IB world schools are educational institutes that offer International Baccalaureate (IB) courses to their students. IB programs were first established in 1968 by educators in Geneva, Switzerland. IB world schools are authorized to conduct courses, which fall under six categories under the IB curriculum.
Educators are required to work closely with an IB consultant before qualifying their school as an IB World School. The process involves schools submitting an application of candidacy, which outlines a school’s commitment toward upholding the IB world school standards, along with legal school documentation and budget breakdowns. The school submits the relevant documents to IB with an application fee. The IB team subsequently works with the school to offer feedback on their application while offering support throughout their candidacy. Schools are charged a yearly candidate fee during this period.
During the candidacy, schools will receive consultation from the IB team through a set number of remote sessions and site visits. A comprehensive report is prepared by the IB team at the end of a candidacy period, which assesses the level of preparedness before IB world school authorization. Once a candidate school is ready, an application for authorization is submitted to the IB in finalizing the process.
Once the application is accepted, IB will conduct a verification school visit by experienced educators from the IB educator network (IBEN). The verification visit is followed up with a detailed report on the findings of the team. If there are no further matters to be addressed, the Director-General of the IB team authorizes the educational institute to teach all relevant IB subjects.
Schools that are authorized by the IB international board are officially recognized as IB world schools.
IB’s strict application process ensures that vigorous international standards are satisfied regardless of where a world school is situated. As of 2020, there are over 5,000 IB world schools across more than 150 countries.