals and Nationals.
    • Middle / Elementary School – Buzzer based at Regionals and Nationals with additional Qualifying Exam Stage prior to Regionals.

National Geography Bee

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger (at Regionals) / 3rd Grade, 2nd Grade & Younger (at Nationals)

  • Competitors: Individual Students

  • Competition Style:

    • Varsity / Junior Varsity – Buzzer-based at Nationals. Regionals has both Qualifying Exam and Buzzer-based quiz tournament options.
    • Middle / Elementary School – Buzzer based at Regionals and Nationals with additional Qualifying Exam Stage prior to Regionals.
National Science Bee

National Science Bee

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger (at Regionals) / 3rd Grade, 2nd Grade & Younger (at Nationals)

  • Competitors: Individual Students

  • Competition Style:

    • Varsity / Junior Varsity – Buzzer-based at Nationals. Regionals has both Qualifying Exam and Buzzer-based quiz tournament options.
    • Middle / Elementary School – Buzzer based at Regionals and Nationals with additional Qualifying Exam Stage prior to Regionals.
National History Bowl

National History Bowl

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, Middle School (up to 8th grade), Intermediate (up to 6th grade), Elementary School (up to 4th grade)

  • Competitors: Teams of up to 4 students play at a time (up to 2 substitute players allowed per team at Regionals, unlimited substitute players allowed at Nationals)

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based

National Geography Bowl

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, Middle School (up to 8th grade), Intermediate (up to 6th grade), Elementary School (up to 4th grade)

  • Competitors: Teams of up to 2 students play at a time (up to 1 substitute player allowed per team)

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based. Online only.

US History Bee

United States History Bee

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger

  • Competitors: Individual students

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based quiz tournament at Nationals, which is held in-person for all age divisions. A multiple-choice National Qualifying Exam must be passed to compete at Nationals.

United States Geography Bee

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger.

  • Competitors: Individual students

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based quiz tournament at Nationals, which is held online for the Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions and in-person for the Middle & Elementary School Divisions. A multiple-choice National Qualifying Exam must be passed to compete at Nationals.

United States Geography Championships

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger

  • Competitors: Individual students

  • Competition Style: Exam

National Biology Bee

National Biology Bee

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger

  • Competitors: Individual students

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based quiz tournament at Nationals, which is held online for all age divisions. A multiple-choice National Qualifying Exam must be passed to compete at Nationals.

National Humanities Bee

National Humanities Bee

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger

  • Competitors: Individual students

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based quiz tournament at Nationals, which is held online for all age divisions. A multiple-choice National Qualifying Exam must be passed to compete at Nationals.

National Mathematics Bee

National Mathematics Bee

  • Divisions: 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger

  • Competitors: Individual Students

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based computational quiz tournament at Nationals, which is held in-person. A multiple-choice National Qualifying Exam must be passed to compete at Nationals.

National Citizenship Bee

National Citizenship Bee

  • Divisions: 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger

  • Competitors: Individual Students

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based quiz tournament at Nationals, which is held in-person. A multiple-choice National Qualifying Exam must be passed to compete at Nationals.

National Academic Bowl

  • Divisions: Middle School (up to 8th grade), Intermediate (up to 6th grade), Elementary School (up to 4th grade)

  • Competitors: Teams of up to 4 students play at a time (up to 2 substitute players allowed per team at Regionals, unlimited substitute players allowed at Nationals)

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based

National Academic Bee

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger

  • Competitors: Individual students

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based quiz tournament at Nationals, which is held in-person. No prior qualification is required.

National Political Science Bee

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity

  • Competitors: Individual students

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based quiz tournament at Nationals, which is held in-person. A multiple-choice National Qualifying Exam must be passed to compete at Nationals.

National Championship Exams

National Championship Exams

  • Divisions: Varsity, Junior Varsity, 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger

  • Competitors: Individual students

  • Competition Style: Exam

US Spelling Championships

United States Spelling Championships

  • Divisions: 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Younger

  • Competitors: Individual students

  • Competition Style: Spelling. All students will receive the same words.