IB Program

Recently, 10th graders have been preparing for their 11th grade year by discussing with the counselors and planning what to take for the IB program. The IBDP (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme) is a course of study that AISG students are encouraged to take in their Junior and Senior year. The IB program includes TOK (theory of knowledge); creativity, activity and service (CAS); and the extended essay. In the IB program, there are 24 courses to choose from six subjects; the courses include: 

Studies in Language and Literature / Group 1: English A Language and Literature, English A Literature, Chinese A Language and Literature, Self-taught literature in other languages

Languages/Group 2: Spanish B, Mandarin ab initio, French B, French ab initio, Chinese B; (Spanish ab initio is also available as a Pamoja online course)

Science/Group 4: Biology, Chemistry, Physics 

Social Studies/Group 3: Economics, Psychology, Environment & Society, History; (Information Technology in a Global Society or ITGS and Business Management are available as Pamoja online courses)

Mathematics/Group 5: Math Studies, Mathematics SL and HL

Arts/Group 6: Music, Visual arts 

To get the IB diploma, students need to choose 3 HL subjects and 3 SL subjects from the six courses. Knowledge from IB is assessed through external assessments such as essays, short/data/text response questions, structured problems, and cause study questions. Internal assessments like oral work, investigations, laboratory, fieldwork, and performances may also be required depending on the course. 

When it comes to selecting courses, students have different ways of choosing. Some students pick courses based on ease. According to tenth grader Iris, “I’m planning on choosing HL for Economics because I heard that it was easy.” On the contrary, some students choose based on their parents’ pressure and their skills, such as tenth grader In Hwa: “I choose my courses based on what my parents tell me and what I’ve learned in the past, and for each course I choose, I select HL or SL based on my ability.”

Choosing courses for IB also depend on the subjects you want to focus on in the future. If you’re more of a math and science student, “It’s better to take two sciences and math HL; other subjects are fine if it’s SL” (Iris 10) On the other hand, if you want to be a humanities student in college, “Make literature and social studies subjects your priority” (Coco 10). Students are only allow to take up to 4 HL course because HL courses are very time consuming compared to SL courses. 

Current 11th grader Jiwon Lee says, “Students should choose their HL or SL courses depending on their own abilities.” On the other hand, 11th grader Stephen Zhou believes that “students should choose the courses they like the most.”

According to their website, IB programs “is a non profitable educational foundation offering four highly respected programmes of international education that develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills needed to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world.” Although courses may be hard, it will set a good foundation for student’s future.