The International Youth Math Challenge is an educational mathematics competition designed to enable students from around the world to test their problem-solving skills and expand their knowledge through diverse math problems.
About International Youth Math Challenge
The International Youth Math Challenge is an international mathematics competition that enables students from all countries to prove their math skills and to unleash their creativity: "Mathematics is the language with which God wrote the universe." - Galileo Indeed, mathematics is essential for the understanding of the world, scientific achievements, and progress, and for engineering and prosperity in our society. There is no doubt that math education is crucial for students of all ages around the world. IYMC aims to establish a global competition that is accessible to all studen...&... continue reading
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International Youth Math Challenge
Aim and Benefits of International Youth Math Challenge
- International Recognition: All participants receive official digital certificates, with finalists and top performers earning special distinctions.
- Cash Prizes (Total: 1,500+ USD): Top finishers in each age category receive:
- 1st Prize Senior: 250 USD, 2nd Prize Senior: 175 USD, 3rd Prize Senior: 125 USD
- 1st Prize Youth: 200 USD, 2nd Prize Youth: 150 USD, 3rd Prize Youth: 100 USD
- 1st Prize Junior: 175 USD, 2nd Prize Junior: 125 USD, 3rd Prize Junior: 100 USD
- National Awards: The top three participants from each country who achieve at least 50% in the Final Round receive national honorary certificates.
- Honours System: High-scoring finalists receive Gold, Silver, or Bronze Honours based on performance.
- Special Awards: Additional awards recognise outstanding teachers, schools, and ambassadors for their contributions to the competition.
- Career & Academic Support: Access to an international alumni network, scholarship information, regional meetups, and opportunities curated by the ICSC team.
- Skill Development: Participants strengthen logical reasoning, algorithmic thinking, and computational problem-solving across conceptual and programming challenges.
Requirements for International Youth Math Challenge Qualification
- Open to all high school and university students worldwide.
- Participants are grouped into three age categories:
- Junior: Grade 10 or below (under 16)
- Youth: Grades 11–13 (16–18/19)
- Senior: University level (19+)
Students in all age groups solve the same problems, but qualification thresholds differ.
- Requires only basic equipment (paper, pen, internet access).
- Solutions may be submitted in any supported language on the ICSC website (e.g., English, German, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, etc.).
- Depending on your age group, you will have to solve more problems to qualify for the next round. To solve the problems, you should be open-minded and creative.
- As some problems may require you to read real-world research material, fluency in English is beneficial. You should have a working internet connection to submit your solution online.
To qualify for the Pre-Final Round in November 2026, you have to score at least 15, 17, or 20 points based on your age group.
The math problems in the Qualification Round vary in difficulty and topic. They range from geometry to number theory to make sure that everyone finds interesting problems to work out. Each problem gives up to 5 points. Solve the maths problem below.
Interview date, Process and Venue for International Youth Math Challenge
The International Youth Math Challenge is an educational mathematics competition.
- Qualification Round (September)The Qualification Round consists of five problems. To qualify for the Pre-Final Round, you need to solve at least three to four problems. Please submit your solution online by 27 September 2026. All participants receive certificates.
- Pre-Final Round (November)This round is a 60 minute exam with five problems, which include reading a real-world research paper as preparation. The registration costs are 15 EUR to make the edition possible.
- Final Round (December)The Finalists take an online supervised exam with multiple short-form questions. The winners receive certificates and prizes worth over 1400 USD.
Check also:
Commonwealth Master's Scholarship to Study in UK 2027/2028
Mandela Washington Fellowship for Africans 2027 (Fully Funded to USA)
Application Deadline
September 27, 2026How to Apply
Please submit your solution to the Qualification Round problem sheet via the official submission form. Pay attention to the following:
- Clearly mark your final solutions (e.g., underlining them).
- The solution file may be typed digitally (e.g., using TeX), or it may be a clear picture of your handwritten notes. Digitally typed solutions receive a special honourary note on the certificates!
- You must upload one single file! If you have multiple pictures, compress them into one file. You can use this tool: ImgToPDF
- You can upload PDF files and images (jpg, jpeg, png). We do not accept any other formats (e.g., ZIP or Word files)! You can use this tool to convert your file to PDF: Online-Converter
- The file size has to be below 10 MB.
- Important: Make sure that you write your name and date of birth correctly. They will be used across all certificates issued to you!
After you have submitted your solution via the submission form, you can log into your participant account (Login) to ...
- download all of your certificates.
- check your uploaded solutions and files.
- view and edit your personal information.
- view your results and performance reports.
Important Note: Becuase e-mails do not always arrive (e.g., spam folder), always check your participant account for important information!
For more information, kindly visit International Youth Math Challenge webpage.
