There are several ways to qualify for the Olympiad, depending on the country in which the student is attending school during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years. Please note that in addition to the methods described below, students who have medaled at past Olympiads continue to be qualified for future Olympiads (subject to age eligibility restrictions).
If you are unsure whether your student has already qualified, please email olympiad@iacompetitions.com.
Students residing in the United States
With the exception of students affected by the age or grade restrictions, students and teams in the USA who finish in the top half in the National History Bowl at the Varsity, Junior Varsity, Middle School, Intermediate, or Elementary National Championships in the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 academic years will be eligible to participate in the 2025 International History Olympiad. Students on History Bowl teams with at least a .500 winning percentage in the preliminary rounds at Nationals are eligible as well.
With the exception of students affected by the age or grade restrictions, students who finish in the top 2/3 of students in the National History Bee at the Varsity, Junior Varsity, Middle School, Intermediate, or Elementary National Championships in the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 academic years will be eligible to participate in the 2025 International History Olympiad.
Students who finish in the top third of students in the Varsity or Junior Varsity Division at any state or regional National History Bee tournament, or are members of any team that finishes in the top quarter of students in the Varsity or Junior Varsity Division at any state or regional National History Bowl tournament also qualify for the 2025 International History Olympiad. This holds for both the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years.
Students who finish as the first or second-ranked student in any age division at any National History Bee tournament, regardless of the size of that age division also qualify for the 2025 International History Olympiad. If age divisions are consolidated, the student can qualify by placing as the first or second-ranked student in either the consolidated age division in which they play, or the age division to which their birthdate applies.
Students who finish in the top third of students in any Middle or Elementary School age division at any regional finals tournament for the National History Bee in either the preliminaries or final standings also qualify for the 2025 International History Olympiad (provided they are not rendered ineligible by the aforementioned grade restrictions). This is inclusive of ties for the final qualifying spot (which are not broken), and rounding up for fractional division sizes (so in a division with 13 students, 5 would qualify).
Students who finish as the first or second-ranked student in any age division at any National History Bee Regional Finals Tournament, regardless of the size of that age division also qualify for the 2025 International History Olympiad. If age divisions are consolidated, the student can qualify by placing as the first or second-ranked student in either the consolidated age division in which they play, or the age division to which their birthdate applies.
If you are a student in the USA and are uncertain as to whether you qualify, please email olympiad@iacompetitions.com.
Students who reach the playoffs of any age division in the US History Bee at the US National Championships in either the 2023-24 or 2024-25 academic years qualify for the International History Olympiad.
Students in the USA may also qualify for the International History Olympiad by taking the International History Olympiad Qualifying Exam. Students must score 75 or higher if they take the exam while in 9th-12th grade, 65 or higher if they take the exam while in 7th or 8th grade, 55 or higher if they take the exam while in 2nd-6th grade.
Regardless of when students finish schooling / homeschooling for a year, the cutoff to determine grades is June 23. Students are considered to be in their grade that they were in during the 2023-24 academic year until the end of that day, and thenceforth in their subsequent grade.
Students residing outside the United States and foreign students residing in the United States
With the exception of students affected by the age restrictions as explained below, students who finish in the top half in the History Bowl at any regional tournament outside the USA in the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 academic years will be eligible to participate in the 2025 International History Olympiad. Students on History Bowl teams with at least a .500 winning percentage in the preliminary rounds or a playoff win are eligible as well.
With the exception of students affected by the age restrictions as explained below, students who finish in the top half of students in the History Bee at any regional tournament outside the USA, or in the top 2/3 of students in the History Bee at any regional championship tournament (i.e. the European, Asian, or Canadian Championships) in the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 academic years will be eligible to participate in the 2025 International History Olympiad. Students on History Bowl teams with at least a .500 winning percentage in the preliminary rounds or a playoff win are eligible as well.
You can find the closest tournament by visiting www.iacompetitionsasia.com www.ihbbeurope.com, www.ihbbcanada.com, or www.ihbbanz.com (for Australia and New Zealand) and following the links to events in your area.
Please note that any student who qualified and was born on or before August 31, 2016 can compete. All students competing in the Elementary, Intermediate, and Middle School Divisions must come with a parent or guardian. Students who will have graduated high school prior to January 2025 are ineligible to compete in the Varsity Division.
Please note that students may not represent Belarus, Russia, or North Korea at the International History Olympiad, but students from these countries are welcome to attend as independent students if they fulfill other qualifying criteria. For further information, please contact olympiad@iacompetitions.com.
With the exception of students affected by the age or grade restrictions as explained above, all students currently living outside the USA and foreign Nationals living in the USA who are interested in attending the Olympiad also have the option of taking a multiple choice Qualifying Exam, which must be administered by a teacher at their school or community proctor.
Students who obtain a high enough outright score (i.e. at least 60 for the Varsity, 50 for the JV, and 40 for the Middle School and 30 for the Elementary Divisions) on the qualifying exam typically qualify for the Olympiad, though IAC reserves the right to require an additional qualifying exam and/or interview via video depending on the score. There are two versions of the exam, so there are several chances to qualify this way; students may take both.
Please note that students may not represent Belarus, Russia, or North Korea at the International History Olympiad, but students from these countries are welcome to attend as independent students if they fulfill other qualifying criteria. For further information, please contact olympiad@iacompetitions.com.