What are they?
Group 3 subjects are what the IB refers to ‘Individuals and Societies’. The name actually does a pretty good job of explaining what they are: subjects about the people who make us this world.
The courses are designed to give you a chance to explore a number of really interesting things, for example:
- human experience and behaviour
- the varieties of physical, economic and social environments that people inhabit
- the history of social and cultural institutions.
They are also a great platform to develop your ability to look critically at the world we live in.
At present the IB has 10 subjects which (depending on your school) you can take. You therefore have loads of choice!
The subjects currently available are:
- business management
- economics
- geography
- global politics
- history
- information technology in a global society
- philosophy
- psychology
- social and cultural anthropology
- world religions (SL only).
How do I pick one?
When it comes to picking a group 4 subject, there are a number of things to keep in mind.
Firstly: how keen are you when it comes to writing essays? Some group 3 subjects (history, for example) require a lot of essay writing. Others, such as economic, are more maths based, so have more problems than essays. While you are not going to get away with writing no essays for the group, it’s worth thinking about which subject would suit your favourite style of examintion best.
Secondly: what are you really interested in? I really like the group 3 subject range, because it deliberately covers lots of different angles of human society. Do a little bit of research and see which subject looks most fun to you!
How are they assessed?
Because there is such a diverse range of subjects, the way these subjects are assessed tends to differ. Most of them have a mixture of exams and coursework, with Higher Level taking an extra module.
Need some more help?
Why not check out Lanterna’s Pre-IB summer course, or our Online Private Tuition for some more support?
