IB Diploma Programme & Career Programmes: An Overview

Possible transitions from an alternate curriculum, and the general ambiguity around college admissions, contribute a lot to confusion in a student’s mind. The IB diploma programme and career programme being global programs, are popular choices for students who wish to study overseas at some of the top Universities as well as for students looking to engage in critical and innovative thinking, to be able to actively engage in the increasingly globalized world. What subjects should I take? What courses should I look at? How do I build my profile to target my dream course and college? These questions and more, faze through a student’s mind. It is exactly at this point that one needs to delve deep and ponder over the best way to go ahead with applications, and whether you agree or not, it does come down to your academics.
We hope the first part of this two-part series proved insightful in understanding the processes and education a child undergoes in his/her formative and secondary years. Together, we discussed the curriculum, assessments and the idea of ‘responsibility of personal education’, that flows through the IB – Primary Years Programme, and the IB – Middle Years Programme. That said, I believe it’s much more important to understand education ideologies, curricula and assessments, at the senior level, for it’s the foundation stone to a college education.
 
Read the First Part: The Front-Runner In Holistic Learning: Know All About the International Baccalaureate
 
With the flexibility of learning that the IB offers, comes an added responsibility of making the right choice, and it’s here that knowing is half the battle won. Let us take a deeper look at the two senior programs: IB Diploma Programme and Career Programme
 
The IB Diploma Programme (DP)
The IB Diploma Programme is especially curated for students in the age bracket of 16 – 19 years, and focuses on extended learning in selected subject areas.
In-line with the ideology of the IB, a student is exposed to higher studies and a deeper understanding of different subject groups, thus facilitating holistic development, and development of a broad knowledge base. The IB intends for students to be aware across subject domains, even if they specialize in some.
 
THE IB DP: CURRICULUM
The curriculum of the IB – DP is made up of the DP core and 6 IB subject groups.
There are 3 compulsory elements of the DP-Core:

Theory of Knowledge
Extended Essay
Creativity, Activity, Service

The 6 subject groups offered during the IB – DP are:

Language & Literature
Language Acquisition
Individuals & Societies
Sciences
Mathematics
Arts

Each student is required to select different courses from each of the above-mentioned subject groups, and take at-least 3 subjects or Maximum 4 subjects at Higher Level (HL), and remaining at Standard Level (SL).
HL & SL differ in learning scope, concepts taught, and subject understanding, for HL students are expected to showcase greater skills and understanding of the subject. However, they are NOT graded differently and are measured on the same descriptors.
HL subjects require a student to take 240 hours of learning, while SL subjects require a student to take 150 hours of learning.
 
THE IB DP: SUBJECTS AT A GLANCE
As mentioned above, the DP Core has three elements and forms a mandatory requirement of the programme. In addition, there are 6 subject groups. Please note that though all of the subjects (listed below) are offered by the IB, schools may decide to offer only a few, depending upon students’ preference. Let’s look at it a little more closely
The DP Core: The DP Core accounts for up to 3 points on the overall diploma score. It is sub-divided into:
1. Theory of Knowledge (TOK): The core focus of the TOK is to empower students to reflect on the nature of knowledge, and how we know, what we know. Its study is quite subjective, and often helps a student understand their individual learning style, pattern and needs.
2. Extended Essay: The extended essay is an independent, self-directed research carried out by the student in an area of personal interest. It culminates with a 4000 word essay, and the student is responsible for the ideation, creation, planning, execution, research, and management of the project.
3. Creativity, Action, Service (CAS): The CAS is a way to involve students in a range of activities alongside their academics. The CAS is a ‘counterbalance’ to academic rigor and promotes analysis, and thinking. The CAS has been introduced to help students:

Undertake new challenges
Plan and initiate activities
Work collaboratively with others
Show perseverance & commitment
Engage with issues of global importance
Consider ethical implications
Develop new skills

Language & Literature: Language & Literature: Students are required to take at-least one course from this subject group and broadly it focuses on developing student’s understanding of language complexity, subtleties and perspectives. However, one may take two different courses in two languages (under language & literature) to obtain a bilingual diploma. The subject may be taken as a HL or a SL. The three courses available are:

Language & Literature
Literature
Literature & Performance

Language Acquisition: A student is required to pursue at least one subjects from this group This language can be taken from a bucket of languages offered by the school, as a language ab-initio or as a second language.

