What is the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP)?
A rising popular alternative to the curriculums in India is the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). One of the main reasons students undertake the IBDP is due to the increasing recognition of the curriculum over the past few years. Additionally, the top international schools provide it. As parents would like to provide the best education to their children to pave a bright future ahead for them, they tend to opt for the IBDP. Before delving further into why this is the ideal curriculum for students, we must first understand what the IB really is and what it consists of. The International Baccalaureate(IB) diploma programme is a rigorous two-year course of study that aims to develop “inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect”.
Unlike most boards, IB students have the liberty to pick subjects based on their interests from 6 different groups namely, mathematics, language acquisition, the arts, sciences, humanities, and literature. Students have the freedom to seek out what truly interests and inspires them. IB provides the opportunity for students to discover their passion by studying a wide range of subjects, and are not compelled to specialise.
Three of the six subjects must be studied at Higher Level, while the other three can be studied at Standard Level.
- Group 1 consists of Language and Literature in which subjects are usually taken in the students’ native language and can focus on literature alone or a combination of both.
- Group 2 consists of Language Acquisition where which is a second language for students as it is normally a modern language.
- Group 3 consists of Individuals and Societies. These subjects involve the humanities as they include Global Politics, Business Management, Economics, History, Philosophy, Geography, Social and Cultural Anthropology, World Religion, and more.
- Group 4 is the Sciences such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science.
- Group 5 includes Mathematics Studies, Mathematics, and Further Mathematics.
- Group 6 consists of The Arts: Music, Theatre, Dance, Film, and Visual Arts.
Core Components
The extended essay, internal assessments, and the theory of knowledge are components of the IB programme that demand students to develop advanced independent research and organizational skills. This skill in particular is highly essential to carry forward as it will help familiarise students with doing research at a university level. However, the international baccalaureate program doesn’t just revolve around academics. It is much more than that. In order to receive the diploma, students must also satisfy the core component requirements.
One of these components is known as CAS (Creativity, activity, and service). Alongside their academics, students take part in various other extra-curricular activities of three strands. Creativity involves the arts and other experiences that involve creative thinking. The activity focuses on enhancing the students’ lifestyle— whether it be playing a sport or going hiking. Lastly, service involves voluntary participation that has learning benefits for the students. For example, students may take up volunteering at a local charity shop.
In total, a student must have 18 CAS experiences to show variety and skill and one long-term project that lasts 6 months to demonstrate initiative and consistency. CAS allows students to improve their personal and interpersonal development and also acts as a counterbalance to the academic pressures of the IBDP. Even though there is no formal assessment of CAS and does not add to the total score, the diploma will not be awarded if not completed. The level of personal growth that IB students achieve is one of the major reasons for choosing this programme.
International Baccalaureate not only helps you grow academically by making students more knowledgeable, but it also helps students grow as people. Reflecting on daily tasks, balancing multiple things at once, caring, open-mindedness, increased and effective communication— are skills that students can carry forward in life. The mandatory component, CAS, enables students to work in their community. This may involve campaigning, fundraising, and other volunteering activities.
This brings about a sense of responsibility as students feel like they are part of something bigger. This is not typically found in other classrooms, which makes this course especially quite unique.
Overall, IB helps students develop strong academic, social, and emotional characteristics.
Also Read – Understanding the core components of IB
Notable Alumni
- Kim Jong-un: Supreme Leader of North Korea
- Justin Trudeau: The current Canadian prime minister graduated the IB diploma in the late 1980s and is the epitome of an IB graduate. The IB tries to foster good communicators, open-mindedness, internationalism, collaboration, and community service and it can easily be said that Trudeau is known for all those qualities.
- Dustin Moskovitz: He is one of the most successful International Baccalaureate graduates people as one of the 4 co-founders of Facebook. He left Facebook in 2008 but still has a current estimated net worth in excess of 14 billion dollars!
- Lupita Nyong’o: The true embodiment of an IB student, Lupita is a Kenyan-Mexican actress who graduated from St. Mary’s School in Nairobi in 2001 with an IB Diploma.
- Ken Jennings: Ken Jennings is the highest-earning American game show contestant of all time, amassing in excess of 5 million dollars through his participation in Jeopardy!, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and a few other shows.
- Kesha: A world-famous artist who dominated the music scene in the late 2000s is a graduate of the IB.
- Marina Diamonds: The second musician on the list, Marina and the Diamonds graduated the IB program over in Athens.
- King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands: The king of the Netherlands after his mother abdicated the throne in 2013, King Willem-Alexander is one of the most powerful IB graduates on the list.
- Gael Garcia Bernal: Bernal is as renowned as Nyong’o. Known for his performances in the films The Motorcycle Diaries, Amores Perres as well as animated classic Coco, Gael Garcia is an esteemed member of the IB survival team.
- Alex Honnold: Honnold is renowned for his ability to climb sheer rock faces without any safety equipment.
