Competitions · Physics · IAAC
IAAC, the International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition.
Two online rounds, open to any secondary student anywhere, and no prior astronomy required. More than 14,500 students have entered - and because the working counts as much as the answer, it rewards students who can explain themselves rather than only calculate.
At a glance
What the competition is, and who can enter.
IAAC is organised by the Edu.Harbour committee in Germany and runs entirely online. ASDAN brought it to students in China in 2023.
- Organiser
- The Edu.Harbour committee, Germany
- Scale
- More than 14,500 students have taken part
- Who can enter
- Secondary students worldwide, in grade 12 and below, under 19
- Two age groups
- Junior for grade 10 and below under 16, and Youth for grades 11 and 12 under 19
- Structure
- A Pre-Final Round, then a Final Round for those who advance
- Format
- Individual, submitted online throughout
- Prior astronomy
- Not required. The competition is designed to build interest rather than to test an existing specialism
- Marking
- Both the correct answer and the working count toward the score
- Language
- The Pre-Final Part A is bilingual in Chinese and English. Part B and the Final Round are in English
- What winners receive
- Certificates, awards, cash prizes and global recognition
The two rounds
Pre-Final, then Final.
The two rounds work very differently. The first is spread across weeks; the second is forty minutes.
| Pre-Final Round | Final Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Anyone eligible | Those who pass the Pre-Final |
| When | Part A across several weeks in spring; Part B on a single evening in June | A single 40-minute sitting at the end of June |
| Format | Two parts, submitted online | One paper, submitted online |
| Language | Part A bilingual, Part B English | English |
| Awards | A participation award for everyone, plus national awards at three bands | Global gold, silver and bronze with cash prizes, plus national placings |
The qualifying threshold differs by age group - Junior and Youth entrants need different point totals to advance, so a younger student is not held to an older student’s bar.
Marking
Your working is part of the score.
IAAC marks the reasoning alongside the result, which changes what a good submission looks like.
The steps count
Both the correct answer and the solution steps contribute to the score. A right answer with no visible reasoning does not earn what it could.
Which suits a student new to the subject
Because the reasoning is credited, a candidate who thinks clearly but does not reach the final number is not left with nothing. That is consistent with a competition designed to attract newcomers.
The final placing combines both rounds
The top three global awards are decided on overall performance across the Pre-Final and the Final together, not on the Final alone.
Awards are proportioned, not fixed
Global gold, silver and bronze are awarded in a one to two to three ratio, so the shape of the award list scales with the size of the field.
Awards
What each round gives out.
The Pre-Final awards nationally and the Final awards globally, with modest cash prizes attached to the top three.
| Round | Award | Threshold or value |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Final | Participation award | Every entrant |
| Pre-Final | High Distinction, national | Top 10% |
| Pre-Final | Distinction, national | Top 25% |
| Pre-Final | Credit, national | Top 40% |
| Final | Global gold | US$125 and a certificate |
| Final | Global silver | US$75 and a certificate |
| Final | Global bronze | US$25 and a certificate |
| Final | National award, China | The top three in the country |
Gold, silver and bronze are awarded in a 1:2:3 ratio, and the top three global placings are decided on combined Pre-Final and Final performance.
Why students choose it
A thin field in a subject with few contests.
IAAC’s appeal is largely structural, and the organisers are candid about it.
Astronomy has few competitions
A student aiming at astronomy or astrophysics has far fewer options than one aiming at physics or mathematics. IAAC is one of the accessible ones.
And relatively few entrants from China
The China-region field is comparatively small, which makes an award more reachable than in a heavily contested competition.
With no specialist prerequisite
Because no deep astronomy is assumed, a student can enter on the strength of physics and mathematics plus genuine interest.
But the global awards are still selective
Reaching a global medal means clearing the Pre-Final and then placing at the top of the Final. The accessible entry point does not make the top awards easy.
Preparation
How Hanlin prepares students for IAAC.
With no astronomy prerequisite and marks for working, preparation is more about clear reasoning than about coverage.
Writing the reasoning out
Since the steps carry marks, students practise setting out a solution rather than producing a number. This is where most of the recoverable marks sit.
Physics and mathematics first
The astronomy is the setting; the tools are physics and mathematics. Students build those and meet the astronomical context through problems.
Two very different clocks
The Pre-Final Part A runs across weeks while the Final is forty minutes. Both are practised, because the second rewards nothing the first does.
Aiming at the right age group
Junior and Youth entrants face different advancement thresholds. Knowing which applies shapes what a realistic target looks like.
Why Hanlin
Preparation for IAAC at Hanlin is taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
Programme formats
Five ways this is taught.
Group size is the whole difference between these. It decides how much of the tutor's attention a student gets and how far the course can bend to them, so it is worth choosing rather than accepting.
| Format | Group size | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one | One student | Content, pace and emphasis set by what this student actually needs rather than by a syllabus. The only format that can be rebuilt mid-course. |
| Small group | Three to eight | Opens at three. Frequent discussion, and the tutor can slow down or move on according to what the group has absorbed. Most students chasing a higher award are taught in this one. |
| Class | Eight to twelve | Taught by the subject lead or a medal coach. Less back-and-forth, so it suits a student who will say when something is unclear. |
| Large class | Ten to twenty | For students in the middle of the placement range, and a way to try a competition before committing. Students often move to a small group or to one-to-one afterwards. |
| Past-paper class | No cap | Past papers worked through in sequence in the weeks before the sitting. Free to students already enrolled. |
Course length for IAAC is set after a placement paper. The gap between where a student is and what the paper asks for is what the course has to close, and that gap is not the same for two students in the same year group.
