Social Science and Global Studies Required and Elective Courses Scheduling information for rising juniors

Required courses There are two required junior social studies courses: Economics and US History, each with an AP option There is also a Dual Enrollment US History option Both academic and AP US History courses include SOLs The main difference between AP, Dual Enrollment, and Academic History is the amount of required homework and writing for AP classes With the semester economics course you will also need to take a semester of Financial Literacy- the AP course counts for both of these Economics options can be deferred until Senior year

Rising Juniors- History Requirement Either US/Virginia, D.E. or AP US History Content is the same for all history courses, but AP is much more in depth, while DE is in- between academic and AP APUSH has among the heaviest workload of all the social studies courses, requiring 1-3 hours of homework per class 1000 page textbook, lots of writing

US History You should take AP US History if: You are taking AP World History and have a grade of “B” or better You are taking World History II and your teacher recommends that you take AP US You are self-disciplined enough to do large quantities of homework on a daily basis You are able to read and digest large quantities of material Offers the potential to earn six college credits depending on your AP Score and college attended

US History You should take Dual Enrollment US History if: You are taking AP World History and find the workload to be too much for you, but you still want to be challenged You are taking World History II and your teacher recommends that you take DE US You are considering going a less competitive college or university or community college Offers the potential to earn six college credits with a passing grade

US History You should take US/Virginia History if: You are in World History II, and are finding the workload appropriate You are in Pre-AP World and are finding it difficult and/or overwhelming You are more interested in non-social science fields (e.g. STEM) and are taking a very rigorous load in those subjects

Economics In order to graduate you must have both financial literacy and economics You may take one semester of each, or a full year AP Economics Since you must take economics anyway, enrolling in AP will make your junior year course load seem way more rigorous

Junior year electives You are also eligible to take any social studies elective. If you are interested in any non-STEM major, taking Social Studies APs or DE looks good on applications, plus can earn you college credit

AP Electives While these are all rigorous classes, they tend to have a lesser work load than the AP History courses (videos available) AP Economics (Micro and Macro) AP Human Geography AP Psychology Dual Enrollment Survey of African History

Semester Electives Psychology The World of Ideas Global Social Issues Modern International Relations Economics Comparative Religions