Advanced Placement Courses
What is Advanced Placement (AP)?
Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course credit to students who obtain high scores on the examinations. The AP curriculum for each of the various subjects is created for the College Board by a panel of experts and college-level educators in that field of study.
Advanced Placement (AP) courses at MSA are not given any extra credit value for the course. Year long AP courses earn 1.00 credit. Advanced Placement is a program run by the College Board (the makers of the SAT) that allows you to take courses at your high school, which can earn you college credit and/or qualify you for more advanced classes when you begin college. When you take an AP course, you have the opportunity to take the AP Exam in that subject. AP Exams are given in May. They’re two- to three-hour tests made up of multiple-choice and free-response questions. The exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5.
Specific AP courses can be taken to meet MSA graduation requirements. Some AP courses can be taken in place of a general course at MSA (ex. AP Biology in place of Biology). Please contact your counselor to learn more on which AP courses are equivalent to the general MSA courses that are needed to meet graduation requirements.
To visit the Collegeboard website and to learn more about AP, click here.
24-25 AP Courses
AP Literature and Composition
11th-12th Grade (counts towards the 4 required credits of English)
Prerequisites: final semester 1 grade of B+ or higher in World Literature
The AP English Literature and Composition course engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected texts, students deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. Students will be expected to complete daily reading and writing assignments as well as take several AP practice tests.
AP Language and Composition
11th-12th Grade (counts towards the 4 required credits of English)
Prerequisites: final semester 1 grade of B+ or higher in World Literature
This rigorous course involves reading and writing at an advanced level and meets all of the requirements of the AP CollegeBoard as set forth in their course description. The main focus of this course is to study how the text creates meaning as students study rhetorical devices and other features of language. While nonfiction is a primary focus for this course, students may read fiction as argument. Students will also write in a variety of modes and use texts as models for their own writing. Students can take the Advanced Placement Language and Composition Exam, which is administered in the spring of each year. Students are expected to complete approximately 5-8 hours of additional work outside the classroom per week. The AP English Language and Composition exam assesses how well a student can analyze and understand the techniques used in nonfiction writing. Students need to use evidence and research to evaluate and explain their ideas and/or substantiate the claims made by the author.
AP Calculus AB
10th-12th Grade (can be taken instead of Calculus or as an elective)
Prerequisites: final semester 1 grade of B+ or higher in Precalculus or Calculus
This course is designed to introduce students to the study of calculus so that they can succeed in a traditional college level calculus course. AP Calculus AB primarily uses Calculus, Single Variable by Debra Hughes-Hallett. The AP Calculus AB test may be taken in May. Topics include: functions, derivatives, differentiation, definite integrals, integration, indefinite integrals, using derivatives and definite integrals.
AP Calculus BC
11th-12th Grade
Prerequisites: Current grade of B+ or higher in AP Calculus AB
This course is designed to introduce students to the study of calculus so that they can succeed in a traditional college level calculus course. AP Calculus BC primarily uses Calculus, Single Variable by Debra Hughes Hallett. The AP Calculus BC test may be taken in May. Topics include: all of the topics in AP Calculus AB plus Euler’s Method, L’Hospital’s Rule, derivatives of polar, parametric and vector functions, applications of integrals, integration by parts, substitution, improper integrals, logistic differential equations and using them in modeling, polynomial approximation and series, including Taylor and Maclaurin Series.
AP Statistics
10th-12th Grade
Prerequisites: S1 grade of A- or higher in Pre-Calculus or B+ or higher in Calculus/AP Calculus AB
The purpose of the AP course in Statistics is to introduce students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing and drawing conclusions from data. The course draws connections between all aspects of the statistical process, including design, analysis, and conclusions. Additionally, using the vocabulary of statistics this course will teach students how to communicate statistical methods, results, and interpretations. Students will learn how to use graphing calculators and read computer output in an effort to enhance the development of statistical understanding. AP Statistics primarily uses Practice of Statistics by Daniel Yates. Topics Include: exploring data, describing patterns and departures from patterns, sampling and experimentation, planning and conducting a study, anticipating patterns, exploring random phenomena using probability and simulation, statistical inference, estimating population parameters and testing hypotheses.
AP Computer Science Principles
10th-12th Grade
Prerequisites: Grade of B- or higher in previous year's math course. No previous coding experience required.
AP Computer Science Principles is an introductory college-level computing course that introduces students to the breadth of the field of computer science. Students learn to design and evaluate solutions and to apply computer science to solve problems through the development of algorithms and programs. They incorporate abstraction into programs and use data to discover new knowledge. Students also explain how computing innovations and computing systems—including the internet—work, explore their potential impacts, and contribute to a computing culture that is collaborative and ethical.
