How does Knowledge Integration align with the International Baccalaureate?
Knowledge Integration offers a 4-year Honours degree that equips you with a wide breadth of knowledge and skills that are essential for working in a variety of fields. In many ways, KI is a natural extension of the IB programme. Much like IB, KI allows you to take courses across the arts and sciences, and provides a strong core curriculum that teaches students how to integrate what they’re learning.
You will have the chance to build on your TOK experience during KI’s second-year core courses, which explore diverse ways of knowing, examine what it takes to be an interdisciplinary expert, and empower students to build more self-awareness. These courses (INTEG 220 / INTEG 221) were designed by faculty member Dr. Katie Plaisance, herself a former IB student!
You can check them out here:
Be ready for anything with IB & KI
KI equips students with highly transferable skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and real-world problem-solving. Students can also specialize in one or more disciplines of their choosing through minors and specializations. As a result, our graduates enter the workforce with knowledge and skills that are in high demand by employers in multiple sectors.
KI also offers students a supportive environment, with a tight-knit community and small classes. We attract students who are curious, creative, and want the flexibility to study their many interests. Not surprisingly, many KI students are IB graduates themselves!
After completing the IB program, I wanted to continue to study multiple topics rather than being forced to specialize in only one of my interests. I found KI shared a lot of the same values as my IB experience: a close supportive community, the opportunity to pursue many subjects, developing awareness about personal biases and acknowledging diverse perspectives, and an ability to go on and study/work in many different fields!
IB transfer courses
As an IB student, you may be eligible for one or more transfer credits! These courses transfer to your university transcript, and can even fulfill some of Knowledge Integration's breadth requirements.
As a rule of thumb, transfer credits are awarded for Higher Level (HL) courses completed with a final grade of 5 or higher. The following courses may be applied to your KI degree:
| Higher level course with grade 5+ | Waterloo course equivalent | KI degree requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and the Extended Essay with a minimum grade of B (good) | PHIL 1XX |
Elective (PHIL 1XX is not equivalent to KI's core course PHIL 145) |
|
Biology |
BIOL 239, BIOL 130L | Natural/Physical Science breadth requirement |
| Chemistry | CHEM 120 & CHEM 120L, or CHEM 123 & CHEM 123L | Natural/Physical Science breadth requirement |
| English | ENGL1XX | English breadth requirement |
| French | FR 1XX | 2nd Language breadth requirement |
| Other languages | See full list | 2nd Language breadth requirement |
.
Other IB courses can count towards your KI electives: refer to the full list of eligible IB transfer credits at the University of Waterloo.
Learn more about where KI can take you!
Information for IB coordinators
Are you in a student-facing role and know students who would be interested by Knowledge Integration? The program may be of interest to students who want to (a) study multiple subjects simultaneously, (b) pursue a joint degree with another discipline while developing key transferable skills needed for the workforce, and/or (c) explore a broad range of topics.
We've developed the resources below to help you share information with your students:
- KI Brochure: gain a high-level overview of the program
- KI Alumni Experiences Brochure: discover what our KI alumni do after graduation
- Email Template for IB Students: share KI with your students!
- International Student Information: if you're based out of Canada
If you have questions about our program, or if you have students who would like to learn more, please don't hesitate to contact us at ki@uwaterloo.ca.