General Information

The International Baccalaureate Organization’s Diploma Programme, created in 1968, is a demanding pre-university course of study that leads to examinations. It is designed for highly motivated secondary school students aged 16 to 19. The programme has earned a reputation for rigorous assessment, giving IB diploma holders access to the world’s leading universities. It has been designed to address the intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being of students.

The programme is a comprehensive two-year international curriculum that generally allows students to fulfill the requirements of their national education systems. The Diploma Programme incorporates the best elements of national systems, without being based on any one. It was born of efforts to establish a common curriculum and university entry credential for students moving from one country to another. The vision of the programme is to encourage students to share an academic experience that emphasizes critical thinking, intercultural understanding and exposure to a variety of points of view.

The IB Diploma Programme worldwide and in Turkey

The IBDP is officially recognized by the Turkish Ministry of Education. In Turkey, IBDP is implemented in conjunction with the national curriculum only in the schools that are authorised to implement the programme.

The programme offers students a choice of subjects from six groups; Language A, Language Acquisition, Individuals and Societies, Sciences, Mathematics, the Arts. Students may choose either an arts subject from group 6, or a second subject from groups 1 to 5.

The IB Diploma Programme at Acarkent Doğa High School

The IBDP is offered in Grades 11 and 12. Students choose to follow it in either the Science IB track or the Turkish / Mathematics IB track.

IBDP students are thoroughly prepared not only for the Diploma requirements but also for the requirements of the Turkish High School Diploma and thus for the University Entrance Examinations. Those students who complete the IB Diploma requirements earn, in addition to their Turkish High School Diploma, a second school leaving diploma, a diploma which has the advantage of being recognized overseas.

Courses offered at Acarkent High School within the IB Diploma Programme:

Group 1 – Turkish Literature

Group 2 – English B (as a second language)

Group 3 – Turkey in the Twentieth Century, Economics, Business and Management

Group 4 – Physics, Chemistry, Biology

Group 5 – Mathematics

Group 6 – Visual Arts

Students take written examinations at the end of the two year programme, which are marked by external IB examiners. Students also complete assessment tasks in the school, which are either initially marked by teachers and then moderated by external moderators or sent directly to external examiners. The results of the examinations are sent in July and the diplomas are sent in August.

The success of Acarkent Doğa IBDP students has always been above the world average.

The students who are awarded an IB diploma not only receive priority acceptance from foreign universities but are also offered scholarships by private universities in Turkey. Our graduates have received acceptance from prestigious universities throughout the world such as Harvard, Cambridge Oxford, McGill, and have also gained places in distinguished universities in Turkey such as İTÜ, Boğaziçi, YTÜ, Koç, Sabancı, Bilkent.

 

Diploma Programme Requirements

Diploma Programme candidates must meet the following requirements:

  • Candidates for the IB Diploma must satisfy assessment requirement in six subjects, each studied over a period of two years.
  • The six subjects must be selected from the six groups as described in the Assessment procedures for the appropriate examination session, at least three and not more than four subjects being offered at higher level and the others at standard level.

 

In addition to the six subjects, candidates for the IB Diploma must:

  1. a) Take a course in, and submit the requires assessment in, Theory of Knowledge
  2. b) Complete an approved programme of extra-curricular activities or experiences known as CAS
  3. c) Complete and submit for assessment an Extended Essay in a subject offered by our school

 

Candidates are required to act in a responsible and ethical manner throughout their participation in the Diploma Programme and examinations. In particular candidates must avoid any form of malpractice.

The curriculum contains six subject groups, together with the DP core: creativity, activity, service (CAS); the extended essay (EE); and theory of knowledge (TOK). The subject groups and the core elements are shown in the following “The Diploma Programme model”