Advanced Placement Awards

The College Board offers several awards to select students who take Advanced Placement (AP) exams. The term "award" is perhaps misleading, as no benefit is awarded to the recipient except the title itself.

AP Scholar Designations

Each year, the AP program recognizes students who have performed exceptionally well on AP examinations. Exams are taken in May and awards are usually granted in September. The following designations can be earned:

AP Scholar Awards

Designation	Criteria
AP Scholar	Grades of 3 or better on three or more AP exams.
AP Scholar with Honor	Grades of 3 or better on four or more AP exams and an average of 3.25 on all* AP exams taken.
AP Scholar with Distinction	Grades of 3 or better on five or more AP exams and an average of 3.5 on all* AP exams taken.
National AP Scholar	Grades of 4 or better on eight or more AP exams and an average of 4 on all* AP exams. Must be a student in the United States.
National AP Scholar (Canada)	Grades of 4 or better on five or more AP exams and an average of 4 on all* AP exams taken. Must be a student in Canada.
AP State Scholar	Top male and female student in each U.S. state (and the District of Columbia) ranked first by the greatest number of exams with a grade 3 or higher and then by highest average on all* AP exams taken.
Department of Defense for Education Activity (DoDEA) Scholar	Top male and female student among all DoDEA schools, ranked first by the greatest number of exams with a grade 3 or higher and then by highest average on all* AP exams taken. Any recipient of this award must also at least meet the criteria for an AP Scholar.
AP International Scholar	Same as the AP State Scholar Award and DoDEA Scholar awards except the student must attend an American international school (which must also not be a DoDEA school).

Note: "All AP exams taken" refers to all AP exams taken in any year. It is not restricted to the year in which the award is issued.

AP International Diploma

The AP program also awards the AP International Diploma for Overseas Study (APID) to students who have applied to colleges outside of the United States that have completed a sequence of AP exams with satisfactory grades. Prior to May 2006, a student had to earn a grade of 3 or better on five or more AP exams in three of the five subject areas shown in the table below, with certain subject area requirements. As of May 2006, the College Board had implemented new requirements for awarding the AP International Diploma.

AP International Diploma

Course Area	Exams
Languages	English Language & Composition English Literature & Composition French Language French Literature* German Language Latin Literature* Latin: Vergil Russian Language and Culture Spanish Language Spanish Literature Chinese Language & Culture Italian Language & Culture* Japanese Language & Culture
Sciences	Biology Chemistry Environmental Science Physics B Physics C: Mechanics Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
Mathematics	Calculus AB Calculus BC Statistics Computer Science A Computer Science AB*
Social Studies	Human Geography Comparative Government and Politics United States Government and Politics European History United States History World History Macroeconomics Microeconomics Psychology
Fine Arts	Art History Music Theory Studio Art

*discontinued after the 2009 testing year.