AP Computer Science A
11th-12th Grade
Prerequisites: AP Computer Science Principles or approval from instructor (demonstrated knowledge of coding must be shown)
AP Computer Science A introduces students to computer science through programming. Fundamental topics in this course include the design of solutions to problems, the use of data structures to organize large sets of data, the development and implementation of algorithms to process data and discover new information, the analysis of potential solutions, and the ethical and social implications of computing systems. The course emphasizes object-oriented programming and design using the Java programming language.
AP Art and Design
10th-12th Grade
Prerequisites: 1 year of High School Art, B+ or better in the class correlating to which AP portfolio you want to take and summer homework art pieces.
The course enables students to develop a body of work investigating a strong underlying visual idea in drawing, 2-D design, or 3-D design that grows out of a coherent plan of action or investigation (i.e., a “concentration”). The course enables students to develop mastery (i.e., “quality”) in concept and composition. Such conceptual variety can be demonstrated through either the use of one or the use of several media. The course emphasizes art-making as an ongoing process that involves the student in informed and critical decision making. The course includes group and individual student critiques and instructional conversations with the teacher, enabling students to learn to analyze and discuss their own artworks and those of their peers. The course teaches students to understand artistic integrity as well as what constitutes plagiarism. If students produce work that makes use of photographs, published images, and/or other artists’ works, the course teaches them how to develop their own work so that it moves beyond duplication. There is a $25.00 lab fee for this course.
AP Spanish Language and Culture
10th-12th Grade (can be taken in place of Spanish V or as an elective)
Prerequisites: Spanish V or a final S1 grade of B+ in Spanish IV
Develop your Spanish language skills and learn about the cultures in Spanish-speaking parts of the world. Practice communicating in Spanish and study real-life materials such as newspaper articles, films, music, and books. Skills include interpersonal speaking and writing, interpretive reading and listening, and presentational speaking and writing.
AP Biology
10th-12th Grade
Prerequisites: Must have successfully completed Biology
This course can be taken in place of Biology for the graduation requirement or as an elective for students in 10th-12th grade. This course is meant to be the equivalent of a two-semester college introductory biology course that covers topics of the living world at all levels of organization. Students should expect a higher workload than most classes, with 1-2 hours a night being spent on the course. Best success is seen in self-driven students with strong application skills. Students will have the opportunity to take the AP Exam in May for potential college credit.
AP Chemistry
10th-12th Grade (can be taken instead of Chemistry or as an elective)
Prerequisites: Successful completion of AP Biology or Chemistry
This course can be taken in place of Chemistry for the graduation requirement or as an elective for students in 11th-12th grade. The AP Chemistry course is designed to be the equivalent of the general chemistry course usually taken during the first college year, and uses a college level text signed out to enrolled students at the end of the prior school year. This course will prepare students for success on the May AP Chemistry Test. In addition to content work, students will complete many labs recommended by the College Board and use a Lab Notebook to submit the lab write ups for grading. This course is similar to any rigorous college science class where for every one (1) hour spent in class, a student should expect to spend 2 additional hours for homework, listening to podcasts and taking notes, and preparing/writing up labs in lab notebook.
AP Physics
11th -12th Grade (can be taken instead of Physics or as an elective)
Prerequisites: AP Biology or Chemistry
AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course. Students cultivate their understanding of physics by developing models of physical phenomena through inquiry-based investigations. Students build their understanding of physical models as they explore and solve problems in these content areas: Kinematics, Forces and Translational Dynamics, Work, Energy, and Power, Linear Momentum, Torque and Rotational Dynamics, Energy and Momentum of Rotating Systems, Oscillations and Fluids.
AP Human Geography
10th-12th Grade
Prerequisites: B or higher in high school social studies courses
The curriculum for this two-semester course consists of topics drawn from eight interrelated units of study outlined in the AP Human Geography Course Description booklet published by the College Board. The purpose of the course is to utilize geographic processes to systematically study and understand geographic foundations, population and migration, cultural patterns and processes (including religion, language, and society), political patterns, agriculture and rural land-use, cities and urbanization, and economic development of nations. This class introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and organization of the earth. Students will employ spatial concepts, research, group activities, GIS and other technologies, and landscape analysis to examine human organization of space. This AP Human Geography class teaches spatial relationships at different scales ranging from local to global.
AP Psychology
11th-12th Grade
Prerequisites: must have passed either Biology or AP Biology, Chemistry or AP Chemistry, Ancient World History, and Modern World History. Summer homework also required.
The AP Psychology course is designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Students are exposed to the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. They also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice. Units of study include Scientific Foundations of Psychology, Biological Bases of Behavior, Sensation and Perception, Learning, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Motivation, Emotion, and Personality, Clinical Psychology, and Social Psychology. Within this course, there is a focus throughout on the changing nature of psychology as a field, as well as how research and other disciplines, such as neuroscience, are shaping our understanding of humans and behavior.
AP US History
11th-12th Grade (can be taken instead of American History or as an elective)
Prerequisites: B or higher in high school social studies courses
The Advanced Placement U.S. History course is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in U.S. history. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses.
