IP Talent Domains Overview: Decoding DSA Choices for IP-Bound Students

Q: What does IP Talent Domains Overview: Decoding DSA Choices for IP-Bound Students cover?
A: A parent-friendly map of the Ministry of Education's recognised “talent domains”, how IP schools adapt them, and what each domain means for workload.

TL;DR
MOE groups Direct-School-Admission (DSA) talents into seven broad domains — Sports, Performing & Visual Arts, STEM Research, Mathematics & Science Olympiads, Language & Humanities, Leadership & Uniformed Groups, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
IP schools keep the official labels but tweak the rubrics. Understanding which domain best matches your child unlocks the right trial timeline, portfolio strategy and tuition balance — especially if you want head-room for Maths & Physics mastery.

1 | What Exactly Is a “Talent Domain”?

• A talent domain is MOE's shorthand for a basket of related CCAs, competitions and aptitudes that a school may use for early admission.
• During the May-June DSA-Sec window applicants pick up to three school + domain combinations in the online portal.
• The school then runs domain-specific trials (auditions, sports tests, coding challenges), plus a short interview.

For a full process walk-through see Direct School Admission (DSA) students in Integrated Programme schools — Things to take note of.

2 | The Seven Big Buckets (and Typical IP Tweaks)