AP CAPSTONE
Explore Your Passion with AP Capstone™
AP CAPSTONE
Designed for students to become critical and ethical consumers and producers of information, AP Capstone is an advanced diploma program consisting of two sequential courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. At PVHS, each course is offered on alternating years. AP Capstone equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges and career settings. It cultivates curious and collaborative scholars and prepares them to make logical, evidence-based decisions. Both courses focus on the skills of Questioning, Understanding, Evaluating, Synthesizing, and Teamwork, Transforming and Transmitting information (QUEST).
AP Seminar is an innovative cross-curricular program that prepares students to master a wide array of soft and hard skills. It is these essential and highly transferable skills that are the focus rather than any specific content. Students research 3 topics, write 3 papers, deliver 3 oral presentations, and take an end of course AP exam. Collaboration is a cornerstone of the course.
AP Research bridges students from being consumers and analysts of information to ethical and informed producers of information, contributing to the body of knowledge within their field of study. Students formulate a driving question of interest and conduct original research to address a gap in their chosen discipline. In doing so, they produce an annotated bibliography and write a research paper with a literature review, methods, results, limitations, and discussion. Students log their work throughout the year, work with an expert mentor, and deliver an oral defense of their research. Students may work within ANY discipline, arts, humanities, social sciences, or the sciences.
To learn more about the AP Capstone program, please reach out to Ms. Lyons, Ms. Brockman, or your counselor.
This two year program now is offered in alternating years. The courses must be taken sequentially. Students, including seniors, may choose to take year 1 without year 2. Students may not enroll in year 2, AP Research without first completing AP Seminar.
2023-2024: AP Research (year 2)
2024-2025: AP Seminar (year 1)
2025-2026: AP Research (year 2)
2026-2027: AP Seminar (year 1)
2027-2028: AP Research (year 2)
2028-2029: AP Seminar (year 1)
2029-2030: AP Research (year 2)