Projects in AP
Some AP courses offer project based learning as an instructional approach. Others integrate projects or performance tasks directly into the AP Exam score. Both approaches help students apply what they learn to relevant experiences beyond the classroom.
Project Based Learning in AP Courses
Project based learning is an instructional approach that incorporates hands-on projects to help students build skills in critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and communication.
Teachers have the option to incorporate project based learning for the following six AP courses:
- AP Business with Personal Finance (available 2026-27)
- AP Environmental Science
- AP Human Geography
- AP Statistics
- AP United States Government and Politics
- AP World History: Modern
Powerful research examining AP Environmental Science and AP U.S. Government and Politics (.pdf) shows that project based learning can significantly improve performance on the AP Exam.
These courses also have specialized professional learning available. Connect with a community of AP teachers who are bringing project based learning to their classrooms through the AP Project Based Learning Series.
Note: This instructional model is optional and not an AP curricular requirement.
Projects in AP Assessments
Offering AP courses that incorporate projects as part of the final AP Exam score can get a wider range of students excited about trying AP for the first time and keep them engaged year-round.
The following AP courses allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of course content and skills by creating and presenting projects, performance tasks, or portfolios.
AP African American Studies
In AP African American Studies, students explore history, culture, and contemporary issues through an interdisciplinary lens. Students also complete a three-week Individual Student Project where they choose a topic, research it, and present their findings. The AP Exam includes a short validation question tied to their project.
AP Art and Design (2-D, 3-D, Drawing)
In each AP Art and Design course, students think and work like an artist or designer and build a portfolio that’s evaluated for their AP score. Their portfolio, which contains works of art and responses to prompts about those works, makes up their entire AP score—there’s no end-of-course written AP Exam.
AP Business with Personal Finance
In AP Business with Personal Finance, students dive into entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, accounting, and management using real business cases. Along the way, students will launch an idea in the Business Canvas Project and give advice in a Financial Advisor Project. The AP Exam is a fully digital exam.
AP Computer Science Principles
In AP Computer Science Principles, students see how computing powers everything from health to music. For the Create performance task, students design and build a program of their choice as part of their AP score—no prior coding experience is required. On exam day, students also answer four questions related to their program.
AP Latin
In AP Latin, students read a broad range of authors and connect Latin to the wider world. Through the course project, students analyze four non-syllabus Latin passages during the year and then respond to related short-essay questions on the AP Exam.
AP Research
In AP Research, the second course in the AP Capstone Diploma™ program, students design and carry out a yearlong research project on a topic they care about. Their AP score comes from their Academic Paper and Presentation and Oral Defense—there’s no end-of-course written AP Exam.
AP Seminar
In AP Seminar, the first course in the AP Capstone™ program, students investigate real-world issues from multiple perspectives and practice making evidence-based arguments. Their AP score includes two performance tasks—Team Project and Presentation and Individual Written Argument and Presentation—plus a fully digital end-of-course exam.
English 10: AP Seminar
An English course taught in the AP Seminar style, English 10: AP Seminar helps students build foundational writing, research, collaboration, and presentation skills. Students work in groups and individually to investigate real-world issues from multiple perspectives and practice making evidence-based arguments. Their AP score includes two performance tasks—Team Project and Presentation and Individual Written Argument and Presentation—plus a fully digital end-of-course exam.