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through careful management. Through the DP Geography course, students study topics such as populations, disparities in development, and managing scarce resources such as oil, fish, fresh water, tropical rainforests and coral reefs. Issues such as global climate change, peak oil, soil degradation and overpopulation are also studied. Sustainability is an overarching theme that runs through the entire course. Students also develop their international mindedness by looking at these topics and issues from different perspectives. This wide-ranging subject gives students a multi-disciplinary understanding of the world, which is a great foundation for any tertiary course.
Economics DP Economics allows students to engage in a strong investigation of the core components of the field. Within the course, students cover topics including microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics and development economics. The course is firmly rooted within the social sciences, as its main goal is to try and better understand and predict human behaviour. While many would assume that economics only focuses on business and financial decisions, this is not the case. Economics aims to understand causal relationships between behaviours, striving to more accurately predict what incentives will entice certain behaviours. For example, some ideas explored in the course include why people are driven to crime, what causes some to be lazy while others are motivated, what is behind the decisions we are constantly making, and how can one make the world a better place. Therefore, DP Economics students not only learn about markets and base level economics, but are also pushed to become more inquisitive and ask the larger questions surrounding why people behave as they do. Those who choose to pursue further study in economics may find themselves working in career fields such as education (both secondary and post secondary), conducting economic forecasting for an institution, practicing law, working for a vast array of NGOs, working in financial markets, entrepreneurship and business ownership, hospitality management, government and city planning, chief administrative roles (CEOs, CFOs, COOs), researching for a think tank or government sponsored research SHI JIE MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2015
organisation, working with the World Bank, the IMF, or the UN, among others. Economics is a widely adaptable field that can likely, fit within or complement the majority of career paths. It is viewed as a solid foundation for post-graduate study into anything science or social science related.
Psychology Do people fascinate you? Do you want to understand yourself and others? Then Psychology might be something for you. Psychology is the science that focuses on what really goes on inside people’s minds and how this influences behaviour. Everything that relates to people, animals and behaviour is Psychology. It is impossible for a two-year course to cover everything that is intriguing about this subject, but students get an understanding of it. DP Psychology students learn about important landmark studies and cases, such as the man who lost his ability to remember, the boy who was raised as a girl, and how a monkey reacts when he gets cucumbers instead of grapes. Students also learn the biological, cognitive, social and cultural perspectives in Psychology. Depending on whether the course is taken at Standard or Higher Level, students also study one or two specialised fields — human relationships and abnormal psychology. Psychology is an obvious choice if one wants to become a psychologist, but all other
career paths can benefit from studying it. Studying Psychology helps students improve their empathy and interpersonal skills, which are valuable skills in nearly every job today. Psychology is also a science. DP students study research methodology and even conduct a psychological experiment. All other assessments require short answer responses or academic writing. Therefore, Psychology also improves students’ critical thinking skills, offering greater perspective and stimulating the intellect.
History History is more than the study of the past. It is the process of recording, reconstructing and interpreting the past through the investigation of a variety of sources. The DP History course is framed, as much as possible, around our students and their place in the world. This mean we concentrate on Asian, European and American histories, predominantly in the 20th Century. The DP History course encourages an understanding of the present through critical reflection upon the past. The aim is for each student to develop and awareness of one’s own historical identity through the study of Historical experiences of different cultures. Students develop analytical and critical thinking skills, as well the skills needed to construct well-informed and structured essays. These are all transferable skills that could lead to a number of possible careers fields ranging from political science to law.
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