Course selection guide for IB DP at BME ISGS

Arguably the most crucial part of preparing for your IB DP studies is finding the selection of courses that you are going to take during the 2 years of the programme.

The basic rules for selecting your courses are simple. You need one subject from each Group (Group 1-6), but one Group 6 can be substituted for one Group 1-4 subject. You must choose 3 subjects on Standard Level (SL) and 3 subjects on Higher Level (HL).

You can find which courses our school offers for students and the course descriptions in the Application Form on our website.

Choosing courses is a daunting task but here is a list of questions that may help you with making your decision:

• What subjects interest me the most?
• What are my long-term goals with studying?
• What universities and programmes am I planning on applying to? What are the requirements for applying to these?
• What subjects have I been most successful at in my previous years of education?
• What subjects do I have the best foundation in to study at the DP?

As you can see, choosing your courses is almost like an ‘early application to university’. You must know what you want to study, where you want to study, and you must know your strengths and weaknesses in order to make a choice that will allow you to be successful in the IB.

The most decisive factor in your selection – besides your interests and previous studies – should be your future choice of study path and the university programmes you wish to join later. The following table can help you identify study paths corresponding to different fields of study.

This table does NOT show obligatory choices but provides a basis for you to find which courses you should most likely choose and at which level if you wish to pursue your future studies in a given field of study. These suggestions have been made using recommendations from the IB, from universities and the most common choices in our school in the last few years.

Specific countries, universities and programmes may ask for different courses, which is why you should have a clear and well-defined plan about which universities and programmes you are going to apply to. Hence, you can choose a selection that is different from the ones above, but your success in the IB DP and at the examination hugely depend on finding the selection that best fits your goals and previous studies.

A major part of the application process is to find the most suitable selection for you, as explained in our Application Form, so please make sure you have a plan but be open to suggestions as well.  

If you have any further questions regarding your selection of courses, please contact the Application Committee, consult one of your teachers and find students who have completed the IB before.