Your guide to the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP)

Are you an SPM school leaver? Confused by the multitude of options at your disposal, as far as pre-university courses go? Wondering whether you should do STPM? Perhaps A-Levels would be easier? Then there are exams from Australia and Canada to consider. Pulled all your hair out already?

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There’s also the little matter of addressing the elephant in the room.

Okay, not that elephant. But there’s all this commotion about how a Harvard University professor equated local graduates to Danish high school drop-outs.

Before you get the pitch forks out and start a mob, his main point was, local grads, instead of understanding materials, are taught to memorise and regurgitate it all out during exams. Cue the shock and how he described almost 95% of the students here (Also I just made that statistic up, but it doesn’t detract from the fact that that is how many of us study).

We here atafterschool.my thought instead of delving into the topic like everyone else, we would instead give you an option, a lesser known pre-university course you bright eyed and bushy tailed SPM leavers should consider, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, which shall be known as IBDP from here on, for obvious reasons.

What is the IBDP?

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year programme primarily aimed at students aged 16–19. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education and is recognised by many universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva, Switzerland, by a group of international educators. (The same place Swiss cheese was invented, except it’s just called cheese there) and founded in 1968 (2 years after England last won the World Cup).

Is it recognised? If so, where?

It’s taught in about 150 countries worldwide, so it’s recognised almost everywhere. While we cannot vouch for every university, as some have very specific requirements (Always check with the university you intend to go to before applying for a course, ALWAYS!), the IB Diploma is recognised in Malaysia as an equivalent qualification to the Malaysian higher school certificate exam (STPM), and is accepted as credentials for admission into the higher education system.

Is it difficult?

Well, I’ve got some bad news for you. There is no such thing as an easy pre-university course. Life after SPM isn’t a bed of roses, as painted in movies about college life. It will require effort and a lot of studying on your part, and the IB Diploma is no different.

What are the subjects I’ll have to study?

Let’s make this as simple for you as possible, shall we?  The IB Diploma may seem complicated, but really, it’s like tiramisu, made up of a few layers, but simple once you analyse each one individual. (Okay, maybe not tiramisu)

The IB Diploma is made up of:

1. 3 core
2. 6 subject groups

Let’s start with the 3 core elements.

1. Theory of knowledge, in which students reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how we know what we claim to know.

2. The extended essay (EE), which is an independent, self-directed piece of research, finishing with a 4,000-word paper (So many words!)

3. Creativity, activity, service, in which students complete a project related to those three concepts.

Digging deeper, let’s look at the 6 subject groups that are available to you.

First, a slightly long but extremely important bit of information. Students who pursue the IB diploma must take six subjects: one each from Groups 1–5, and either one from Group 6 or a permitted substitute from one of the other groups, as described below.

Three or four subjects must be taken at Higher level (HL) and the rest at Standard level (SL).

Okay, still with us? Good. Now let’s take a look at the subjects within those subject groups. See, just like tiramisu, it becomes more enticing the deeper you dig.

Group 1: Studies in language and literature. Taken at either SL or HL, this is generally the student's native language, with more than 80 languages available.

Group 2: Language acquisition. An additional language, taken at the following levels:

• Language B (SL or HL): Basically, a language subject for students who have been speaking it for 2-3 years and focuses more on learning to communicate in the language in written and spoken form.
• Language ab initio (SL only): When a student has no previous background in a given language, it focuses on giving the student basic knowledge of both the language in every day use and the culture of the places where it is spoken.

Group 3: Individuals and societies. Humanities and social sciences courses offered at both SL and HL: Business and Management, Economics, Geography, History, Information Technology in a Global Society (ITGS), Philosophy, Psychology, and Social and Cultural Anthropology and Global Politics.

Group 4: Experimental sciences. Five courses are offered at both SL and HL: Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Design Technology and Computer Science.

Group 5: Mathematics. In order of increasing difficulty, the courses offered are Mathematical Studies SL, Mathematics SL and HL, and Further Mathematics SL and HL.

Group 6: The arts. Courses offered at both SL and HL: Dance, foreign languages, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts, and Film. In lieu of taking a Group 6 course, students may choose to take an additional course from Groups 1–4.

Okay that’s great and all , thanks for the information overload. But why should I do the IB Diploma?

That’s a great question. So far, we’ve talked about what it consists of. But here’s the most important bit. Why should you do IBDP?

• The IB diploma is accepted in 75 countries at more than 2,000 universities (That’s a lot!)
• The magazine Time described the IB Diploma as an “off-the-shelf curriculum recognised by universities around the world”.
• Howard Gardner, a professor of educational psychology at Harvard University, said that the IBDP curriculum is "less parochial than most American efforts" and helps students "think critically, synthesise knowledge, reflect on their own thought processes and get their feet wet in interdisciplinary thinking". No, this was a different Harvard Professor.
• In the United Kingdom, the IBDP is "regarded as more academically challenging but broader than three or four A-levels", according to an article in the Guardian.

So all this basically means, the IBDP is a programme which would erode the rote memorising tendencies of us local grads and help promote deep understanding, a crucial facet missing in the armour of fresh grads today. Something for you to consider. Where to apply? Well the good news is there's scholarships offered by different schools for it, one from the International School of Kuala Lumpur, and one from Sri KDU .

Don't hesitate to drop us a question at any time, if you have any doubts.