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AP Capstone

St. Andrew’s College offers students the challenge of the innovative AP Capstone program, which combines the exploration of themes and ideas through dialogue with research and writing.

Over two years, qualified senior students engage in collaborative learning to develop critical thinking, analytical research, problem-solving, and communication skills through interdisciplinary learning. This challenging program allows students to question, understand, evaluate arguments and credibility of sources, and synthesize perspectives collaboratively. The benefits include the application of these skills across the curriculum, allowing them to deepen their passion for learning and amass a broader awareness and appreciation of the world around them.

By the end of the program, students evolve into scholars ready for the rigours of university-level academia.

Obtaining the AP Capstone Diploma

Students are capable of earning the AP Capstone Diploma or an AP Seminar & Research Certificate.

To earn the diploma, the student must score 3 or higher in both the AP Capstone courses and on four additional AP exams of their choosing. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in both of the AP Capstone courses but not on the four additional AP exams will receive the AP Seminar & Research Certificate, signifying successful performances in those courses.

Multiple AP Capstone graduates have gone on to publish their research papers in the Young Researcher, a journal that offers global high school students the opportunity to submit research pieces for publication consideration with a rigorous university-level editorial board.

William Deo 17' published Twelve Shades of Green: Contrasting the Environmental Effectiveness of Power Generation Methods in 12 Developed Countries through the Lens of the Electric Vehicle.

Graduate Testimonials

The research literacy skills taught have proven to be very relevant to the work I am doing in my program. The ability to write and understand research papers, as well as critically appraise literature has also provided me with the experience needed to apply and contribute to research projects at McMaster. Overall, given the massive role that research plays in any academic environment, I would highly recommend the AP Capstone program to anyone looking to bolster their post-secondary success with basic research skills.
Eric Asgari ’17
McMaster University
When I think about how AP Capstone has benefited me, I think not so much about newly gained knowledge, as I would about a science or history course, but rather a set of skills I can apply to any subject matter. Another significant advantage of AP Capstone was going through the full research process to complete a publishable research paper. As I move deeper into my academic career and begin researching at the university level, having a paper under my belt and having been through the process before will put me at a significant advantage.
Filip Grantcharov ’17
Stanford University
The AP Capstone program allowed us to delve deeper into important topics and critically examine many of the common assumptions, research the science, and then make new conclusions, which had to be supported by empirical evidence. It was all about adding something new to the academic body of knowledge on ways of effectively combatting one of our main global challenges - climate change.
William Deo ’17
University of Pennsylvania
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