Diploma Program
Diploma Program
The I.B. Diploma Program is a two-year program designed for 17-19 year olds, offering them the depth and independence of college level studies while I.B.-structured support is still in place for high school. Every student takes a full set of Diploma Program courses in sciences, math, language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, and the arts, most of which are a two-year sequence.
Each course includes internally developed assessments in accordance with I.B.’s requirements, as well as a series of end of course I.B.-designed external examinations. Students’ performance over the two years and on the exams determine their achievement of the internationally recognized I.B. Diploma.
I.B. Diploma Program students are sought after by higher institutions because of their initiative and commitment to rigorous learning, their research and communication skills, their well-rounded experiences, and support for their communities.
Program Features
- Two-year program for students in grades 11 and 12
- Six subject areas
- DP Core: Theory of Knowledge, Creativity/Service/Action and the Extended Essay
- Internal assessments and external examinations
- Internationally recognized IB Diploma
- Offered at Henrico and J.R. Tucker high schools
- Graduates ready for college and beyond
The IB DP Core
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What is CAS?
Studied throughout the Diploma Programme, CAS involves students in a range of activities alongside their academic studies.
It is not formally assessed. However, students reflect on their CAS experiences as part of the DP, and provide evidence of achieving the seven learning outcomes for CAS.
Educators at IB World Schools can read about the seven learning outcomes in the CAS guide, which is available in the IB store and the Programme Resource Centre (PRC).
CAS enables students to enhance their personal and interpersonal development by learning through experience.
It provides opportunities for self-determination and collaboration with others, fostering a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment from their work.
At the same time, CAS is an important counterbalance to the academic pressures of the DP.
How is CAS Structured?
The three strands of CAS, which are often interwoven with particular activities, are characterized as follows:
- Creativity – arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.
- Activity – physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work elsewhere in the DP.
- Service – an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student. The rights, dignity and autonomy of all those involved are respected.
In order to demonstrate these concepts, students are required to undertake a CAS project. The project challenges students to:
- show initiative
- demonstrate perseverance
- develop skills such as collaboration, problem solving and decision making.
HHS Guidance for CAS
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What is Theory of Knowledge?
Theory of knowledge (TOK) plays a special role in the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Program (DP), by providing an opportunity for students to reflect on the nature of knowledge, and on how we know what we claim to know.
It is one of the components of the DP core and is mandatory for all students. The TOK requirement is central to the educational philosophy of the DP.
How is TOK Structured?
As a thoughtful and purposeful inquiry into different ways of knowing, and into different kinds of knowledge, TOK is composed almost entirely of questions.
The most central of these is "How do we know?", while other questions include:
- What counts as evidence for X?
- How do we judge which is the best model of Y?
- What does theory Z mean in the real world?
Through discussions of these and other questions, students gain greater awareness of their personal and ideological assumptions, as well as developing an appreciation of the diversity and richness of cultural perspectives.
What is the Significance of TOK?
TOK aims to make students aware of the interpretative nature of knowledge, including personal ideological biases – whether these biases are retained, revised or rejected.
It offers students and their teachers the opportunity to:
- reflect critically on diverse ways of knowing and on areas of knowledge
- consider the role and nature of knowledge in their own culture, in the cultures of others and in the wider world.
In addition, TOK prompts students to:
- be aware of themselves as thinkers, encouraging them to become more acquainted with the complexity of knowledge
- recognize the need to act responsibly in an increasingly interconnected but uncertain world.
TOK also provides coherence for the student, by linking academic subject areas as well as transcending them.
It therefore demonstrates the ways in which the student can apply their knowledge with greater awareness and credibility.
TOK Assessment
The TOK course is assessed through an exhibition and a 1,600 word essay.
The exhibition requires the students to create an exhibition of three objects that explores how TOK manifests in the world around us.
The essay focuses on a conceptual issue in TOK. For example, it may ask students to discuss the claim that the methodologies used to produce knowledge depend on the use to which that knowledge will be used.
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What is the Extended Essay?
The extended essay is an independent, self-directed piece of research, finishing with a 4,000-word paper.
One component of the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) core, the extended essay is mandatory for all students.
Read about the extended essay in greater detail.
You can also read about how the IB sets deadlines for the extended essay, find examples of extended essay titles from previous DP students and learn about the world studies extended essay.
Learn more about the extended essay in a DP workshop for teachers.
How is the Extended Essay Structured?
Students are supported throughout the process of researching and writing the extended essay, with advice and guidance from a supervisor who is usually a teacher at the school.
Students are required to have three mandatory reflection sessions with their supervisors. The final session, a concluding interview, is also known as viva voce.
The extended essay and reflection sessions can be a valuable stimulus for discussion in countries where interviews are required prior to acceptance for employment or for a place at university.
How is the Extended Essay Assessed?
How is the extended essay assessed?
All extended essays are externally assessed by examiners appointed by the IB. They are marked on a scale from 0 to 34.
The score a student receives relates to a band. The bands are:
- A – work of an excellent standard.
- B – work of a good standard.
- C –work of a satisfactory standard.
- D – work of a mediocre standard.
- E – work of an elementary standard.
Find out how points awarded for the extended essay contribute to a student’s overall diploma score.
Other Links
Earning the IB Diploma
In order to be an IB Diploma Candidate, juniors must have had a C or better in all of their classes, have completed their Personal Project and fulfilled all the Action and Service requirements in the Middle Years Program.
As juniors, students just continue to maintain a C or better in their classes. In order to examine as an “anticipated candidate,” juniors must have a C or better at the semester and have completed the internal assessment to be allowed to examine.
To continue in the Diploma Program, rising seniors must be up to date with their CAS requirements at the end of their junior year. Seniors must have turned in a COMPLETE draft of their Extended Essay in September in order to be registered as Diploma Candidates. Seniors must maintain a C average or better in all their classes and complete the internal assessments in order to be allowed to examine in each subject.
To earn the diploma, students must pass both the extended essay and Theory of Knowledge. They must also earn 24 points, with 12 points in their HL classes. Please see the attached handout that explains further requirements: 2015 diploma conditions document