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The IB Learner Profile: What Are the 10 Attributes?

The IB Learner Profile has 10 attributes, from Inquirers to Reflective. Here's what each one means and how it shows up in your CAS, TOK and EE work.

The IB Learner Profile: What Are the 10 Attributes?

The IB Learner Profile: What Are the 10 Attributes?

The IB Learner Profile is a set of 10 attributes — Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced and Reflective — that describe the kind of learner the IB aims to develop across all of its programmes, including the Diploma Programme.

Key takeaways

  • There are 10 Learner Profile attributes, shared across all IB programmes from age 3 through to Diploma Programme graduation.

  • None of the 10 attributes is separately examined or graded — they’re developed and demonstrated through your actual coursework, especially CAS.

  • The Learner Profile shows up most concretely in CAS reflections, TOK discussions, and university recommendation letters written by IB coordinators.

  • Schools and universities sometimes ask about the Learner Profile directly in interviews, so being able to give a real example for two or three attributes is worth preparing.

What Is the IB Learner Profile?

The Learner Profile is the IB’s description of the attitudes and skills it wants every student to develop, regardless of which of the IB’s four programmes they’re in or which subjects they study. It isn’t a checklist you tick off or a grade you receive — it’s a shared vocabulary that shows up in how CAS activities are reflected on, how TOK discussions are framed, and how IB coordinators write university recommendation letters.

What Are the 10 IB Learner Profile Attributes?

Each of the 10 attributes describes a specific way of thinking or behaving that the IB expects its programmes to develop over time, not a trait you either have or don’t.

Attribute

What it means

Inquirers

Curious, and able to research and learn independently

Knowledgeable

Explores ideas across disciplines with depth, not just breadth

Thinkers

Applies critical and creative thinking to solve complex problems

Communicators

Expresses ideas confidently in more than one language and listens to others

Principled

Acts with integrity, honesty and a strong sense of fairness

Open-minded

Seeks and considers other perspectives, including different cultures

Caring

Shows empathy and acts to make a positive difference to others

Risk-takers

Approaches unfamiliar situations with resourcefulness and resilience

Balanced

Manages academic, physical and emotional wellbeing together

Reflective

Thoughtfully considers their own learning and experience

 

How Is the Learner Profile Used in the IB Diploma Programme?

It’s woven through the three core elements rather than tested on its own: CAS reflections are explicitly meant to reference which attributes a given activity developed, TOK discussions are framed around open-mindedness and critical thinking, and your Extended Essay supervisor is likely to reference attributes like “inquirer” or “reflective” in their supervisor comments. It doesn’t affect your subject grades or your 45-point score directly, but IB coordinators frequently draw on it when writing your university recommendation, so having concrete examples ready matters more than it might seem. None of the six subjects or the diploma’s formal requirements reference it explicitly either — it sits alongside them as a shared framework rather than a graded component.

How Do You Reflect on the Learner Profile for CAS?

  1. Pick one CAS activity (or a small number) you’ve actually completed — reflections work far better grounded in something specific than something generic.

  2. Choose one or two Learner Profile attributes that genuinely apply, rather than trying to cover several at once.

  3. Describe a specific moment where you noticed yourself acting on that attribute — a decision you made, a mistake you corrected, a perspective you changed.

  4. Explain what you’d do differently next time. Reflective writing that ends at “I learned X” without a forward-looking next step is the single most common reason CAS reflections get sent back for revision.

Common Mistakes Students Make With the Learner Profile

The most frequent one is using all 10 attributes at once in a CAS reflection or interview answer, which reads as generic rather than considered — naming one or two attributes with a real example is far more convincing than listing all ten. A second is only ever engaging with the Learner Profile inside CAS reflections and forgetting it’s meant to describe how you approach TOK and your subjects too. A third, more practical mistake: misquoting the attribute names (it’s “Risk-takers” and “Open-minded,” not “Risk-taker” or “Open-Minded”) in formal written reflections that get reviewed by a coordinator — small, but worth getting right. If you’re building out your CAS portfolio or Extended Essay timeline, it’s worth mapping it against the specific demands of your six IB Diploma Programme subjects rather than a generic two-year calendar.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many IB Learner Profile attributes are there? Ten: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced and Reflective.

Is the Learner Profile graded in the IB Diploma? No — it doesn’t carry a mark of its own, but it’s referenced throughout CAS reflections, TOK, and coordinator recommendation letters.

Do all IB programmes use the same Learner Profile? Yes, the same 10 attributes apply across the IB’s Primary Years, Middle Years, Diploma and Career-related Programmes.

Which Learner Profile attribute is most important for CAS? None is weighted above the others officially — reflections work best when grounded in one or two genuinely demonstrated attributes rather than trying to cover all ten.

Can universities ask about the Learner Profile in interviews? Yes, some admissions interviewers reference it directly, so having a specific example ready for two or three attributes is useful preparation.

Where does the Learner Profile appear outside of CAS? In Extended Essay supervisor comments, TOK discussion framing, and IB coordinator recommendation letters to universities.

Is “Risk-taker” or “Risk-takers” the correct IB wording? The IB’s own phrasing uses “Risk-takers,” plural — a small detail worth getting right in formal reflections.

Written by sortmyprep | Reviewed by IB Examiner | Last updated: 15 September, 2026