INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAM
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program is designed for high school students who are highly motivated and desire a rigorous academic program. It provides a structured, writing-intensive curriculum that prepares students for selective university admission across the world. In the ninth and tenth grades, the IB Middle Years Program enables students to be prepared for the IB Diploma through an Advanced Honors curriculum.
Chicago Public Schools has the largest concentration of IB programs of any urban school district in the world. CPS offers the program at Amundsen, Bogan, Clark, Curie, Hubbard, Hyde Park, Kelly, Lincoln Park, Morgan Park, Senn, Steinmetz, Taft and Washington high schools.
The IB Diploma program is also offered at two Catholic schools in the Chicago area: St. Scholastica High School in Chicago and Trinity High School in River Forest.
Program Goals and Activities
International Baccalaureate students take more courses during their four years than those required for graduation. The comprehensive curriculum takes elements from the educational systems of many countries and provides students from differing cultural, economic, and social backgrounds with the knowledge, critical thinking skills, and international awareness necessary for living in a global community.
The IB Program requires that students pass exams in six subject groups:
- Language A (English)
- Language B (Second Language)
- Study of Individuals and Societies
- Experimental Sciences
- Mathematics
- Elective from the subjects of art or music
- A two-year interdisciplinary course, Theory of Knowledge, which explores the relationships of various disciplines to one another and to life experiences
- An extended essay of 4,000 words requiring independent research
- Participation in artistic and athletic activities, and Creativity, Action, and Service (CAS) programs
The International Baccalaureate/DePaul Partnership
DePaul has developed a close relationship with the IB programs in Chicago Public Schools. DePaul has partnered with IB coordinators and teachers from these high schools to develop student programs and academic enrichment opportunities. DePaul hosts the annual Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) Fair for IB students, and offers an annual five-day oral history workshop titled "In Our Own Words" for students whose first language is not English.
- Visit Chicago Public School's IB Web site
- Visit the international IB Web site at http://www.ibo.org/