What Are the IB Diploma Requirements? Points, Core and Subject Groups Explained

What Are the IB Diploma Requirements? Points, Core and Subject Groups Explained

To be awarded the IB Diploma, a student must complete six subjects (normally three at Higher Level, three at Standard Level), all three core elements — Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and CAS — and reach a total score high enough to meet the IB’s award conditions, commonly cited as a minimum of 24 out of 45 points.

Key takeaways

• Six subjects across the required groups, plus TOK, the Extended Essay and CAS — miss any one of the three core elements and the diploma isn’t awarded, regardless of subject grades.

• HL subjects need 240 recommended teaching hours; SL needs 150.

• CAS has no grade attached — it’s a completion requirement, assessed as done or not done.

• The maximum score is 45 points; the commonly cited minimum to pass is 24, though exact failing conditions go beyond the raw total.

• Missing the diploma award doesn’t mean leaving empty-handed — individual subject certificates are still issued for each course completed.

What Subjects Are Compulsory for the IB Diploma?

You need one subject from each of the six groups: language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, and the arts (or a second Group 1–5 subject instead of an arts subject). Three subjects are normally taken at HL and three at SL. Our guide on choosing IB subjects — HL vs SL walks through how to actually decide which three go HL, which we won’t repeat here — this page is about what’s formally required, not how to choose.

What Are the Three Compulsory Core Elements?

Theory of Knowledge (TOK), the Extended Essay (EE) and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) are all compulsory, and none of them is optional in the way an arts subject substitution is. TOK and the EE combine to contribute up to 3 bonus points to your final score. CAS carries no points at all — it’s assessed as complete or incomplete, but an incomplete CAS record can block the diploma from being awarded even with a strong points total. [VERIFY: exact CAS completion conditions and any grace-period policy against ibo.org before stating as fact — this varies slightly by how a school’s CAS coordinator signs off.]

How Many Teaching Hours Does Each Level Require?

Level

Recommended teaching hours

Typical number of subjects

Higher Level (HL)

240 hours

3 (sometimes 4)

Standard Level (SL)

150 hours

3 (sometimes 2)

This hours figure is consistent across every DP subject brief we’ve checked — mathematics, biology and chemistry all state the same 240/150 split, which suggests it’s a fixed IB-wide rule rather than something that varies by subject.

How Many Points Do You Need to Be Awarded the Diploma?

The maximum possible score is 45 points, and the number most commonly cited as the minimum to be awarded the diploma is 24. In practice, the full award conditions are more layered than a single cutoff — there are conditions around not failing too many subjects outright and meeting a minimum combined HL/SL performance, not just clearing the 24-point bar. 

What Happens If You Don’t Meet the Diploma Requirements?

You still receive IB Course Certificates for each individual subject you completed, showing the 1–7 grade achieved — you simply aren’t awarded the combined Diploma qualification itself. This matters for university applications built around individual subject grades rather than the full diploma, which is a genuinely useful fallback rather than a “failure state” in the way it’s sometimes described.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many subjects do you need for the IB Diploma? Six — one from each of six subject groups, normally three at Higher Level and three at Standard Level.

Is CAS compulsory for the IB Diploma? Yes — CAS has no grade of its own but must be completed for the diploma to be awarded.

What is the minimum score to pass the IB Diploma? Commonly cited as 24 out of 45 points, though full award conditions involve more than the raw total alone.

Can you get the IB Diploma without a language subject? Language acquisition is one of the six compulsory groups, so a second language subject is required in almost all cases.

What happens if you don’t complete the Extended Essay? The diploma cannot be awarded without a completed and submitted Extended Essay, regardless of your six subject grades.

Do all six subjects need to be passed individually? Not necessarily zero-failure, but there are minimum-grade conditions across subjects beyond just the points total. 

Is there a way to know your requirements are met before results day? Predicted grades from your school give an early estimate, though the CAS, TOK and EE completion checks are usually confirmed by your DP coordinator well before final results.

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