IB World Schools: A Source Guide for EdTech Teams

An IB World School is a school formally authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) to deliver at least one of its four programmes. Authorization is not a free affiliation — it is a multi-year process that requires a head-of-school commitment, programme coordinators, faculty professional development, fee payment, a candidate-school evaluation, and a final authorization visit. Once authorized, every IB World School is listed on the public Find an IB School directory, searchable by country, region, programme, school type, and language of instruction. As of 2025, the network covers approximately 5,800 schools across more than 160 countries.

Two important nuances most directories miss. First, 'IB World School' is a school-level designation, not a curriculum-level one — a school authorized for the Diploma Programme (DP) is an IB World School whether or not it also runs the Primary Years Programme (PYP) or the Middle Years Programme (MYP). Second, authorization is programme-by-programme. A school can be PYP-authorized while running an MYP candidacy, or run DP without ever offering PYP. For vendors, that distinction shapes which buyer role to contact and which campaign wedge applies. See the IB coordinator role page for the role-level breakdown.

The IBO offers four programmes, and which ones a school is authorized for tells you almost everything about its buying committee. Per IBO programme overview, the four are:

PYP (Primary Years Programme): ages 3–12. Inquiry-led, transdisciplinary. Strongest fit for early-years platforms, parent-engagement tools, and inquiry-based curriculum vendors. Programme is led by a PYP coordinator.

MYP (Middle Years Programme): ages 11–16. Concept-driven, eight subject groups, optional MYP eAssessment. Strongest fit for assessment platforms, formative-feedback tools, and digital portfolios. Programme is led by an MYP coordinator.

DP (Diploma Programme): ages 16–19. The classic IB — six subjects, Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay, CAS. The DP at a glance page lists the assessment model. Strongest fit for university-prep, exam-prep, ManageBac alternatives, and DP-specific subject resources. Programme is led by a DP coordinator.

CP (Career-related Programme): ages 16–19. The newest and smallest programme — combines DP courses with career-related study. See IBO CP overview. Strongest fit for vocational-pathway, industry-credential, and apprenticeship-aligned vendors. Programme is led by a CP coordinator.

For Gulf-region examples of how programme stripe maps to real account targeting, compare the Dubai IB schools market map and the Abu Dhabi IB schools market map, or step out to the broader UAE international schools page.

Becoming an IB World School is a multi-year commitment. The Programme Standards and Practices document is the canonical reference; the high-level shape is roughly as follows. A school first registers as an Interested School, completes a self-study, and decides whether to apply for candidacy. Candidacy typically runs 1.5–3 years and requires a programme coordinator, a head-of-school commitment, a defined budget, faculty PD aligned to IB pedagogy, and an annual fee. The IBO conducts a verification visit, and if successful, authorizes the school. Authorization is then renewed via a programme evaluation every five years.

Each phase is a distinct vendor moment. SchoolIntel watches all of them:

Vendors who treat IB as 'just another curriculum' lose IB schools. The differences are operational, not just pedagogical, and they shape what tools fit. For broader market context on how IB sits alongside other curricula in international cities, see the Dubai British schools page and the Dubai American schools page:

vs A-Level (UK / British international): A-Level is subject-specialist — three subjects in depth, terminal exams. DP is six subjects + Theory of Knowledge + Extended Essay + CAS. A-Level vendors selling into a British school often need to add a DP-specific narrative for any school that runs both. Reference Cambridge International for the parallel A-Level / IGCSE pathway.

vs AP (American): AP is à-la-carte college-credit. DP is a coherent two-year diploma. AP-focused vendors (e.g. course-by-course exam prep) need a different shape for DP — internal assessment support, IA moderation, EE coaching. American + IB DP overlap is common, especially in continental Europe and the Gulf.

vs national curricula: PYP and MYP often sit alongside national requirements (e.g. France, Spain, India, UAE). Schools must reconcile two reporting standards, two assessment calendars, and two parent communication patterns. Vendors with bilingual / dual-curriculum reporting features have outsized fit here.

Most IB schools have a layered buying committee. The single biggest vendor mistake is sending PYP-relevant outreach to a DP coordinator (or worse, a generic 'principal' contact). Each role has a different mandate, calendar, and budget signal:

The Find an IB School directory is parent-facing by design — built to help families find an IB school nearby, not to help vendors build target lists. With a few rules of interpretation, it becomes the cleanest single starting universe for any IB-focused account map. Filters available include country, region (IB Africa-Europe-Middle East / Asia-Pacific / Americas), programme, school type (state, private), language of instruction, and gender. The export is not directly downloadable, but every school links to its IBO profile page, which lists authorized programmes, language(s) of instruction, and the start dates of each authorization.

What to read into each row, beyond the obvious:

Everything on this page is technically buildable from public sources. The IBO directory, school websites, hiring boards, accreditor reports, association calendars, and group press pages are all reachable. The honest question is whether the integration, normalization, and freshness work is more expensive than the data itself. For most EdTech teams, it is. Two paths: