Curricula
The International Baccalaureate
Four programmes covering ages three to nineteen, designed from the start to work across countries rather than inside one. It is the only one of the three main systems built for mobile families by intent rather than by export.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished July 2026Last reviewed July 2026
In short
- The IB is a set of four programmes, not a single syllabus. A school may be authorised for one of them only.
- Students do not narrow their subjects. The Diploma keeps six subject groups plus a core to age 19.
- The PYP and MYP are the most portable years in international schooling; the Diploma is the least portable.
- Assessment is criterion-based throughout, with external examinations only in the final programme.
What the system is, and who governs it
The IB is run by a single non-governmental organisation that authorises schools, publishes the programme frameworks, trains teachers and marks the final examinations. Unlike the British system, where a school picks among competing examination boards, an IB school works with one body across every programme it offers.
Authorisation is the practical consequence. A school cannot describe a year group as IB unless it has been authorised for that programme, and it must be reauthorised periodically. This is a genuine, checkable fact families can ask for.
Authorisation
The four programmes
Primary Years Programme (PYP)
- Typical ages
- 3–12
- How it is assessed
- Inquiry-led, assessed by the school; no external examinations
Middle Years Programme (MYP)
- Typical ages
- 11–16
- How it is assessed
- School assessment against published criteria; optional external eAssessment
Diploma Programme (DP)
- Typical ages
- 16–19
- How it is assessed
- Six subjects plus core; external examinations and assessed coursework
Career-related Programme (CP)
- Typical ages
- 16–19
- How it is assessed
- DP courses plus career-related study and a separate core
| Attribute | Typical ages | How it is assessed |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Years Programme (PYP) | 3–12 | Inquiry-led, assessed by the school; no external examinations |
| Middle Years Programme (MYP) | 11–16 | School assessment against published criteria; optional external eAssessment |
| Diploma Programme (DP) | 16–19 | Six subjects plus core; external examinations and assessed coursework |
| Career-related Programme (CP) | 16–19 | DP courses plus career-related study and a separate core |
The IB does not use its own year numbering. Schools map the programmes onto whatever year or grade names they already use, which is why an IB school in one country may say Grade 9 and another Year 10 for the same MYP stage.
How learning changes between programmes
- PYP. Learning is organised around transdisciplinary units rather than separate subjects, with the emphasis on inquiry and on children explaining their own thinking.
- PYP to MYP. Subjects become distinct and assessment becomes explicitly criterion-referenced, with published descriptors students are expected to understand and use.
- MYP to DP. The largest step. The workload rises, higher-level subjects go considerably deeper, and the three core elements run in parallel with everything else for two years.
Inside the Diploma Programme
- Six subjects across defined groups, normally three at higher level and three at standard level, which keeps the programme broad rather than specialised.
- Three core elements: the extended essay, the theory of knowledge course, and creativity, activity and service.
- Assessment combines externally marked examinations at the end of the two years with coursework assessed against published criteria.
- The result is a single overall score built from subject grades plus core points, with defined requirements that must be met for the diploma to be awarded.
- Students who do not take the full diploma may take individual subjects as certificated courses.
Worked example
A student moving in at the start of the second Diploma year
The subject combination was fixed eighteen months earlier, higher-level choices are already half-taught, the extended essay is well advanced and internal assessment deadlines are set by the school's own calendar.
Where the receiving school offers the same six subjects at the same levels, a move can work. Where even one higher-level subject is missing, the usual options are switching to certificated courses, repeating the year, or choosing a school on a different system. None of this is unusual, but it must be discussed before an application, not after.
Transferring in and out
The PYP and MYP are designed to be portable, and moving between IB schools in different countries is normally the smoothest transfer available in international schooling. Because the MYP is a framework rather than a fixed content list, subject coverage can still differ between schools.
Moving into the Diploma Programme after it has begun is difficult: the subject combination, higher-level choices and core components all have to align, and the timetable of internal assessment is fixed. Where a mid-programme move is unavoidable, raise it with admissions before anything else.
University recognition
The diploma is widely recognised for university entry internationally. Recognition is not equivalence: each university sets its own points and subject requirements, and some specify particular subjects at higher level. Where a family has a target country, check those requirements before the six subjects are chosen, because the choice is difficult to change afterwards.
Who it suits, and who it may not
It suits a student who is still broad in their interests at 16, a family expecting further international moves, and children who respond well to being asked to explain their reasoning rather than reproduce content.
It suits less well a student who wants to concentrate on three subjects, a family whose likely next location has few IB schools, or a child who would be joining in the second Diploma year.
Common misunderstandings
- "An IB school teaches the IB throughout." Only for the programmes it is authorised to run.
- "The PYP has no assessment." It has continuous assessment by the school; it has no external examinations.
- "Every IB school offers the same subjects." Diploma subject availability, and especially higher-level options, depends on staffing and cohort size.
- "The IB is only for academic students." The Career-related Programme exists for a different profile, though fewer schools offer it.
Glossary
- Higher level and standard level
- The two depths at which Diploma subjects are studied, with different teaching hours.
- Core
- The extended essay, theory of knowledge and creativity, activity and service.
- Internal assessment
- Coursework marked by teachers against IB criteria and externally moderated.
- Certificated course
- An individual Diploma subject taken outside the full diploma.
Common questions
Continue reading
Compare the three systems
Ages, stages, examination points and transfer friction side by side.
Transferring between curricula
All six directions, and where each one becomes difficult.
The admissions sequence
What happens between first contact and a confirmed place.
How matching works
Eligibility gates, fit considerations, and the shortlist a family starts from.
Last reviewed: July 2026
Programme age ranges follow the IB's published structure. Individual schools apply them within their own year-group system.
Something look wrong? Report a correction.