DP Diploma Programme
IB Diploma Programme
The Diploma Programme (DP) is a two-year pre-university course of study aimed at highly motivated students aged 16 to 19. It is one of the three educational programmes offered by the International Baccalaureate (IB) - a well-recognized, non-profit, mission-driven foundation.
IB Mission Statement:
“The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.”
DP Curriculum
DP students choose six subjects from six subject groups:
1 Studies in language and literature where students follow a language and literature course in their mother tongue or best language;
2 Language acquisition where they are offered a selection of modern languages;
3 Individuals and societies which may include history, geography, economics, philosophy, psychology, etc.
4 Experimental sciences like physics, chemistry, biology and computer science.
5 Mathematics.
6 Arts and electives where an elective may be any subject from the above described groups
According to their strengths, preferences and career plans students take three subjects at higher level (HL) (higher level subjects require longer teaching hours and greater commitment on the part of students) and another three – at standard level (SL). Also, there are three “core” requirements for all of them to fulfill, which are deemed vital to students’ whole person education as well as to practically being awarded the IB diploma at the end of the programme:
Theory of knowledge (TOK) - a unique course that takes students on an exciting journey into the nature of knowledge, teach them perspectives and urge them to form opinions;
Creativity, action, service (CAS) – a sequence of activities that students do outside classroom to develop their creativity, keep fit and develop social awareness;
Extended essay – a thorough independent research of a question from a subject area the student takes under the guidance of a teacher and then organizes into a 4 000-word paper.
DP Curriculum at AmericanCollege Arcus
Group 1: Bulgarian A: Literature SL; English Language and Literature SL/HL
Group 2: English B HL/SL; German B HL/SL; German ab initio; Russian ab initio
Group 3: Geography HL/SL; History HL/SL
Group 4: Biology HL/SL; Chemistry HL/SL; Computer science HL/SL
Group 5: Mathematics HL/SL
Group 6: Visual Arts HL/SL or an elective subject from groups 2-4
Assessment
Assessment in the DP is both internal and external, the latter consisting about 70% of the final score. During their course of studies students complete certain tasks in their main subjects, which are either internally assessed and then sent for external moderation or directly posted to IB examiners. At the end of the programme students take a number of subject examinations which are all marked externally. Having fulfilled the three core requirements and gained at least 24 points, students are thus awarded the diploma. The highest score that can be achieved is 45 points.
Recognition of the IB Diploma
Diploma Programme is widely believed to prepare students for the demanding university environment. Thus it is recognized by a long list of colleges and universities, which can be found at http://www.ibo.org/recognition/university/
An important thing to keep in mind is that each place of higher education has its own recognition policy on IB diploma holders so checking it well in advance might be a good idea.
For greater detail on all aspects of the Diploma Programme go to www.ibo.org
For questions about the DP at American College Arcus contact Mrs Camellia Antonova at kantonova @ ac-arcus.com
