Diploma Programme (DP) Pathway
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Overview of DP
Course options
The DP curriculum is comprised of the DP Core and six subject courses for a total of seven IB classes. As IB courses are rigorous, we highly recommend that students only take a total of seven IB classes. Because our schedule has eight class spots, this would mean a student would need to enroll in an elective for the eighth slot.
You must choose one course from each Group, with the exception of Group 6. If you do not wish to take a Group 6 course, you may take one additional course from Groups 2-5. The Groups are:
- Group 1: studies on language and literature
- Group 2: language acqusition
- Group 3: individuals and societies
- Group 4: sciences
- Group 5: mathematics
- Group 6: the arts
Three, and no more than four, of these subject courses must be taken at Higher Level (HL). We require that DP students take English A and history at HL.
See the list at right for more information on each course we offer at Parkland.
DP Assessment
Candidates attempting the DP are required to complete all internal and external assessments for the subjects in which they are registered.
Additionally, candidates are required to complete all assessment components of the DP core (TOK, EE, CAS).
More information about assessments for particular components or courses is included in the subject briefs at right.
Earning the Diploma
The IB Diploma will be awarded to a candidate provided all the following requirements have been met.
- CAS requirements have been met.
- The candidate’s total points are 24 or more.
- There is no “N” awarded for theory of knowledge, the extended essay or for a contributing subject.
- There is no grade E awarded for theory of knowledge and/or the extended essay.
- There is no grade 1 awarded in a subject/level.
- There are no more than two grade 2s awarded (HL or SL).
- There are no more than three grade 3s or below awarded (HL or SL).
- The candidate has gained 12 points or more on HL subjects (for candidates who register for four HL subjects, the three highest grades count).
- The candidate has gained 9 points or more on SL subjects (candidates who register for two SL subjects must gain at least 5 points at SL).
- The candidate has not received a penalty for academic misconduct from the Final Award Committee.
Excerpted from: section 13.2 of General regulations: Diploma Programme, IBO, September 2016.
Earning course results
Candidates will receive official course results for each course in which they test. This is an IBO-issued document that contains the names of the courses and the grades earned for each course.
See also: DP for parents
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Parkland IB course offerings
All subject briefs are created by the IBO, which updates courses every five-seven years on a rotating schedule. We operate within the requirements of the most recent iteration of each course. Appendix A will include the version of the course posted to the IBO public site. We cannot take responsibility if the IBO does not upload the most recent subject brief to its public site.
DP candidates must take three, but no more than four, courses at HL.
We offer the following:
DP Core (required for DP candidates)
Group 1
- English A: literature HL (required for DP candidates)
Group 2
- Language B ab initio*
- Language B SL / HL
- French SL/HL**
- German SL
- Spanish SL/HL**
- Language B classical languages SL
- Latin SL
Group 3
- business management SL / HL **
- History HL (required for DP candidates)
- ITGS SL
- Philosophy SL / HL **
- Psychology SL / HL **
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
*Group 2 “ab intio” courses are those in which a student cannot have taken any course work before (i.e. you may take Spanish ab intio if you have not taken Spanish in grades 9-10). Please note that this course does not receive any GPA weight despite being an IB course; this is a state decision, not a program one.
**Where SL/HL are together, both levels are in the same class, with the student being able to opt, in the senior year, to register for either level for assessment.
