The international baccalaureate (IB) program at Mission Bay High School is now in its fifth year, has 19 senior candidates and 160 to 170 students overall taking IB courses. “The courses are integrated for every student anywhere in the world who is an IB candidate who takes the “Theory of Knowledge” class, which contains the philosophy of the program,” said Sam Sample, MBHS IB senior advisor. The current 19 senior candidates are working on their extended essay to obtain an IB diploma. “The extended essay is a 3,000 to 4,000 word essay that each IB candidate has to write in order to get an IB diploma and each student can choose the topic and question of their essay,” according to IB candidate and MBHS senior Bret Linley. Linley’s extended essay is a comparison of the TV series “Game of Thrones” to English history and how it affected the writing of the show. Senior Alex Biggers is writing his essay on “American Protectionism” and whether or not it helped cause the Great Depression in the 1930s. Darren Fennell’s topic is an analysis on the “Space Race” between the U.S. and USSR in the 1950s and 1960s and how America overcame an initial disadvantage in the race. Jordan Patterson, meanwhile, is researching communism in North Korea and how it compares to true Marxism, while Emily Newell’s essay is about how dogs can be bred into so many different variations. The IB program is an internationally recognized curriculum that offers 11th- and 12th- grade students the opportunity to earn an IB diploma, which can get the student into college. The program consists of six core subjects: Language (native), second language, individuals and societies (economics, geography and history), mathematics/computer science and arts (music, theatre, visual arts, film). It is now in nearly 3,500 schools, 143 countries with includes more than one million students, according to 2012 data. The IB curriculum is divided into three levels: primary years program (PYP) for ages 3 to 11, middle years program (MYP) for ages 11 to 16 and international baccalaureate diploma program (IBDP) for ages 16 to 19.