The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16- to 19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education and is recognized by many universities worldwide. It was developed in the early-to-mid-1960s in Geneva, Switzerland, by a group of international educators. After a six-year pilot programme that ended in 1975, a bilingual diploma was established.
Administered by the International Baccalaureate (IB), the IBDP is taught in schools in over 140 countries, in one of five languages: Chinese, English, French, German, or Spanish. To offer the IB diploma, a school must be certified as an IB school. IBDP students complete assessments in six subjects, traditionally one from each of the 6 subject groups (although students may choose to forgo a Group 6 (art) subject, instead choosing an additional subject from one of the other groups barring Group 5 (mathematics). In addition, students must fulfill the three core requirements; CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service), TOK (Theory of Knowledge) and the EE (Extended Essay). Students are evaluated using both internal and external assessments, and courses finish with an externally assessed series of examinations, usually consisting of two or three timed written tests. Internal assessment varies by subject: there may be oral presentations, practical work, or written work. In most cases, these are initially graded by the classroom teacher, whose grades are then verified or modified, as necessary, by an appointed external moderator.
Generally, the IBDP has been well-received. It has been commended for introducing interdisciplinary thinking to students. In the United Kingdom, The Guardian newspaper claims that the IBDP is "more academically challenging and broader than three or four A-levels". In the May 2025 assessment session, the IB reported a Diploma Programme pass rate of 81.9%, with 83,703 diplomas awarded and 18,530 diplomas not awarded among second-year Diploma candidates.
History and background In 1945, the "Conference of Internationally-minded Schools" asked the International School of Geneva (Ecolint) to create an international schools programme. When he became director of Ecolint's English division, Desmond Cole-Baker began to develop the idea, and in 1962, his colleague Robert Leach organized a conference in Geneva, at which the term "International Baccalaureate" was first mentioned. An American social studies teacher, Leach organized the conference—with a $2500 grant from UNESCO—which was attended by observers from European schools and UNESCO. Writing about the genesis of the International Baccalaureate in Schools Across Frontiers, Alec Peterson credits Leach as "the original promoter of the International Baccalaureate." At the end of the conference, UNESCO funded the International School Association with an additional $10,000, which was inadequate to do more than produce a few papers, or bring teachers together for meetings.
By 1964, international educators such as Alec Peterson (director of the Department of Education at Oxford University), Harlan Hanson (director of the College Board Advanced Placement Program), Desmond Cole (director of United Nations International School in New York City) and Desmond Cole-Baker (head of the International School of Geneva) founded the International Schools Examination Syndicate (ISES). Cole and Hanson brought experience with college entrance examinations in the United States, and Hanson, in particular, brought his experience from a long relationship with the College Board. According to Peterson, "the breakthrough in the history of the IB" came in 1965 with a grant from the Twentieth Century Fund, which commissioned Martin Mayer, author of The Schools, to produce a report on the feasibility of establishing a common curriculum and examination for international schools that would be acceptable for entry to universities worldwide. This led to conferences involving Ecolint, the United World College of the Atlantic (Atlantic College), and others in the spring and fall of 1965, at which details about the curriculum for the Diploma Programme were discussed and agreed upon.
The Ford Foundation grant, secured in 1966, funded Peterson's study at Oxford University, which focused on three issues: a comparative analysis of "secondary educational programmes in European countries...in cooperation with the Council of Europe"; university expectations for secondary students intending to enter university; and a "statistical comparison of IB pilot examination results with...national school leaving examinations such as British A Levels and US College Board (AP) Tests". As a result of the study and the curriculum model developed at Atlantic College, Peterson initiated the pattern of combining "general education with specialization", which melded with the curricula of the United States and Canada, and became the "curriculum framework" proposed at the UNESCO conference in Geneva in 1967. Late in 1967, ISES was restructured and renamed the IB Council of Foundation, and John Goormaghtigh became the first president in January 1968. In 1967, the group, which by then also included Ralph Tyler, identified eight schools to be used for the experimentation of the curriculum.
