A plain-English guide to the most common international school curricula, what they are, how they work, and which might suit your family best.
Curriculum guide
By Nik Higgins · Co-founder & CEO
The IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) is the IB's vocational and career-focused senior pathway, launched in 2012. Students combine two or more IB Diploma subjects with an industry-recognised career-related qualification (BTEC, City & Guilds, or similar), plus a core of Personal & Professional Skills, Language Development, Reflective Project and Service Learning. Fewer schools offer it than the Diploma Programme, but it's growing where families want a bridge between academic breadth and an applied specialism.
Students take at least two IB DP subjects (usually at SL) alongside a career-related qualification. The IBCP Core threads through both — Personal & Professional Skills, a language module, a Reflective Project on an ethical issue in their field, and Service Learning.
IBCP
The DP is broad-academic and university-general; the IBCP is applied and specialisation-first. IBCP suits students who know their direction (design, engineering, hospitality, business) and want depth in that field while still building the academic and reflective skills the DP is known for.
Is IBCP right for your child?
It tends to suit families who…
It may be less ideal if…
Common questions
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