Last Updated on April 28, 2024 by Jawad Ali
Holistic education is the need for upcoming generations where they will be well equipped with new-age skills and develop a futuristic outlook in a dynamic world.
Therefore, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is the perfect pre-university programme for students aged (16-19 years). Renowned by top universities in the world it has more diverse subjects than any other curriculum.
Offered by 5,400 schools in 159 countries, IBDP has earned a reputation for excellence. No doubt, the 2 years of ib diploma is an intense program where students are required to take 6 subjects (out of which they need to choose 3-4 subjects in Higher Level (HL) and the rest of the subjects at Standard Level (SL). Plus, there are 3 core mandatory subjects (Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and Creativity, Action, Service (CAS)).
This rigorous curriculum helps students in developing life skills that can be helpful to them lifelong and also promotes intercultural understanding and critical thinking.
Let’s understand the workload!
IB Diploma Workload in Indian school
Every subject in IB DP is interlinked with one another and ToK is the connecting string.
As a result, the students who graduate from IB have more options for university.
Not only academic, with CAS, IBDP also provides students with knowledge of their surroundings and the world and the activities are not limited to the four walls of the campus.
IB requires students to carry out a significant amount of assignments, research, and projects where each subject has an internal assessment.
- Planning for ToK’s 1600 word essay will take roughly at least 20 hours
- Individual projects in subject group 1 require a student to give a 10-minute long oral presentation so it will take more time to prepare.
- CAS requires a minimum of 150 hours during the 2-year program.
- Planning for 4000 words Extended Essay and writing will take at least 40 hours
Yes, definitely you will be immersed most of the time in projects, research and assignments. It is necessary to manage your time wisely, organize things in advance and create a proper calendar of your tasks so that you can create a proper balance between academics and social life and get enough time to do things you love or socialize.
Subject Combination
Choosing a combination of subjects and their levels is crucial as universities will never see the numbers of subjects a student has taken, they will check the quality and score levels and on how students have chosen balance subjects
Subject choices in Indian school
Group 1 (Language and Literature)
● English A: Literature Higher Level
● English A: Literature Standard Level
● English A: Language and Literature Standard Level
● English A: Language and Literature Higher Level
Group 2 (Language Acquisition)
● French ab initio Standard Level
● Spanish ab initio Standard Level
● French B Standard Level
● Tamil B Standard Level
● Hindi B Higher Level
● Hindi B Standard Level
Group 3 (Individuals and Societies)
● Business Management Higher Level
● Economics Standard Level
● History Standard Level
● Business Management Standard Level
● Environmental Systems and Societies Standard Level
● Psychology Standard Level
● Economics Higher Level
● History Higher Level
● Psychology Higher Level
Group 4 (Sciences)
● Biology Higher Level
● Biology Standard Level
● Chemistry Higher Level
● Chemistry Standard Level
● Computer Science Higher Level
● Computer Science Standard Level
● Design Technology Standard Level
● Design Technology Higher Level
● Physics Standard Level
● Physics Higher Level
Group 5 (Mathematics)
● Mathematics Analysis and Approaches Higher Level
● Mathematics Analysis and Approaches Standard Level
● Mathematics Applications and Interpretation Higher Level
● Mathematics Applications and Interpretation Standard Level
Group 6 (Arts)
● Film Standard Level
● Film Higher Level
● Visual Arts Standard Level
● Standard Level
● Visual Arts Higher Level
The student has to take 1 subject from each subject group except from Group 6.
They can choose additional science from Group 4 or Individual and Societies from Group 3 or Language Acquisition from Group 2.
Make use of the testing period to figure out which subjects you want to finalize as many schools provide a testing period for test subjects for a few days before finalization.
How to choose subjects for Ib diploma
- Reach out to the Teachers/ Counselors to get the information and they will guide you
- Know your strengths and weaknesses. So reach out to your teacher. Also, they are familiar with the IB course so seek their advice if you are confused.
- Choose subjects that interest you and will help to keep you motivated.
- Also, explore different subjects that you think will interest you and is best in terms of the future.
- Choose a subject that challenges you and helps you to learn something new
- Do your research as to which institutions you wanted to apply to, and their criteria of subjects
- Choose the most rigorous combination of subjects and levels that is still manageable
- Research all the subjects as in what topics will be covered, their levels, how it will benefit you and most importantly how each subject is assessed.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Score
IB Diploma Program grades range from 7 to 1.
7 -Excellent performance
6 – Very good performance
5 – Good performance
4 – Satisfactory performance
3 – Mediocre performance
2 – Poor performance
1 – Very poor performance
Diploma Score = 45
(6 subjects x 7 (7mark for each subject) + 3 marks for the EE and TOK).
The students will get a diploma only if they score 24 points and above while (TOK and EE are graded A–E, with A being the highest and E being the lowest)
Tips to ace IB Diploma in Indian school
Start as early as possible
You will have enough time to explore, clear doubts, change the subjects if you do not like within the testing periods and get time to research more and be at ease.
Utilise all resources
Do not rely just on the books, or classroom for knowledge, instead use all the resources provided online, research, read blogs, check the news, and gain global knowledge on cultures and social issues and trending topics, world affairs as it will broaden your perspective.
Organize
Prepare notes as it will help you to revise topics easily and keeping things in an organized manner such as all research work in the proper folders, and files and creating a timetable for short and long term goals will be an easy way to get things done.
Revision
Revise daily, and it will help you during exam time and try to solve earlier papers to get an idea on topics, writing speed and how to write better.
Collaborate
Create a group and do Group study and projects as it will maximize your learning
Conclusion
Ib diploma is one of the most demanding courses that demands commitment and dedication but in the end, it will all be worth it! If you love to be challenged and can give your 100% dedication to multitasking gracefully, then you should definitely take this intense course but if you are one who easily gets overwhelmed with workload then IB can be a little difficult for you to manage. So know your strength and choose wisely and manage your time efficiently!
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