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AP Capstone
Two years of running your own research, ending in a paper and a defense — the closest thing to college in high school.
What you'd actually do
- Take AP Seminar in one year and AP Research the next
- Pick your own research question and defend your findings
- Write an academic paper long enough to be uncomfortable, with a real methodology
- Earn the AP Capstone Diploma if you pass both plus four other AP exams
How you get in
It is a course sequence, not a separate application — you get it by attending a school authorized to teach it. Check the school's current catalog, because authorization lapses.
Now, later, and after
What this gets you freshman year, by the time you graduate, and after that.
Freshman year
What you'd touch first
- Not yet — the sequence normally starts sophomore or junior year
Junior & senior year
What you'd walk out holding
- AP Seminar, then AP Research: a question you chose and a paper with your name on it
After graduation
Where it goes
- The AP Capstone Diploma, and a writing sample that reads like college work
- Research and writing skills that transfer to any major
Where you can do it16
Selective Enrollment schools first, then ordered by graduation and college rates against the district average.
Selective
Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
Near West Side
Well above district(+16.7 pts)
School profile
Visit one of these
Upcoming open houses at schools that run this program.
- 4OctNorthside College PrepSelective Enrollment High School Open House · 10:00
- 17OctLindblom Math & Science AcademySelective Enrollment Open House · 12:30
- 18OctWhitney M. Young Magnet High SchoolSelective Enrollment Open House · 12:30
- 21OctKenwood AcademyHigh school open house · 19:00
- 24OctHancock College PrepSelective Enrollment Open House · 10:00
- 24OctJones College PrepSelective Enrollment Open House · 10:00
Questions
- How current is this list?
- It reflects schools authorized for both AP Seminar and AP Research in the 2025-26 College Board course ledger, cross-checked against school course catalogs. CPS publishes no current list of its own — the last official one is from 2019 — and authorization does lapse, so confirm with the school before you rank it.
Where this comes from
Checked 2026-09-12. Program details change — confirm with the school before you rank it.