International Baccalaureate (IB)
Taken by more than 900,000 students in over 140 countries, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is recognised by institutions worldwide as a well-regarded qualification for entry into bachelor’s degree programmes.
The International Baccalaureate was established in 1968 and is currently available in 3,258 schools around the world, including nine IB World Schools in Malaysia. The programme is recognised by over 2,000 institutions around the world, including the prestigious Oxford and Harvard universities.
This two-year programme requires students to complete six subjects – three subjects each at the Higher Level (HL) and at the Standard Level (SL).
Students must choose one subject from these six groups:
- Group 1: language (can be selected from a choice of 80 languages)
- Group 2: second language
- Group 3: humanities and social sciences (business and management, psychology, economics etc)
- Group 4: experimental science (biology, chemistry, physics, design technology etc)
- Group 5: mathematics and computer science
- Group 6: the arts (film, theatre, music, visual arts etc) OR any other subject from Group 1-5
On top of the six subjects, students will have to complete:
- an extended essay of 4,000 words which is based on independent research, revolving around a subject the student has chosen
- 150 hours of out-of-the-classroom personal growth activities based on creativity, action and service
- a compulsory subject known as Theory of Knowledge (TOK) which requires students to critically examine the different ways of knowing (perception, emotion, language and reason) and the different kinds of knowledge (scientific, artistic, mathematical and historical).
As the IB programme is rigorous, only applicants with above-average SPM results will be considered for entry into the IB programme. At some institutions, applicants may even have to sit for entrance exams.
Grading system
The grading system for the IB programme works as follows:
- Points ranging from one to seven (per subject taken) will be given to students
- An additional three points can be obtained based on the grades given to the extended essay and TOK.
Students can get a maximum of 45 points, and need 24 points (based on an average of 4/7 points per subject taken) to receive their diploma.
The passing rates for IB programmes worldwide are set at 80%.
An International Baccalaureate programme is right for you if...
- you want to embark on an internationally recognised course that can challenge your knowledge and understanding
- you prefer to be assessed (both internally and externally) based on your overall performance across the entire scope of the programme
- you want to gain critical-thinking skills even before you step into university.
This article first appeared in doctorjob's CoursesNOW! Pre-University 2011.
