IB DP curriculum at MH

The DP curriculum has been designed to allow students to study a wide range of subjects from different subject areas. All students must take a broad but balanced programme of six subjects, three at Higher level (HL) and three at Standard level (SL).  Students select one subject from groups 1-5. The sixth subject can be from group 6 or groups 1-4. See the model below. The subjects are both externarly (EA) and internally (IA) assessed.  In addition, students need to complete three core elements; considered as the heart of the programme. These are Theory of knowledge (TOK), Creativity, activity and service (CAS) and Extended Essay (EE).

IB in MH follows the MH calendar and is split to four semesters.  Each subject is therefore four courses that are numbered. For example BIO HL: BIOL3AI07, BIOL3BI07, BIOL3CI07, BIOL3DI07. CAS and TOK are numbered in similar way.  Higher and standard level are usually taught together.

Students can change subjects (if possible due to timetables) until September 15th in their first semester (IB1). After that deadline, subject changes are not allowed.

More about the IB Curriculum.

IB DP Brochure

FAQs about the Diploma Programme

See all IB course names here.

Following IB subjects are available in MH (if sufficient number of students select the subjects):

Group 1 - Language A Literature:

All students should study their mother tongue.  Group 1 selection is not a choice of the student, it is the school's decision, based on background information and professional evaluation of the language teachers in MH.

Taught: English A Lit (ENGL) and Icelandic A Lit (ICEL). Both HL and SL available.

Self-taught: e.g. Polish, Russian, Chinese, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch. Only SL.

Find out more about Language A:literature on ibo.org.

MH language policy.

Íslendingar athugið:  Íslenska A er skyldufag fyrir íslenska nemendur.  MH leggur ríka áherslu á að allir Íslendingar, sem mögulega geta, taki íslensku sem móðurmál við MH, jafnvel þó þeir hafi búið erlendis um skemmri eða lengri tíma. Íslendingar taka ÍSLE2AA05 og ÍSLE2BB05 á undirbúningsárinu.  Undanþágur eru eingöngu veittar eftir faglegt mat íslenskukennara MH.

Group 2 - Second language/language acquisition:

English and Danish as HL B and SL B. French and Spanish as Ab initio SL. French, German and Spanish as  HL B are sometimes offered.   The second languages are not special IB courses, the IB students attend regular MH courses, based on their skills.  Studying language B HL/SL requires some self-study under supervision of the language B coordinators.  It is highly recommended that applicants take replacement tests (Stöðupróf) in December/August.

Find out more about Language acquisition on ibo.org.

Group 3 - Individuals and societies:

History (HIST) and Psychology (PSYC). Both HL and SL available.

Environmental Systems and Societies (ESSO), an interdisciplinary Group 3 and 4 subject, is available at SL.

Find out more about ESS, History and Psychology on ibo.org.

Group 4 - Experimental sciences:

Chemistry (CHEM), Physics (PHYS) and Biology (BIOL). Both HL and SL available.

Environmental Systems and Societies (ESSO), an interdisciplinary Group 3 and 4 subject, is available at SL.

Find out more about ESS, Biology, Chemistry and Physics on ibo.org.

Group 5 - Mathematics

Mathematics Analysis & approaches HL/SL (MATH AA) and Mathematics Applications & interpretations HL/SL (MATS AI).

Group 6 - The arts

Visual arts (ARTS). HL and SL. Option A.

Find out more about Visual Arts here.