International Baccalaureate (or its full name, International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, sometimes known as IBDP or just IB) is a Pre-University programme from Geneva, Switzerland.It prepares SPM or O-Level leavers for entry into a Degree at university.The course is approximately 24 months long, and is known to be an academically challenging and demanding course, requiring you to take a wide range of subjects across various disciplines. IB is one of the more academically-challenging programmes that is often compared to A-Level, but is viewed as more balanced and well-rounded. You will take a total of six subjects, one each from the following six broad groups: Group 1: Language and Literature (e.g. English), Group 2: Language Acquisition (e.g. Spanish, German, French), Group 3: Individuals and Societies (e.g. Economics, Geography, History), Group 4: Sciences (e.g. Biology, Chemistry, Physics), Group 5: Mathematics (e.g. Mathematics, Mathematics Studies) and Group 6: The Arts (e.g. Music, Theatre Arts, Visual Arts). Within each of the subject groups above, you have a choice of choosing either Higher Level (HL) or Standard Level (SL). Higher Level (HL) subjects normally requires more studying time (i.e. 240 hours over two years) compared to Standard Level (SL) subjects (i.e. 150 hours over two years).In total, you need to take three subjects at Higher Level (HL), and three at Standard Level (SL).