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This page helps you evaluate whether your chosen subjects form a suitable and academically coherent basis for an interdisciplinary extended essay. Your selection should be deliberate. Both subjects must make a meaningful, necessary contribution to answering your research question.
The subjects must be genuine IB Diploma subjects
The subjects must be genuine IB Diploma subjects
Your pairing must come from the subjects you are studying in the Diploma Programme.
Examples include:
Biology and Economics
Global Politics and Literature
Psychology and Business Management
Visual Arts and History
Physics and Design Technology
Avoid selecting vague areas such as “technology” or “culture”. These are not IB subjects.
Each subject must contribute something distinct
Each subject must contribute something distinct
Your chosen subjects should offer different perspectives, concepts, theories or methods, which together create a more complete understanding of the issue.
Ask yourself:
What does Subject A allow me to analyse?
What does Subject B allow me to analyse?
What would be missing if I removed one subject?
If removing one subject does not weaken the investigation, the topic is not interdisciplinary.
The subjects must be genuinely required
The subjects must be genuinely required
Some topics appear interdisciplinary on the surface but can be addressed fully through one subject. In such cases, the subject focused pathway is more appropriate.
Consider disciplinary methods
Consider disciplinary methods
Each subject has its own ways of generating and evaluating knowledge. You should be able to identify the methods you will use from each discipline.
Examples:
Biology: experimental design, data analysis, biological mechanisms
Economics: models, diagrams, theoretical frameworks
Global Politics: qualitative analysis, case studies, political theories
Geography: spatial analysis, fieldwork, geographic models
Literature: close reading, textual analysis
Psychology: analysis of secondary research, psychological theories
Design Technology: product analysis, user testing, design models
If you cannot identify specific disciplinary methods from each subject, the pairing is not suitable.
Check alignment with subject specific guidance
Check alignment with subject specific guidance
Some subjects have restrictions that affect interdisciplinary viability. For example:
Psychology does not permit collection of primary data
Language and Literature essays require literary or linguistic analysis
Visual Arts must include analysis of artwork, not only sociocultural commentary
Sciences must involve scientific reasoning and analysis, not general discussion
Your topic must comply fully with both subject guides.
Look for natural pairings
Look for natural pairings
These combinations work well because the subjects provide distinct disciplinary perspectives and different analytical methods, allowing for genuine integration rather than parallel treatment.
Geography and Biology
Environmental health, ecosystems, spatial patterns in biological change, and human impacts on natural systems.
Geography and Economics
Urban development, trade routes, resource distribution, and spatial inequality.
Geography and Global Politics
Migration, borders, environmental governance, and geopolitical responses to climate change.
Economics and Global Politics
Public policy, development, inequality, trade agreements, and international decision making.
History and Global Politics
Origins of conflicts, state formation, ideological change, diplomacy, and political transitions.
History and Theatre
Historical representation, cultural memory, and performance as evidence of social or political change.
History and Film
Documentary analysis, propaganda, visual interpretation of historical events, and cultural narratives.
Visual Arts and Literature
Representation, symbolism, identity, and cultural narratives across visual and textual forms.
Visual Arts and Global Politics
Political messaging, protest art, cultural identity, and visual communication in political contexts.
Physics and Design Technology
Engineering processes, material behaviour, energy systems, modelling, and product innovation.
Mathematics and Economics
Modelling, optimisation, game theory, and applied statistical analysis of markets or behaviour.
Philosophy and Global Politics
Rights, justice, legitimacy, authority, and ethical evaluation of political structures.
Philosophy and Literature
Ethics, meaning making, existential analysis, and the philosophical interpretation of texts.
Psychology and Global Politics
Nationalism, political persuasion, leadership, group behaviour, and political communication.
Psychology and Literature
Trauma, memory, identity, and psychological character construction within texts.
Psychology and Sports, Exercise and Health Science (SEHS)
Motivation, performance, skill acquisition, and behavioural influences in sport.
Biology and Sports, Exercise and Health Science (SEHS)
Physiology, biomechanics, training adaptations, and factors affecting human performance.
Biology and Chemistry
Biochemical pathways, molecular mechanisms, reaction processes underlying biological systems, and chemical explanations for physiological responses.
Biology and Physics
Biomechanics, energy transfer in organisms, fluid dynamics, bioelectricity, and physical modelling of biological structures.
Business Management and Design Technology
Product design, innovation, user experience, consumer behaviour, and material choices.
What NOT to do
What NOT to do
The following subjects cannot be chosen for the interdisciplinary pathway under any circumstances. This rule is stated directly in the EE Guide:
Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS)
Literature and Performance
These are cross-disciplinary subjects and must only be used in the subject-focused pathway, not the interdisciplinary pathway.
(Guide reference: “It is not permitted to choose these subjects in the interdisciplinary pathway…”
I would also advise against the following pairings:
I would also advise against the following pairings:
Biology and Literature
Scientific analysis and textual interpretation do not offer compatible methods for answering a single research question.
Biology and Theatre
Performance analysis does not contribute meaningfully to biological investigation, resulting in parallel rather than integrated work.
Biology and Film
Film interpretation does not provide analytical tools required for biological research, causing one subject to become superficial.
Biology and History
Historical evidence and biological mechanisms rely on incompatible approaches, and integration is usually forced.
Chemistry and Literature
Chemical principles and literary analysis operate in entirely different modes of inquiry, making integration unfeasible.
Chemistry and Global Politics
Political decision making and chemical processes do not overlap in a way that can support a coherent interdisciplinary argument.
Chemistry and Philosophy
Chemical data and philosophical reasoning function at different analytical levels and do not combine into a unified methodology.
Chemistry and Psychology
Molecular chemistry and psychological theory lack shared investigative tools, producing unbalanced or speculative essays.
Physics and Literature
Physical modelling has no analytical relevance to the interpretation of literary texts.
Physics and History
Historical inquiry does not require physical laws, and physical principles do not meaningfully support historical analysis.
Physics and Psychology
Experimental physics and psychological frameworks do not align conceptually or methodologically.
Psychology and History
Applying modern psychological theory to historical figures or events is speculative and methodologically unsound.
Psychology and Chemistry
Conceptual psychological models do not integrate with chemical analysis, resulting in disconnected lines of inquiry.
Mathematics and Literature
Mathematical modelling does not contribute meaningfully to textual interpretation.
Mathematics and Theatre
Quantitative tools do not apply naturally to performance analysis, leading to incompatible methods.
Mathematics and Film
Mathematical reasoning does not support film analysis or argumentation.
Mathematics and Psychology
Unless the question is strictly quantitative, the disciplines lack compatible methods for integrated analysis.
Philosophy and Biology
Philosophical argumentation and biological mechanisms do not work together to answer a focused research question.
Philosophy and Chemistry
Chemical investigations do not align with philosophical modes of inquiry.
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