The IB Diploma Programme is an internationally recognized, two-year pre-university programme. The curriculum is rigorous, academically demanding and requires students to be highly motivated. To succeed in this program students must demonstrate commitment, ability and interest.
The IB Diploma Programme has six major academic areas (displayed in the model below). Students must take one subject from each of the six groups. This means that a science-oriented student is challenged to learn a foreign language and a natural linguist becomes familiar with laboratory procedures. At the core of the IB Diploma Programme are three unique curriculum requirements: a Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course, an Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS).
TOK activities and discussions aim to help students discover and express their views on knowledge issues. The course encourages critical thinking about different ways of knowing, such as perception, reason, emotion and language, as well as different kinds of knowledge, such as scientific, artistic and historical.
The Extended Essay is a 4,000-word research paper that is intended to promote independent, high-level research and writing skills, intellectual discovery and creativity. It provides students with an opportunity to engage in personal research on a topic of their choice, under the guidance of a supervisor.
CAS is a co-curricular program that enables students to enhance their personal and interpersonal development through experiential learning, lending an important counterbalance to the academic rigours of the rest of the IB Diploma Programme.
Students participate in the following three components:
- Creativity - arts and other experiences that involve creative thinking
- Activity - physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle
- Service - an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student