History HL – for the IB Diploma Programme
Exam structure at a glance for History HL (IB Diploma Programme): every paper with its time, marks and weighting, plus the links you need.
- Board
- International Baccalaureate
- Level
- Higher level (HL)
- Grades
- 7-1
- First exams
- 2028
- Exam papers
- 3
- Last checked
- 2026-10-20
Plan the whole year: open this course in the Year Planner – every lesson dated around your term dates, with a coverage check. Free.
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Papers and weightings
| Paper | Time | Marks | Weight | What it is (our summary) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: Paper 1 | 1 h 15 min | 24 | 20% | |
| Paper 2: Paper 2 | 1 h 45 min | 25 | 25% | |
| Paper 3: Paper 3 (HL only) | 2 h | 30 | 35% | |
| Internal assessment: Historical investigation Non-exam assessment | not stated | 24 | 20% | Historical investigation marked by the teacher and moderated by the IB; about 20 hours of class time. |
Times are exam lengths; weightings are shares of the whole subject grade. Summaries are in our own words.
Good to know
- Grades: 7-1
- Exam series: May and November
- Recommended teaching hours: 240
- Coursework: internal assessment (marked by the teacher, moderated by the IB)
- New course, first assessment 2028 (so for the September 2026 cohort). May 2025 entries are for the previous course.
- first_teaching is first_exam minus 2 (the DP is a two-year course).
- Exam series May and November is general IB practice; check the IB assessment calendar for this subject.
Official documents and past papers
Facts checked against: ibo.org, ibo.org.
More packs
This work has been developed independently from and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. International Baccalaureate, Baccalauréat International, Bachillerato Internacional and IB are registered trademarks owned by the International Baccalaureate Organization.
Exam details checked against the IB subject brief or guide on 2026-10-20. Always check the current version on the IB website. We store facts only (codes, papers, times, marks, weightings) with summaries in our own words; no syllabus, guide or paper text is reproduced, and past papers are linked, never re-hosted.
Classfern is not affiliated with or endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization.
Questions teachers ask
How long are the History HL exams?
Paper 1: 1 h 15 min; Paper 2: 1 h 45 min; Paper 3: 2 h.