The Scholar's Diploma

The ACS Athens Scholar's Diploma is a 4-year program

This diploma is awarded to those students who have successfully completed a combination of authentic ACS Athens honor courses, a selection of other honor courses, and a Senior Honors Research Project.  It aims to provide a holistic, meaningful and harmonious education through a wide selection of highly academic courses in order to optimize the unique academic potential of each individual student.  Assessment and grading is both internal and external (depending on the course) and is a mix of traditional and innovative assignments designed to meet the specific learning objectives and standards of each course. The Senior Honors Research/Service Project is the capstone project for those opting for the ACS Athens Scholar's Diploma. It promotes creativity, inquiry and academics and encourages each individual student to choose and focus on a topic of their choice, preparing them for College-level assessments. 

Students must select from 4 integrated interdisciplinary courses listed below. These authentic ACS Athens created courses ensure that student learning is connected across subjects. They then must mix in other honor courses to extend their learning through a variety of subjects and educational programs, which can include International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses.   It is expected that students who have successfully completed the ACS Athens Scholar's Diploma, in addition to their high academic profile, will develop skills of open-mindedness and international-mindedness as well as a strong ability to adapt to change, make academic and social connections to various subjects, and perform well in many different types of assessments.

In order to receive an ACS Athens Scholar's Diploma a student needs the following: 

1. Fourteen or more honor level credits between grades 9-12

2. A minimum of four credits of ACS Athens integrated interdisciplinary courses:

   • 9th Grade European History/Western Literature (2 credits)

   • 10th Grade American Lit/American Studies (2 credits)

   • 11th Grade  Humanities/English and Social Studies (2 credits)

   • 12th Grade Humanities/English and Social Studies (2 credits)

3. Ten or more credits in honor level courses.  Examples are: Geometry with Algebraic Topics Honors, Greek 9 Language & Literature, IB Visual Arts and AP Environmental Science.

4. Senior Honors Research/Service Project

5. Overall GPA of 3.0 

 * In order to be permitted to register for honors courses leading to the ACS Athens Scholar's Diploma, students must meet the prerequisites for each course specified in the Program of Studies.