IB Worldwide at the IBO

Learn more about the International Baccalaureate Organization and the IB Programme on the IBO website, at www.ibo.org.

Go to the IBO Website

How do colleges evaluate IB diplomas?

Over 800 colleges and universities in North America have established written policies that explain how they evaluate IB Diploma credentials. These policies provide information on admission, advanced credit, and advanced standing for the IB student. They are available electronically on the IBO web site, usign the link at the bottom of this article.

The IB office receives many recruitment letters and information packets from universities in-state, out-of-state, and from Europe for both four year programs and summer opportunities. If you are interested, visit room 120E on the East Campus and browse through these packets.

What is the IB Theory of Knowledge?

The Theory of Knowledge (ToK) is the heart of the IB Diploma Programme. Here's what the IB Theory of Knowledge Guidebook has to say about the ToK:

• It challenges students and their teachers to reflect critically on diverse ways of knowing and areas of knowledge, and to consider the role which knowledge plays in a global society.
• It encourages students to become aware of themselves as thinkers, to become aware of the complexity of knowledge, and to recognize the need to act responsibly in an increasingly interconnected world.
• As a thoughtful and purposeful inquiry into different ways of knowing, and into different kinds of knowledge, the ToK programme is composed almost entirely of questions.

Below are some samples of ToK questions written by Sue Bastian, a long-time TOK teacher at the UN School in New York:

1. Could one person know the whole truth about anything?
2. If everyone believes something is the case, is there any point in inquiring whether it is true? Why?
3. Is knowledge a discovery or an invention?
4. If you live as though X is the case, and it works for you, does it make any difference that X is false?
5. Can you claim to know what you know without confirming its truth for yourself?