Advanced Placement

McDowell High School offers 22 Advanced Placement® Courses

The AP Program through College Board offers High School Students the opportunity to participate in college-level courses while attending McDowell Intermediate and High School.

Courses are available in English, history, science, mathematics, social sciences, computer science, and the arts. The AP® Capstone Program is offered to McDowell students who complete the AP® Seminar and AP® Research courses. These yearlong courses focus on developing the critical thinking, research, collaboration, time management, and presentation skills you need for college-level work.

AP Courses Offered

History & Social Sciences

AP Psychology

(grades 10 & up)- AP Psychology is an introductory college-level psychology course. Students cultivate their understanding of the systematic and scientific study of human behavior and mental processes through inquiry-based investigations as they explore concepts like the biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, learning and cognition, motivation, developmental psychology, testing and individual differences, treatment of abnormal behavior, and social psychology. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-psychology/course?course=ap-psychology

AP World History: Modern

(grades 10 & up)- AP World History: Modern is an introductory college-level modern world history course. Students cultivate their understanding of world history from c. 1200 CE to the present through analyzing historical sources and learning to make connections and craft historical arguments as they explore concepts like humans and the environment, cultural developments and interactions, governance, economic systems, social interactions and organization, and technology and innovation. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-world-history/course?course=ap-world-history-modern

AP Human Geography

(grades 10 & up)- AP Human Geography is an introductory college-level human geography course. Students cultivate their understanding of human geography through data and geographic analyses as they explore topics like patterns and spatial organization, human impacts and interactions with their environment, and spatial processes and societal changes. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-human-geography/course?course=ap-human-geography

AP U.S Government and Politics

(grades 11 & up)- AP U.S. Government and Politics is an introductory college-level course in U.S. government and politics. Students cultivate their understanding of U.S. government and politics through analysis of data and text- based sources as they explore topics like constitutionalism, liberty and order, civic participation in a representative democracy, competing policy-making interests, and methods of political analysis. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-united-states-government-and-politics/course?course=ap-united-states-government-and-politics

AP Comparative Government and Politics

(grades 11 & up)- AP Comparative Government and Politics is an introductory college-level course in comparative government and politics. The course uses a comparative approach to examine the political structures; policies; and political, economic, and social challenges of six selected countries: China, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Students cultivate their understanding of comparative government and politics through analysis of data and text-based sources as they explore topics like power and authority, legitimacy and stability, democratization, internal and external forces, and methods of political analysis. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-comparative-government-and-politics/course?course=ap-comparative-government-and-politics

AP Macroeconomics

(grades 12)- AP Macroeconomics is an introductory college-level macroeconomics course. Students cultivate their understanding of the principles that apply to an economic system as a whole by using principles and models to describe economic situations and predict and explain outcomes with graphs, charts, and data as they explore concepts like economic measurements, markets, macroeconomic models, and macroeconomic policies. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-macroeconomics/course?course=ap-macroeconomics

AP U.S History

(grades 12)- AP U.S. History is an introductory college-level U.S. history course. Students cultivate their understanding of U.S. history from c. 1491 CE to the present through analyzing historical sources and learning to make connections and craft historical arguments as they explore concepts like American and national identity; work, exchange, and technology; geography and the environment; migration and settlement; politics and power; America in the world; American and regional culture; and social structures. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-united-states-history/course?course=ap-united-states-history

Science

AP Chemistry

(grades 10 & up)- AP Chemistry is an introductory college-level chemistry course. Students cultivate their understanding of chemistry through inquiry-based lab investigations as they explore the four Big Ideas: scale, proportion, and quantity; structure and properties of substances; transformations; and energy. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-chemistry/course?course=ap-chemistry

AP Environmental Science

(grades 11 & up)- Students cultivate their understanding of the interrelationships of the natural world through inquiry-based lab investigations and field work as they explore concepts like the four Big Ideas; energy transfer, interactions between earth systems, interactions between different species and the environment, and sustainability. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-environmental-science/course?course=ap-environmental-science

