Cambridge International IG subjects and codes

When selecting IG subjects, there is a lot of information that one needs to know about each subject: What is its code? When is it written? Is it available to private candidates? Is it available at core and extended levels? This article explains these issues and summarizes the information for all the subjects in a convenient table.

Bookmark this page and use it as an index and quick reference for all available IG level subjects!

IG: a brief introduction

The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IG) from Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) is a highly regarded qualification throughout the world, and forms an important foundation for further studies at AS/A Level. There are over 70 subjects offered at IG level. As in the case of the AS/A Level subjects, not all the subjects are available to private candidates. However, there is still a good choice of subjects, making Cambridge International IG a worthwhile option for private candidates. (Subjects that are not available to private candidates usually require practical work or coursework; they are evaluated internally by the school and moderated by Cambridge.) 

IG is one of three equivalent qualifications offered by Cambridge at the Upper Secondary pathway, aimed at 14-16 year olds. The other two qualifications are O levels and the United Kingdom's GCSE. IG was developed over twenty-five years ago to offer an internationally-recognized education for a multicultural audience with a wide range of ability. Students taking IG exams can achieve a grade between A* (90-100%) and a G (20-29%). It is the only one of the three qualifications to offer such a wide range of grades. O Level, for example only offers grades A* to E (40-49%). Many of the IG subjects offer optional coursework, while the UK GCSE has compulsory coursework. The three qualifications will differ in syllabus content and schemes of assessment, but are at the same academic level. (Note that the age grouping is only a guide, as some countries start school earlier or later than others.)

Some IG subjects, but not all, are offered at two levels - core and extended. Students taking core will cover the core content of the subjects and will be eligible for grades up to C (60-69%). Students taking extended will cover the core material as well as the supplementary material in the syllabus; they will be eligible for grades up to A* (90-100%). The certificates of results will not indicate core or extended. Where subjects are not offered at core and extended, then candidates are eligible for the full range of grades (A*-G). Please consult the particular subject's syllabus to see if a subject is offered at core and extended level. This is also indicated in the table below.

Like the AS/A Levels, IG subjects are examined in May/June and/or October/November, although not all subjects are available at both exam sessions. I have indicated on the table below the exam sessions in which a particular subject is offered. An additional session is offered in March for India only.

In South Africa, IG is recognised as equivalent to the South African Grade 11 and can therefore be submitted with the university application as Grade 11 marks. This is usually very important for selection courses where universities want to see a student's progress over Grades 11 and 12 to ensure that a student can work consistently.

Syllabus information

It is very important that you download the syllabus for each subject which you are studying, as the syllabus has very important information that will help you with your planning and preparation for that exam. The syllabi are available on the Cambridge Assessment International Education website.

The front cover of a syllabus will give you the name of the subject as well as the course code (a four digit number). The front cover will also state when the particular syllabus will be examined. This is where you will see which exam sessions this particular syllabus will be examined in. Some syllabi are only relevant for one year, while others for two or even three years. This allows Cambridge International to keep their courses on the cutting edge of teaching/learning and assessment. All subjects are regularly reviewed to make sure that they are meeting international standards and requirements.  It is very important to download the syllabus for the year that you will actually write the exam. For example, if you are planning to write Accounting (code:0452) in 2020, then you would download the syllabus for 2020-2022, even if you are starting to prepare for the exam in 2019.

The first page of the syllabus will give you changes that have been made to the syllabus. Some of these can be minor, like a word change to make something clearer; but some changes are more significant, where content is added to or removed from the syllabus. This does mean that when you are practising past papers, you may come across some questions that are no longer relevant to the syllabus.

To find out whether a particular subject is available to private candidates, look under the heading 'Availability' which is usually a sub-heading under section 1 'Syllabus overview' or at the end of the newer syllabi under the heading What else you need to know'.

Other important information that you will find in the syllabus includes:

• information about Cambridge International
• content to be covered in the course - will indicate core and supplementary content where applicable.
• assessment
  • aims and objectives
  • what papers to write and a brief description of the structure, marks, time, and weighting of each paper
  • what assessment objectives will be examined in each paper and to what extent
• prior knowledge needed
• useful information for each subject (such as formulae)
• a description of what is expected at the different grades
• a glossary of exam terms (where applicable)

Administrative zones

Cambridge IG and AS/A Level exams are written across the globe in a 160 countries, which is quite an undertaking in terms of administration and working out a timetable. Cambridge International has divided the globe into six administrative zones, which are linked to time zones. Each zone has its own timetable. From 2020, some IG subjects will only be available in certain zones.

You can find out which zone your country or region is in on the Cambridge International website. As examples, South Africa is in Zone 3 and India (Kolkata) is in Zone 4.

Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE)
IG

Note:

• This information is applicable at least until the end of 2018.
• I have excluded all subjects that are only available in either the UK or USA.
• I have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this information, but please double check the information by consulting the Cambridge International website before committing yourself to a course of study or an exam.
• CAIE does recommend prior knowledge for many of the subjects as I have indicated in the table. Please consult the particular syllabus for more information as to what prior knowledge is expected in that subject.

Key:

* Indicates subjects that will be taken off soon. Where possible, I have given the date of the last exam for that subject.

# Indicates a subject that is available to private candidates provided that the accommodating Centre can make the appropriate arrangements to conduct and assess the speaking test and submit the required sample and paperwork to Cambridge for External moderation.

Note: if you are viewing this table on a mobile phone, you can make it more readable by rotating your phone to landscape view.