Average IQ by Field of Study (2026 Update)
The official International IQ Test website (online since 2018)
Published by: International IQ Test
Last updated:
Below are the average IQ scores by field of study, updated as of January 1, 2026.
This report is based on data from 508700 people worldwide who took the same IQ test
(mean = 100, SD = 15) on this website in 2025.
Average IQ scores tend to be highest in fields related to mathematics and computer science.
The results are very similar to the previous year (differences of less than 1.3 points) and show the same overall pattern.
| Field of study |
IQ |
Participants |
Previous year |
Change |
| High School |
97.15 |
159313 |
97.54 |
-0.39 |
| Agriculture |
97.47 |
11636 |
97.9 |
-0.43 |
| Architecture and urbanism |
102.72 |
9742 |
102.55 |
+0.17 |
| Art and design |
100.88 |
27482 |
101.49 |
-0.61 |
| Commercial and management |
99.98 |
44164 |
100.63 |
-0.65 |
| Education |
96.03 |
33805 |
96.91 |
-0.88 |
| Engineering and technology |
104.45 |
68009 |
104.59 |
-0.14 |
| Geography and geology |
100.57 |
3657 |
100.37 |
+0.2 |
| Letters and culture |
98.78 |
9880 |
97.87 |
+0.91 |
| Languages and philology |
100.32 |
10700 |
101.41 |
-1.09 |
| Law |
97.77 |
14332 |
98.07 |
-0.3 |
| Math and Computer Science |
106.24 |
40727 |
106.33 |
-0.09 |
| Medical sciences |
100.93 |
29050 |
100.66 |
+0.27 |
| Natural sciences |
104.89 |
15374 |
104.7 |
+0.19 |
| Social sciences |
98.86 |
16860 |
99.63 |
-0.77 |
| Communication and information |
97.54 |
13969 |
97.27 |
+0.27 |
FAQ
Why does average IQ vary by field of study?
Several factors may explain these differences. Two of the main ones are:
-
Fields that place heavier demands on logical reasoning tend to attract higher-IQ students
(mathematics, computer science, engineering, natural sciences, etc.), as discussed in this
2009 study on spatial ability in STEM.
-
These same fields may also lead to larger gains, because they more strongly train reasoning skills.
This aligns with a 2018 meta-analysis finding that IQ tends to increase with additional years of education—especially in domains that require higher-level reasoning.
In short, both years of education and the cognitive demands of a given field likely contribute to higher average scores.
How were participants selected?
All participants took the same IQ test on this website in 2025. The sample was calibrated to better reflect the global population using an approach similar to this
standardization report, including limits on the total number of participants per country based on population size.
Additional filters were used to exclude potential repeat attempts, bots, and other suspicious entries (for example: IP address, username, email address, etc.).
What is the official International IQ Test website?
international-iq-test.com is the official website of the original "International IQ Test", online since 2018.
You can verify a website’s age using the Wayback Machine (archive.org).
This IQ test has been taken by more than 16 million people and has been
standardized using psychometric methods.