AP Psychics C-Mechanics

(grades 11 & up)- AP Physics C: Mechanics is a one-semester, calculus-based, college-level physics course, especially appropriate for students planning to specialize or major in one of the physical sciences or engineering. Students cultivate their understanding of physics through classroom study and activities as well as hands-on laboratory work as they explore concepts like change, force interactions, fields, and conservation. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-physics-c-mechanics/course?course=ap-physics-c-mechanics

AP Biology

(grades 11 & up)- AP Biology is an introductory college-level biology course. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore topics like evolution, energetics, information storage and transfer, and system interactions. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-biology/course?course=ap-biology

AP Physics: Algebra based

(grades 11 & up)- AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course. Students cultivate their understanding of physics through classroom study, in-class activity, and hands-on, inquiry-based laboratory work as they explore concepts like systems, fields, force interactions, change, conservation, and waves. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-physics-1/course?course=ap-physics-1-algebra-based

Math & Computer Sciences

AP Courses Offered

AP Statistics

(grades 10 & up )- AP Statistics is an introductory college-level statistics course that introduces students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. Students cultivate their understanding of statistics using technology, investigations, problem solving, and writing as they explore concepts like variation and distribution; patterns and uncertainty; and data-based predictions, decisions, and conclusions. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-statistics/course?course=ap-statistics

AP Computer Science Principles

(grades 10 & up)- 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. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-computer-science-principles/course?course=ap-computer-science-principles

AP Calculus AB

(grades 11 & up)- AP Calculus AB is an introductory college-level calculus course. Students cultivate their understanding of differential and integral calculus through engaging with real-world problems represented graphically, numerically, analytically, and verbally and using definitions and theorems to build arguments and justify conclusions as they explore concepts like change, limits, and the analysis of functions. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-calculus-ab/course?course=ap-calculus-ab

AP Calculus BC

(grades 11 & up)- AP Calculus BC is an introductory college-level calculus course. Students cultivate their understanding of differential and integral calculus through engaging with real-world problems represented graphically, numerically, analytically, and verbally and using definitions and theorems to build arguments and justify conclusions as they explore concepts like change, limits, and the analysis of functions. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-calculus-bc/course?course=ap-calculus-bc

English

AP English Language and Composition

(grades 11 & up)- AP English Language and Composition is an introductory college-level composition course. Students cultivate their understanding of writing and rhetorical arguments through reading, analyzing, and writing texts as they explore topics like rhetorical situation, claims and evidence, reasoning and organization, and style. Learn more at:

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-language-and-composition/course?course=ap-english-language-and-composition

AP English Literature and Composition

AP English Literature and Composition is an introductory college-level literary analysis course. Students cultivate their understanding of literature through reading and analyzing texts as they explore concepts like character, setting, structure, perspective, figurative language, and literary analysis in the context of literary works. Learn more at:

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-literature-and-composition

AP Capstone Diploma Program

AP Courses Offered

AP Seminar
AP Research

AP Seminar

(grades 10 & up)- AP Seminar is a foundational course that engages students in cross-curricular conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing divergent perspectives. Students learn to investigate a problem or issue, analyze arguments, compare different perspectives, synthesize information from multiple sources, and work alone and in a group to communicate their ideas. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-seminar/course?course=ap-seminar

AP Research

(grades 11 & up)- AP Research, the second course in the AP Capstone experience, allows students to deeply explore an academic topic, problem, issue, or idea of individual interest. Students design, plan, and implement a yearlong investigation to address a research question. Through this inquiry, they further the skills they acquired in the AP Seminar course by learning research methodology, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. Students reflect on their skill development, document their processes, and curate the artifacts of their scholarly work 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. Learn more at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-research/course?course=ap-research

Advanced Placement

The AP Program through College Board offers High School Students the opportunity to participate in college-level courses while attending McDowell Intermediate and High School.

AP courses offered through a classroom experience.

Scored a 3 or higher on AP Exams

AP Scholars from 2020 McDowell graduates.

Capstone Diplomas earned by McDowell students.