In 1968, the IB headquarters were officially established in Geneva for the development and maintenance of the IBDP. Alec Peterson became IBO's first director general, and in 1968, twelve schools in twelve countries participated in the IBDP, including Atlantic College in Wales, Ecolint in Geneva, and UNIS of New York City. The aim was to "provide an internationally acceptable university admissions qualification suitable for the growing mobile population of young people whose parents were part of the world of diplomacy, international and multi-national organizations."Hayden p. 94
The first six years of the IB Diploma Programme, with a limited number of students, are referred to as the "experimental period". Each school was to be inspected by ISES or IBO and had to be approved by their government. The experimental period ended in 1975, and in that year, the International Baccalaureate North America (IBNA) was established as a separate entity, allowing the funding for implementation of the IBDP to remain in the country rather than being sent to Geneva. The first official guide to the programme containing its syllabus and official assessment information was published in 1970 and included the theory of knowledge course. The extended essay was introduced in 1978, but creativity, action, service (CAS), although mentioned in guides beforehand, was not specifically identified in the guide until 1989.
In 1980, responding to criticism that the "internationalism" was Eurocentric, the IB hosted a seminar in Singapore with the goal of incorporating Asian culture and education into the IB curriculum. In 1982, the Standing Conference of Heads of IB Schools took steps to modify the Eurocentrism in the curriculum. The same year, the Japanese government hosted a science conference for IBO "as a token of Japanese interest in the various dimensions of the IB".
From the start, all subjects of the IB Diploma Programme were available in English and French, and it was mandatory for all students to study both a first and a second language.Hill p. 27 et. seq. In 1974, bilingual diplomas were introduced that allowed students to take one or more of their humanities or science subjects in a language other than their first. The IB Diploma Programme subjects became available in Spanish in 1983.
Core requirements and subject groups Core requirements To be awarded an IB diploma, candidates must fulfill three core requirements, in addition to passing their subject examinations:
Extended essay (EE). Candidates must write an independent research essay of up to 4,000 words on a subject from the list of approved EE subjects.Schools' Guide to IBDP, p. 5. The candidate may choose to investigate a topic within a subject they are currently studying, although this is not required.Schools' Guide to IBDP, p. 9. The EE may be written on an interdisciplinary topic.Schools' Guide to IBDP, p. 6. Theory of knowledge (TOK). This course introduces students to theories about the nature and limitations of knowledge (basic epistemology) and provides practice in determining the meaning and validity of knowledge (critical thinking). It is claimed to be a "flagship element" of the Diploma Programme, and is the one course that all diploma candidates are required to take. TOK requires 100 hours of instruction, the completion of an externally assessed essay of 1600 words (from a choice of six titles prescribed by the IB worth 67%), and an internally assessed exhibition or presentation (worth 33%) on the candidate's chosen topic. Creativity, activity, service (CAS). CAS aims to provide students with opportunities for personal growth, self-reflection, intellectual, physical and creative challenges, and awareness of themselves as responsible members of their communitiesCreativity, action, service Guide for students graduating in 2010 and thereafter, Published March 2008 International Baccalaureate through participation in social or community work (service), athletics or other physical activities (activity), and creative activities (creativity). The guideline for the minimum amount of CAS activity over the two-year programme is approximately 3–4 hours per week, though "hour counting" is not encouraged. Previously, there was a requirement that 150 CAS hours be completed, but this was abolished in 2010. However, some schools still require these hours.
Subject groups 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 barring Group 5, as described below.Schools' Guide to IBDP, p. 11. Three or four subjects must be taken at Higher level (HL) and the rest at Standard level (SL). The IB recommends a minimum of 240 hours of instructional time for HL courses and 150 hours for SL courses.
While the IB encourages students to pursue the full IB diploma, the "substantial workload require[s] a great deal of commitment, organization, and initiative". Students may instead choose to register for one or more individual IB subjects, without the core requirements. Such students will not receive the full diploma.
The six IBDP subject groups and course offerings are summarised below. More information about the subject groups and individual courses can be found at the respective subject group articles:
Group 1: Studies in language and literature. Taken at either SL or HL, this is generally the student's native language. Three courses are available: literature (automatically available in 55 languages); language and literature (available in 17 languages); literature and performance (automatically available in English and at SL only).