Secondary education
IB secondary education
The secondary education provided by the International Baccalaureate (IB) comprises two phases:
- lower secondary: Middle Years Programme (MYP) with exams leading to an Middle Years Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate; and
- upper secondary, where students choose a programme of study:
- vocational upper secondary education (Career-related Programme, CP) with exams leading to a Career-related Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate;
- general upper secondary education (Diploma Programme, DP) with exams leading to a Diploma of the International Baccalaureate or a Bilingual Diploma of the International Baccalaureate.
Students can pursue their education in English, French or Spanish.
Middle Years Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate
Students conclude the lower secondary phase of secondary education (Middle Years Programme, MYP) with exams for an Middle Years Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate.
- Duration: 5 years.
- Content: general education subjects. The curriculum comprises 8 subject groups:
- arts;
- design;
- individuals and societies;
- language acquisition;
- language and literature;
- mathematics;
- physical and health education;
- science.
You can visit the IB website for more information about the MYP.
- Admission requirements: students must have completed primary education (Primary Years Programme, PYP).
- Function of the diploma: access to IB upper secondary education: Diploma Programme (DP) or Career-related Programme (CP).
- Diploma: Middle Years Programme Certificate of the International Baccaulaureate.
We compare a Middle Years Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate to 4 years of VWO.
Career-related Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate
Students conclude vocational upper secondary education (Career-related Programme, CP) by taking exams for a Career-related Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate.
- Duration: 2 years.
- Content: a combination of vocational and general education subjects. The curriculum comprises 3 parts:
- at least 2 upper secondary general education subjects (Diploma Programme, DP);
- vocational upper secondary education core subjects: (CP core);
- career-related studies.
On the IB website, you can find more information about the CP.
- Admission requirements: a Middle Years Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate .
- Function of the diploma: access to higher education.
- Diploma: Career-related Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate.
We compare a Career-related Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate with at least a HAVO diploma.
Please note: ‘at least a HAVO diploma’ means that these diplomas have a higher level than a HAVO diploma, but a lower level than a VWO diploma.
Diploma of the International Baccalaureate
Students conclude general upper secondary education (Diploma Programme, DP) with exams for a Diploma of the International Baccalaureate.
- Duration: 2 years.
- Content: general education subjects. The curriculum consists of the DP core subjects and 6 subject groups:
- arts;
- individuals and societies;
- language acquisition;
- mathematics;
- sciences;
- studies in language and literature.
Students can also take School-based syllabuses (SBS). Which SBB subjects are offered, may vary per school. Students can take subjects at 2 levels: Standard Level (SL) or Higher Level (HL). HL subjects have a higher course load (240 credit hours) than SL subjects (150 credit hours). Students also go into more depth in HL subjects than in SL subjects. Some subjects are only offered at SL level, others at both levels.
On the IB website, you can find more information about the Diploma Programme.
- Admission requirements: a Middle Years Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate.
- Function of the diploma: access to higher education.
- Diploma: Diploma of the International Baccalaureate. In some cases, students obtain a Bilingual Diploma of the International Baccalaureate.
We compare a Diploma of the International Baccalaureate with a VWO diploma.
Bilingual Diploma of the International Baccalaureate
Students can also complete general upper secondary education (Diploma Programme, DP) with a Bilingual Diploma of the International Baccalaureate (instead of a ‘regular’ Diploma of the International Baccalaureate). They must have achieved certain study results for language subjects; see: Requirements for a Bilingual Diploma of the International Baccalaureate.
We compare a Bilingual Diploma of the International Baccalaureate with a VWO diploma.
DP Course result
When students do not meet the requirements for a Diploma of the International Baccalaureate, they receive a DP Course result. This is not a diploma, but a transcript.
We compare a DP Course result with VWO modular certificates (vwo-deelcertificaten) for the subjects with a pass.