Anticipated (A) category

Any subject at SL may be taken as an anticipated subject, except for language ab initio subjects and pilot subjects.

An anticipated category candidate cannot register to take any of the core elements—extended essay (EE), theory of knowledge (TOK) or creativity, activity, service (CAS).

An anticipated candidate may register for additional subjects, but these cannot contribute to the award of the diploma. An additional subject can be taken at either SL or HL, but the candidate must still have received tuition for the recommended 150 hours (SL) or 240 hours (HL). It is not permitted to register for any core elements (EE, TOK, CAS) as an additional subject.

Some subject prohibitions also apply to course candidates. Refer to section “C1.4” (Before Registration: Exceptions and prohibitions) for further information.

Diploma (D) category

There are no restrictions on the number of examination sessions for a candidate to achieve the diploma.

A diploma session candidate may also register for an additional subject (or subjects) that does not contribute to the award of the diploma.

A diploma session candidate may also register for an additional extended essay. Only one extended essay can contribute to the requirements of the diploma: this must be indicated during the registration process.

Any additional extended essays must be registered as an additional subject. Completing an additional extended essay would increase the workload of a diploma candidate and should, therefore, only be pursued if it is an essential requirement for the candidate’s own purposes (for example, for university entrance).

A diploma candidate may not register for TOK and/or CAS as additional subjects.

Retake (R) category

There are two kinds of retake candidate.

• A candidate who is retaking one or more diploma subjects six months after their previous diploma session.

• A candidate who is retaking one or more diploma subjects 12 months or more after their diploma session.

In both cases, the responsibilities of the school are the same. For further details of the particular regulations and deadlines that apply to candidates who are retaking a subject or subjects after six months, refer to section “C2.5”. (Candidate Retaking one or more subjects)

A candidate taking a subject again may carry over their result for a non-examination component, providing there have been no significant changes to the curriculum and/or assessment requirements. Please refer to section “C2.5.3” (Candidate Retaking one or more subjects) for further information.

A candidate in their retake session may register for an additional subject (or subjects) and/or EE(s) that do not contribute to the award of the diploma. Any additional EEs must be registered as an additional subject. A retake candidate may not register for TOK and/or CAS as additional subjects.

Course (C) category

There is no limit to the number of times a subject can be taken again by a course candidate. If a course candidate registers for the same subject again, the course category is used, rather than the retake category. A candidate taking a subject again may carry over their result for a non-examination component, providing there have been no significant changes to the curriculum and/or assessment requirements. Please refer to section “C2.5.3” ( Candidate Retaking one or more subjects) for further information.

Course candidates can be registered and assessed for TOK and/or an EE; there is no restriction on the number of EEs a course candidate may register for in one session. Course candidates can also pursue the CAS requirement of the DP and will have this requirement shown on their IB Diploma Programme Course Results if the CAS element is completed.

Some subject prohibitions also apply to course candidates. Refer to section “C1.4” (Before Registration: Exceptions and prohibitions) for further information.

Conversion from anticipated to course category

A candidate who takes a subject as an anticipated category candidate, but who does not register for the remaining subjects required to complete their diploma one year later, will have the result of their anticipated category subject converted to a course category result. However, the result cannot later be converted back in a subsequent session. Course category results are sent to the school a year after the anticipated category session has taken place.

Early-session candidates

The anticipated category must be used for early-session candidates, that is, candidates taking a subject six months before their main session because the subject is not available in the school’s main session (see section “C2.9” Candidate Registration and Entries for details).

IBIS will generate registration status codes for early-session registrations. The codes will be removed soon after the registration deadline. However, if a coordinator would prefer that the codes are removed sooner, a request should be emailed to IB Answers at support@ibo.org.

Transfer candidates

Anticipated subjects can only contribute to a diploma if taken one year before the diploma session (excluding instances where the anticipated category is used for early-session candidates).

An exception is normally possible when a candidate transfers from one IB World School to another during their course of study where the new school enters candidates for a different examination session. See section “C2.10” Candidate Registration and Entries for further details.

Replacing or retaking an anticipated subject

A candidate sitting their diploma session may replace an anticipated category subject with a different subject. They may also change a subject from SL to HL. In these circumstances, ensure that the original subject is excluded by unticking the “Include” box when registering the candidate.

However, if a candidate decides to retake the same anticipated subject with the aim of achieving a higher grade, the subject should not be excluded when registering the candidate. If the same subject/level/response language is retaken, the higher of the two grades will contribute towards the diploma.

It is not permitted to retake an anticipated subject six months after the anticipated session. In other words, a retake session cannot follow an anticipated session.

Implications of the school’s choice of main examination session

During the authorization process, a school intending to offer the DP must decide whether its main examination session will be in May or November each year. This choice is important as it has implications, and limits the opportunities for candidate registration in the session that is not the main session of the school.

A school that has May as its main examination session cannot enter anticipated (A), diploma (D) or course (C) candidates in the November session.

Similarly, a school that has November as its main examination session cannot enter anticipated (A), diploma (D) or course (C) candidates in the May session.

However, there are exceptions to this restriction on registering candidates.

The anticipated (A) category must be used in the session that is not the school’s main session when registering diploma candidates for a subject that is neither automatically available nor a special request subject for the school’s main session. For example, this includes a language ab initio subject that is not available for the school’s main session. (For further information see section “C2.9” Candidate Registration and Entries)

A school may register course (C) candidates in the session that is not the school’s main session for a subject that is neither automatically available nor a special request subject for the school’s main session.

A school may register course (C) candidates in the session that is not the school’s main session in order for candidates to retake one or more subjects after six months. The course (C) registration category is used for this purpose, rather than the retake (R) category. The candidate must have taken the same subject in a previous examination session.