IB Middle Years Programme (MYP)
Individuals and Societies

IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) is a program for 11–16-year-old students that provides an interdisciplinary framework in the humanities and social sciences.

What is 'Individuals and Societies' in the MYP?

This subject group has topics such as History, Geography, Economics, Global Politics, Sociology, and many more. It develops skills like data collection, analysis, hypothesis testing, and interpretation of complex information, which includes primary sources.

The subject uses real-life examples and research to build the student’s understanding of the dynamics of society. It provides the tools for analyzing and evaluating the factors influencing the individual, community, and the environment.

Why is 'Individuals and Societies' Important?

It develops respect for and understanding of the world through the interactions between historical, political, social, cultural, economic, and environmental factors. It develops skills in these areas:

Investigate problems from local, national, and global perspectives

Examine how the individual interacts with society through space and time.

Promote reflective inquiry into different contexts and disciplines

Empower students and teachers to meaningfully grapple with contemporary issues and opportunities of globalization.

How is it Structured in the MYP?

The Syllabus is structured to truly ensure that students receive a well-rounded and balanced education; schools can structure ‘Individuals and Societies’ courses in several different ways:

Discrete Courses

Focus on one of these disciplines :

World History
Geography
Economics
Business Management
Psychology

Students receive separate grades for each discipline they take.

Modular Courses

Study several disciplines at once.
Students are graded holistically on the total study of ‘Individuals and Societies’.
This flexible framework allows schools to flex the subject into whatever is most timely for their setting without losing the rigour and depth of the IB framework.

Becoming Global Thinkers

The Individuals and Societies curriculum develops students’ ability to think critically, respect diverse perspectives, and engage with the challenges shaping our interconnected world.

Topics dealt with in MYP individuals and societies on-screen assessments include:

• demographics and human movements • Settlement and urban morphology • Superpowers, empires, and supra-national alliances and organizations • Influential people • War and peacekeeping • Rights and social protest • Trade, aid and exchange • Economic agents and their interests and role in the economy: consumers, producers, governments, banks • measurements and trends • industrialization and technological developments.