International Baccalaureate Diploma Program
City Honors is home to one of the oldest IB Diploma Programs in the United States and was New York State’s first IB Diploma Program outside of the New York Metro area.
Introduction to the IB Diploma Program at City Honors Video
Class of 2028 IB DP Application - due to the IB Office on Friday, February 13, 2026
Two year course of study - what a typical schedule looks like for Diploma Candidates vs. Course Candidates at City Honors
IB DP Course Planning Doc - gives extra detailed information for those planning to be full IB Diploma Program Candidates
The Diploma Program services juniors and seniors in high school. IB Diploma Candidates at City Honors take three IB Higher Level (HL) courses (240 course hours) and three IB Standard Level (SL) courses (150 course hours).
In addition to this requirement, students must take one course from each of the five IB subject area groups and one elective course from Groups 1-4. At City Honors, all IB Diploma candidates take IB English A: Language & Literature HL, IB History of the Americas HL (year one of IB History is co-seated with AP US History & Government) and one of our three HL science courses (Physics, Biology, or ESS). They all also take one of our two Mathematics SL courses and one of our three Language Acquisition courses. They then choose one SL elective.
You can read about the differences between Higher Level (HL) and Standard Level (SL)
Group 1 Studies in Language & Literature (English A: Language & Literature; Group 2 Language Acquisition (French B SL, Spanish B SL, Mandarin B SL); Group 3 Individuals and Societies (History of the Americas HL); Group 4 Sciences (Physics HL, Biology HL, or ESS HL); Group 5 Mathematics (Mathematics Analysis & Approaches SL or Mathematics Applications & Interpretation); Electives (Economics SL or Business Management SL).
The two-year IB courses at City Honors are (click on the links to read IB's subject brief for that particular subject):
The one-year IB classes at City Honors are (click on the links to read IB's subject brief for that particular subject):
**Here is a chart comparing our two IB DP mathematics courses.**
In addition to the balance between the humanities and sciences, the IB Diploma Program includes three core requirements: TOK, CAS, & the Extended Essay.
TOK guide: Theory of Knowledge (TOK): is an interdisciplinary course designed to provide coherence by exploring the nature of knowledge across disciplines, encouraging an appreciation of other cultural perspective
Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS): encourages students to be involved in artistic pursuits, sports, and community service work, thus fostering students’ awareness and appreciation of life outside the academic arena. The goal is to participate an hour or two a week in CAS - with there being a balance between the three strands by the end of the program. Reflection on CAS experiences is a key element of completing this requirement.
Extended Essay (EE): is an up to 4,000 word college-level analytical research paper. It offers the opportunity to investigate a topic of individual interest, and acquaints students with the independent research and writing skills expected in college.
The rigor of the IB Diploma Program is recognized by the world’s leading universities and IB Diploma Candidates are accepted into colleges and universities at higher rates than those who are not.
Our candidates go on to attend such colleges and universities as: Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Penn, Princeton, Cornell, Brown, Howard, NYU, SUNY Potsdam's Honors Program and the University at Buffalo Honor’s College.
How the IB Diploma Program works at City Honors.
The program not only prepares students for the academic challenges of college, but it also gives them a chance to receive college credit, provided they do well enough on the assessments. Many of our graduates have received 18-36 college credits for their IB Diploma and sophomore standing. This can directly translate into monetary savings because enough credit can be gained to eliminate an entire year of college.
The best way to find out if a college/university accepts IB credits is to perform a web search for the college/university name along with "international baccalaureate." This search will almost always bring up the page where this information can be accessed.
Resources
US News article from December 2019 comparing AP and IB
The International Baccalaureate recently performed a study on the long-term effects of IB on those who participated in the program
2018 report on acceptance rate of full IB DP students to the top 25 universities in the USA
Check out IB's Blog for info on the myriad of ways the IB Diploma Program impacts students
Article on AP vs IB: A Practical Comparison from the American Foreign Service Association.
IB's brochure on "Understanding the IB Diploma Program scores"
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