New IB DP Maths Syllabus (2027–2029): What Changes in AA and AI

The IB is replacing its two Diploma Programme maths courses – Mathematics: analysis and approaches (AA) and Mathematics: applications and interpretation (AI). If your child is in MYP 4 or MYP 5 today, they will almost certainly study the new versions. If they are already in DP, nothing changes for them.

This guide sets out the official dates, what changes in the papers and the internal assessment (IA), which topics are removed, and what to do in the year before DP starts. Every fact here comes from the IB's own update pages and subject briefs; where the IB has not said something, we say so.

The official dates

• February 2027: the IB launches the new AA course (publishes the guide and materials to schools).
• August 2027: first teaching of the new AA and AI courses.
• May 2029: first exams on the new courses.

The IB's AA update page states this directly: the new course "will be launched in February 2027 for first teaching in August 2027. First assessment will take place in May 2029." The IB lists the new AI course under the same first-teaching (August 2027) and first-assessment (May 2029) dates.

Who is affected – and who is not

A simple way to think about it:

• Students sitting DP exams in May 2027, November 2027 or May 2028 stay on the current course (the one first examined in 2021). This includes everyone in DP1 or DP2 today.
• Students who start DP from August 2027 – today's MYP 5 students in most schools – are the first cohort on the new course.
• Students starting DP after that (today's MYP 4 and younger) will only ever see the new course.

Two cautions. First, some Indian IB schools start the DP year at a slightly different time from August; your school's DP coordinator will confirm which course your child's cohort follows. Second, the IB pages we checked do not state the final exam session for the current course or the arrangements for students who resit. Several tutoring websites quote November 2028 as the last session, but we could not find that on ibo.org, so treat it as unconfirmed.

What stays the same

The most reassuring point for families is how much does not change:

• There are still two courses (AA and AI), each at SL and HL. A diploma student still takes only one maths course.
• The exam is still two papers at SL and three papers at HL, plus the IA.
• AA Paper 1 is still calculator-free. AA Papers 2 and 3 still require technology (a graphic display calculator), and every AI paper still requires technology.
• The IA is still worth 20% of the final grade at both SL and HL.
• The character of each course stays the same. The IB describes the new AA as having "a specific focus on analysis using functions and calculus" and the new AI as having "a specific focus on mathematical modelling and statistical analysis".

If your child is weighing AA against AI, the advice in our AA vs AI guide and our HL vs SL decision guide still applies.

What changes in the exam papers

The papers become slightly shorter in marks. According to the IB's update pages and the 2029 subject briefs:

• SL Papers 1 and 2: 75 marks each (currently 80).
• HL Papers 1 and 2: 100 marks each (currently 110).
• HL Paper 3: 50 marks (currently 55), lasting one hour.

Fewer marks in a similar time generally means a little more room to think, explain and check – which matters in a course that rewards clear reasoning. It is not a reason to expect an easier paper. The mark scheme still rewards method, and AA Paper 1 still demands confident algebra without a calculator.

What changes in the IA (the mathematical exploration)

This is the biggest practical change. In the new course:

• The IA becomes a 30-hour piece of work (the current guide allows 15 hours), still worth 20%.
• It is marked against four new criteria, the same at SL and HL:
• A – Problem specification (4 marks)
• B – Abstraction (6 marks)
• C – Computation (4 marks)
• D – Interpretation (6 marks)

Read together, these criteria describe a full modelling cycle: define a clear problem, turn it into mathematics, carry out the mathematics correctly, and then interpret what the results mean. Students who have done well in MYP Criterion B (investigating patterns) and Criterion D (applying mathematics in real-life contexts) will recognise the habits being rewarded. Our MYP Criterion B and Criterion D guides are good preparation.

For current DP students, the existing IA rules still apply – see our IB maths IA guide.

Which topics are removed

The IB's update pages list content removed from the new courses:

• AA SL: financial applications and bivariate data.
• AA HL: financial applications, bivariate data, proof by counterexample, and Euler's method.
• AI SL: logarithms and the trapezoidal rule.
• AI HL: complex numbers, the vector product, the Poisson distribution, and some hypothesis tests.

Two things are worth noticing. AI HL losing complex numbers and the vector product makes the gap between AI HL and AA HL a little wider for students thinking of engineering or physics. And AA losing bivariate data and financial applications sharpens its focus on functions and calculus. If your child is unsure whether AA or AI fits their university plans, read what universities expect from AA HL students and do you need HL maths for engineering?.

The IB had not published the full new subject guides on the pages we checked, so the detailed topic-by-topic syllabus may still contain small changes. We will update this post once the guides are public.

What MYP students should do now

For a student starting DP in August 2027, the year ahead matters more than the syllabus details:

1. Take MYP maths seriously, especially Extended maths if it is offered. The IB describes Extended mathematics as providing "the foundation for students who wish to pursue further studies in mathematics, such as mathematics higher level (HL)". Our Standard vs Extended guide explains the choice.
2. Strengthen algebra and functions without a calculator. AA Paper 1 rewards students who can manipulate expressions fluently by hand. See why strong algebra skills are essential.
3. Get comfortable with a graphing tool. Every AI paper and AA Papers 2 and 3 need technology. Our calculator guide helps you choose one.
4. Practise explaining, not just answering. The new IA criteria – abstraction and interpretation in particular – reward students who can say why a model or method is appropriate.
5. Plan the summer before DP1. Our summer study plan and MYP-to-DP transition guide cover this.

What this means for students already in DP

Nothing changes. Students in DP1 and DP2 in 2026–27 follow the current AA or AI guide (first assessment 2021), with the current paper marks and the current IA. Do not switch to "new syllabus" resources – some topics they cover will be missing, and some you need will not be there. If your child sits exams in May 2027, our May 2027 countdown plan is the more useful read.

In Gurgaon: getting ready for the new course

Maths Bodhi tutors work with MYP and DP students across Gurgaon at home – including Golf Course Road, the DLF phases, Sohna Road and Sectors 43, 54, 56 and 57 – and online for families elsewhere. For students moving into the new course, we focus on the habits it rewards: fluent algebra, confident use of a graphing tool, and clear written reasoning.

• See our IB DP maths overview and the course pages for AA HL, AA SL, AI HL and AI SL.
• Find home tutoring near you: IB maths home tutor in Gurugram, Golf Course Road, DLF Phase 4, Sector 43, Sector 54 and Sector 56.
• Meet Ajay Vatsyayan, who teaches IB DP maths, or book a demo class.

Facts verified against official IB update pages and subject briefs by the Maths Bodhi team (October 2026). Study advice reviewed by Ajay Vatsyayan.