Language ab-initio: This is a language course for beginners (students who have very little or no previous experience with the language). This course can only be taken at the SL.
Language B: It is a language course for those who have some experience with the language they’re studying. It may be taken up as a SL/ HL, at the student’s discretion.

Individual & Societies: Students are required to take up at least one subject from the group. They may choose a second subject, if they so wish. Subjects offered for a SL/ HL level are:

Business Management
Economics
Geography
Global Politics
History
IT in Global Society
Philosophy
Psychology
Social & Cultural Anthropology
World Religions (available at SL only)

Sciences: The IB – DP requires that a student takes up at least one subject from this group. They may choose a second subject, if they so wish. Both SL & HL are available for the following subjects, unless specified.

Biology
Computer Science
Chemistry
Design Technology
Physics
Sports/ Exercise & Healthcare (available at SL only)
Environmental Systems & Societies is an inter-disciplinary subject that fulfills the requirement of both the Science & Social Science subject group.

Mathematics: The IB – DP seeks to accommodate a range of needs, interests and abilities, when it comes to mathematical education. The following courses are offered in this subject group.

Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches (SL/HL)
Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation(SL/HL)

Arts: Students are not compulsorily required to pursue a subject in arts. They may take up an additional subject from any of the other five subject groups, if they don’t wish to study arts. The following 5 subjects are available to students to be taken up at HL/ SL:

Dance
Music
Film
Theatre
Visual Arts

 
THE IB DP: ASSESSMENTS
The IB makes use of both the internal and external assessments to evaluate a student’s performance in the IB Diploma Programme.
The IB – DP Core Assessment: The DP – Core can contribute up to 3 points towards the final diploma score. Each of the elements is assessed independently.

TOK – It is assessed through an oral presentation and a 1600-word essay. IB sets upload deadlines for the TOK essays and presentations on the student’s personalized coursework portfolio.
Extended Essay – The 4000-word essay is evaluated externally by IB examiners, who score the essay on a scale of 0 – 34. This is then banded to grades. The research project and essay needs to be uploaded on the student’s dashboard for evaluation.

CAS – Since every student’s outlook to a creative and imaginative project like the CAS is different, it makes objective evaluation practically limitless. Students need to provide evidence that they have done CAS throughout the programme, and have achieved all of the subject aims. Though the CAS isn’t formally assessed, the examiners do evaluate an applicant for all the CAS activities they’ve conducted. If enough evidence of all year round CAS isn’t given, the IB does not extend the diploma to the student.

Internal Subject Assessment: The internal assessment is primarily classwork evaluation, and teacher’s observations. Assessment is carried all year around, and grades can be evaluated on oral work, laboratory work, field work, etc. specific to different subjects.
External Subject Assessment: External assessments form the basis of assessment for most courses. This is because of the high level of objectivity and reliability. They include essays, short-response questions, case studies and data-response questions. 
 
THE IB DP: GRADING
In the IB Diploma Programme, the students receive grades ranging from 7 to 1, where 7 is the highest grade, and 1 is the lowest. Students receive a grade for each subject they’ve attempted and their final diploma score is the combined scores of each subject.
The highest a student can score on the IB–DP is 45. (7 each for 6 subjects, and 3 for the DP Core).
The diploma is awarded to students who score at least 24 points, including satisfactory performance on elements of the DP core. A Bilingual diploma is awarded to students who complete & receive a grade 3 or higher in two languages selected from the DP.
IB makes no differentiation between scoring at HL and SL, and awards the same number of points at both of them.
 
