AP Capstone lets students design their own path by choosing any four AP courses offered at Millard West. Across the STEM and Humanities fields, students tailor their diploma experience with classes that genuinely spark their interest. Applying the learning from them in the AP Seminar and AP Research curriculum, students master the academic research process, ultimately producing a doctoral-level paper and oral defense worthy of publication.  

Students must earn a 3 or higher on AP Exams to earn an AP Capstone diploma.  Explore AP Course offerings

AP SEMINAR (10 Credits)

 Description: AP Seminar engages students in exploring academic and real-world topics by looking through a lens of multiple perspectives utilizing different mediums and sources of information. Students will learn how to synthesize information from multiple sources, develop their own insights in written work, and design and deliver oral and visual presentations, both individually and as part of a collaborative team. Students will complete the class with enhanced skills in evaluation and synthesizing information through an evidenced based approach. 

Prerequisites: None 

Assessment Overview: The AP Seminar assessment has three parts: two performance tasks which are completed over the course of the year and submitted online for scoring through the AP Digital Portfolio. The third part is the end-of-course AP Exam. 

AP RESEARCH (10 Credits) 5 Credits fulfill an English Elective

Description: AP Research, the second course for AP Capstone™, allows students to get more in depth with an academic topic, problem, issue, or idea of individual interest. Students will design, plan, and implement an investigation throughout the school year, to address a research question. Through this process, they further the skills they acquired in the AP Seminar course by learning and applying research methodology, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. Students will get the opportunity to reflect on their research development, record their processes, and collect the artifacts of their project through a process and reflection portfolio. The course culminates in an academic paper of 4,000 - 5,000 words (accompanied by a performance, exhibit, or product where applicable) and a presentation with an oral defense. 

Prerequisites: AP Seminar 

Assessment Overview: AP Research students are assessed on the finalized academic paper, presentation and oral defense of the research. The academic paper is 4,000–5,000 words, and the presentation and defense take approximately 15–20 minutes. There is no end-of-course written exam for AP Research. Instead, students are assessed on performance tasks that are completed from the year long research project. Students will write an academic paper which is submitted online for scoring through the AP Digital Portfolio along with a presentation and an oral defense of their research.