How it runs
Six steps, four people on your side.
The same process for every student, so that nothing depends on one tutor remembering to do it.
Step 1Pre-course assessment
A placement paper before anything is booked, so the course tier is chosen on evidence rather than on a year group.
Step 2Tutor matching
A subject tutor is matched to the result, and their full background is provided before you agree to it.
Step 3Plan and group
A study group opens with four people on one student: the tutor, a planner, a supervisor and an academic manager.
Step 4Scheduled teaching
The teaching office sets the timetable around the competition date and school term, and teaching begins.
Step 5After-class reports
What was covered, and how the student handled it, reported after every lesson.
Step 6Homework follow-up
The teaching assistant and the form teacher both check that homework is done, which is where most preparation quietly fails.
Free resource pack
Past papers and preparation pack
The same material our own IAAC students work from. Scan the code, say what you need, and an advisor sends it.
Tell an advisor which competition and year group, and the material comes back the same day. Free, and you do not have to enrol in anything. If we do not already hold what you need, we will go and find it.
- PDFPast papers, every year the organiser has released
- PDFWorked solutions, where the organiser publishes them
- PDFThe syllabus on one page - every topic, and how heavily it is examined
- PDFEntry checklist and the dates for the current cycle
Teaching team
Who would teach it.
Three of the twenty-two tutors on the published Hanlin roster - the ones whose subject this is.
Huang
A College Board-accredited AP teacher. Read mathematics and physics in Southeast University's honours programme, took a master's in aerospace engineering at George Washington University under the lead of NASA's Sigma programme, and a second master's in robotics and AI at Melbourne. Five years teaching international curricula and competitions.
Ding
Master's in physics from Brown University after the physics honours programme at Central China Normal University, with a Berkeley BISP exchange. Two years as a graduate teaching assistant, then teaching alongside Professor Enrico Pajer (cosmology) and Professor Anastasia Romanou (exoplanets). College Board-accredited.
Lu
Master's in astrophysics from UCL after an astronomy degree at Xiamen University. In international education since 2019, teaching for logical structure and framework first - efficient methods and flexible problem-solving over rote coverage.
Student results
What Hanlin students got.
Taken from Hanlin's published record of student honours and rewritten in English. Figures are as the organisers reported them.
IAAC
- 2023A global Gold and first place in the China region
The full record, across every subject and year, is on the student honours page.
Where it is taught
Hanlin learning centres.
Teaching runs from Hanlin's own centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou, and online for students elsewhere.
Talk to an advisor
Everything Hanlin does for IAAC, in one conversation.
Entry, planning, coaching and the past papers. An advisor will tell you which of these a student actually needs, including when the answer is none of them.
Competition entry and planning
Which competitions suit this student, in what order, and by when - then we handle the registration, including the ones that can only be entered through a school or a centre.
Competition coaching
Taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
International curriculum tutoring
IB, AP, A-Level, IGCSE and the US high school curriculum, taught alongside school and timed around the exam calendar.
Competition past papers, free
A large library of past papers, mark schemes and syllabus breakdowns across every competition on this site. No charge and no enrolment.
Scan to add an advisor
Say which competition or course you are asking about. Replies in Chinese or English.
Or call +86 21 6352 6630FAQ
IAAC, briefly answered.
What students and families ask before entering.
Do I need to know astronomy already?
No. IAAC is designed to build interest in the subject rather than to test an existing specialism. Physics and mathematics plus genuine interest are enough to enter.
Who can take part?
Secondary students worldwide in grade 12 and below, under 19. There are two age groups: Junior for grade 10 and below under 16, and Youth for grades 11 and 12 under 19.
What is the structure?
A Pre-Final Round, and then a Final Round for those who advance. Both are individual and submitted online.
Does my working count?
Yes. Both the correct answer and the solution steps contribute to the score, so a clearly reasoned partial solution is worth writing out.
What are the awards?
Every Pre-Final entrant receives a participation award, with national High Distinction, Distinction and Credit at the top 10%, 25% and 40%. The Final awards global gold, silver and bronze with cash prizes of US$125, US$75 and US$25.
How are the global medals allocated?
In a one to two to three ratio for gold, silver and bronze. The top three global placings are decided on combined Pre-Final and Final performance rather than the Final alone.
What language is it in?
The Pre-Final Part A is bilingual in Chinese and English. Part B and the Final Round are in English.
Is it easier than other astronomy competitions?
The entry point is more accessible, since no specialist background is assumed and the China-region field is comparatively small. Reaching a global medal still means clearing two rounds and placing at the top of the second.
Related
Other astronomy and physics contests.
What students interested in this field commonly enter.
IAAC enquiries
No astronomy background needed to start.
IAAC assumes physics and mathematics rather than a specialism, credits the working as well as the answer, and runs entirely online. Tell us the student’s year group and an advisor will confirm the age group and the spring entry.