Read more: Battle of the Boards: Comparison between IB vs CBSE vs CISCE vs Cambridge
 
The IB Career Programme (CP)

The IB–Career Programme is an alternate programme set up by the IB, for seniors in the age bracket of 16 -19 years. The IB–CP incorporates the vision and educational principles of the IB into a stand-out programme specifically developed for students, who want greater career-related learning. Importantly, the IB–CP prepares students for an ever-changing world of work, asking them to:

Consider new perspectives and other points of view
Engage in learning that makes a positive difference
Develop a combination of traditional academic skills and practical skills
Think critically and creatively in rapidly-changing and global workplaces
Communicate clearly and effectively
Work independently and in collaboration with others
Become self-confident people who are resilient and flexible.

 
THE IB CP: CURRICULUM
The curriculum of IB–CP is made up of the CP Core, IB–DP subjects, and career related studies.
The CP – Core is mandatory learning for all students to undertake. It has 4 elements:

Personal & Professional Skills
Service Learning
Reflective Project
Language Development

CP students study at least 2 IB – DP Courses, and undertake the career studies. Let’s take a closer look at this in the next section.
 
THE IB CP: SUBJECTS AT A GLANCE 
The CP–Core: The CP – Core forms a compulsory element of the curriculum that seeks to introduce students to critical life-skills and emphasizes on inter-cultural understanding, critical and ethical thinking and the ability to communicate effectively. The different elements of the IB – CP core are:

Personal & Professional Skills: The personal and professional skills course aims to develop responsibility, practical problem-solving, good intellectual habits, ethical understandings, perseverance, resilience, an appreciation of identity and perspective, and an understanding of the complexity of the modern world. Emphasis is on the development of skills needed to successfully navigate higher education, the workplace and society. Case-studies, and real-world issue deliberations form an integral part of the course.
Service Learning: Service learning is the practical application of knowledge and skills towards meeting a genuine community need. Through service, students develop and apply personal and social skills in real-life situations involving decision-making, problem-solving, initiative, responsibility and accountability for their actions. It is an approach, where students take service initiatives (live projects/ freelancing/ internships/ part-time positions) related to the topics previously studied.
Reflective Project: The reflective project is a detailed research work that is produced over an extended period, and is submitted towards the end of the programme. Through the process, they engage in critical thinking, analyzing and evaluating dilemmas associated with their career focussed studies. . It encourages students to engage in personal inquiry, intellectual discovery, creativity, action and reflection.
Language Development: Language development ensures that all students are exposed to an additional language, in sync with the global ideology of the IB. Students are encouraged to begin or extend the study of a second language that suits their needs, background and context. It develops students in the areas of oral, visual and written linguistic and communicative abilities.

 
The IB – DP Subjects: Each student studies a minimum of two, and a maximum of four subjects from the IB Diploma Programme subjects. These courses can be taken up from any of the six subject groups, at the HL/SL, unless otherwise specified for some courses. The subject selection is a factor of the nature of a student’s career-related studies and timetables.
Career-Related Studies: Also called vocational, technical, or professional studies, a career-related education is a course of study that prepares the student for a specific career or position. Career-related studies prepare students for further or higher education, an internship or apprenticeship, or a position in a designated field of interest. It provides the opportunity for students to learn about theories and concepts through application and practice while developing broad-based skills in authentic and meaningful contexts.
 
THE IB CP: ASSESSMENTS & GRADING
Students in the IB – CP are assessed internally by the school, and externally by the IB.

The DP courses within the CP are evaluated in accordance with the IBDP grading specified above. 
Every student must complete all the four elements of CP core. The reflective project is graded by the IB Examiners and is graded from A to E, A being the highest, E being the lowest. All other elements are internally assessed. 

 
Upon completion, students are awarded the IB – CP Certificate.
While 162 schools in the country teach the IB Diploma Programme, there are 31 schools that teach the Career Programme, for it’s based on responsibility based learning, a concept that is still evolving in India.
Have anything to add? Let us know in the comments.