AP Capstone: Seminar, Research, and Diploma Requirements
AP Capstone is a two-year program consisting of AP Seminar (typically Grade 11) and AP Research (Grade 12). Students who earn a 3 or higher in both courses and in four additional AP exams earn the AP Capstone Diploma — a credential recognized by many universities as evidence of college-level research and writing skills. AP Seminar: students analyze complex, real-world topics from multiple perspectives. The course has two primary assessments — a Team Project and Presentation (45% of score) and an Individual Written Argument with Presentation (55% of score). The written argument requires synthesizing multiple source types (quantitative data, expert opinion, literature) into a coherent, evidence-based essay on a chosen prompt. Scoring: 1–5 scale; the essay is scored on: argument development, sourcing quality, and language quality. The AP Seminar score is not primarily determined by the May exam but by the portfolio-based performance tasks. AP Research: students design, plan, and conduct a year-long research project culminating in a 4,000–5,000 word academic paper and a 20-minute oral defense. The project must follow disciplinary conventions appropriate to the student's chosen field (scientific research, historical analysis, literary criticism, policy analysis, etc.). Scoring: the paper is scored on scholarly work quality, reasoning, and reflection; the oral defense on communication. The AP Capstone Diploma signals independent research capability that some selective universities — notably Stanford, Princeton, and MIT — explicitly acknowledge in admissions materials as evidence of intellectual initiative beyond standard AP coursework.