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[NickC]

Review on International Arts and Sciences

The following is a review that's placed together by using experiences from students who are in the major.



International Arts and Sciences was first introduced in the Spring of 2008 - in time for the Class of 2010's major selection process. The purpose of creating such a major is to allow flexibility in the courses that students take. As opposed to all of the other majors in which a student is bound to take the courses in the sequence, even if he/she may decide that the major is not right for them, IAS allows students to pick their own classes, as long as it satisfies the requirements for the Advanced Placement International Diploma.

The IAS major allows a student to earn an Advanced Placement International Diploma (APID). The Advanced Placement International Diploma (APID) is a globally recognized certificate for students with an international outlook. The APID challenges a student to display exceptional achievement on AP Exams across several disciplines. Universities worldwide utilize the APID in admissions. With that said, this means that if you are interested in apply to colleges overseas, this diploma will make you a more competitive candidate for admission.

In order to earn an APID, you must have completed the 5 required AP Exams by the end of your Senior Year.

Advanced Placement International Diploma Criteria


To earn an APID, students must earn grades of three or higher on at least five AP Exams in the following content areas:
**An AP in English
**An AP in a Foreign Language
**An AP in a Math OR Science
**An AP that offers a "Global Perspective"
**Another AP Exam in either Mathematics, Sciences, History and Social Sciences and the Arts - this is known as the "Elective Requirement"


1) You must take one of the following to complete the English Requirement
English Language and Composition
English Literature and Composition

2) You must take one of the following to complete the World/Foreign Language Requirement
French Language
Spanish Language
Spanish Literature
Chinese Language and Culture
Italian Language and Culture
*Note, you may take another language AP Exam that is not offered in Tech as course. It will satisfy the requirement for the APID. However, you must speak to the AP of Foreign Language.

3. You must take one of the following to complete the Mathematics and Sciences Requirement:
Calculus AB/ BC*
Computer Science A/AB*
Statistics
Biology
Chemistry
Physics B
Physics C

4. You must take one of the following to complete the World Perspective Requirement:
World History (offered for 10th grade only. If you are currently taking it and will score a 3 in May, this will satisfy this requirement)
Human Geography
Comparative Government and Politics

5. You must take one of the following to complete the "Elective" Requirement:
Statistics
Biology
Chemistry
Physics B
Physics C
European History (10th grade only - same message as above)
U.S. History
Government and Politics: U.S.
Psychology
Art History
Music Theory
Studio Art: Drawing (Coming soon)
Studio Art: 2-D Design (Coming soon)




Please note that this may seem complicated now, but Mr. Passarelli is the Guidance Counselor assigned to this major and Ms. O'hara is the Assistant Principal of the major. You will receive individualized attention on programming your classes. This is the only major that offers a guidance system to program your classes.







Now... perspective from students.

I chose this major because I did not know what I wanted to major in. I was not ready to pick a major and stick with it for two years. Too much risk was involved with choosing something you may not like. This is a major in which you are the one building it. Recently, I figured out what I wanted to major in college and that is pharmacy. Now, for my Senior Year program, I am able to choose classes that will directly impact and help foundation in college and at the same time satisfy the requirements for the major. If I was in Architecture, I would not be able to choose the classes that would impact and build the foundation for college. In my scenario, I would pick a AP of Science in my Senior Year since most Pharmacy schools require Biology and Chemistry in thier course of study (not admission).

The most challenging aspect of this major is the World Language Requirement. I am not that good in AP Spanish, but I am hanging in there. However, this should not be the deciding factor in whether or not you choose this major. The positives far outweigh the negatives that are associated. Every major has their negative points, but the ones in this major are not that important, in my opinion.

A friend of mine chose this major because he likes the idea of being able to study overseas and the possession of an APID allows him to do that.



Lets talk about the Junior Year Principles of Engineering Course

POE is a college accredited course. Credit is granted through the Rochester Institute of Technology upon completion of the Exam that will be held.
We learn about various types of engineering field. Aside from that, this is a lab based course. It is hands on 80% of the time. In the beginning of the year (term 1) we learned the basics of what engineering is. One of the major projects we worked on involved the process in which students were asked to build a catapult to launch a ball across a given distance. As said, this class is a hands-on course. You use your brain most of the time. The innovation that your bring to your group members is what leads to success. Teamwork is valued through this course.

As we begin term 2, we are focusing on a computer program called "RoboPro." What this is, is a program in which you give commands a interface that is connected to the computer. When you initiate your commands, the parts that are connected to your interface (computer board) will perform tasks that you programmed it to do. The project we are expecting to accomplish is to build a machine that will sort the colors of marbles in the fastest speed possible. This is all done and processed on the computer. The use of manual human labor is not necessary for this task. Very fun course indeed.


The most important thing about this major is to manage your time. This major will help you develop your habits in the real world. You will get a lot of work. But you will get more when you are working in the real world. Habits are better when developed early.


I felt that this major allowed me to learn a lot more things than just information from textbooks, but to develop habits that will help you throughout life. You may not notice it now, but you will eventually.

[R. Asher]

Well written.

[ionosphere]

Thanks for the IAS review. After reading it I think I will rank IAS higher on the selection form since it is appealing. If it wasn't for the mandated PLTW course I might even consider putting IAS first.

[banapopy]

The only reason why I didn't pick IAS cus I didn't want to take AP Spanish
It would have been hard to fit a schedule of classes I wanted in. I tried to work it out a few times and I would be overloaded in classes.

[NickC]

ionosphere, on Mar 8 2009, 03:55 PM, said:

Thanks for the IAS review. After reading it I think I will rank IAS higher on the selection form since it is appealing. If it wasn't for the mandated PLTW course I might even consider putting IAS first.

The mandated PLTW POE course should not discourage you to pick IAS as your first choice!!! It is a really fun course. There are no lectures and its all hands on work. I consider this class my "free period" where I can take a breath from all of the other academic rigorous courses! All you have to do is build something from the instructions given. The key is the course is improvising. You will learn that through the engineering scenarios that you will go through!

[ionosphere]

Is it similar to the sophomore metal shop class? In that class I receive instructions on how to build something (such as a keychain, tictactoe board) and then I use the materials and machines to make it.

[banapopy]

From what I know, they make cardboard catapults. Haha.

[NickC]

We do use cardboard. Its where innovation comes in. How many teenagers get to built a catapult using cardboard in NYC and get graded for it?!

[banapopy]

Looked mad fun. Just launching stuff around with it. Everyone had an unique design and it looked like a really interesting topic to apply physics to something practical and usable.

[Tech '10]

I chose this major for several reasons. First, I really didn't know what to do. I didn't really like the idea of taking AP Calculus and Physics for other majors such of Electro-Mechanical or Aerospace. Being able to pick which classes I wanted to take made it a lot easier to deal with because I could still take the POE courses that Electro/Aero are taking. I also chose it because I wanted to have a good number of AP's for College reasons. I really think that this was the best major I could've chosen because it's extremely flexible and you have a ton of options. Other majors have rigid and concrete courses, which can leave you liking somethings, but really disliking others. The one bad(?) thing about IAS is that you don't really have a set "class" or "cluster" you travel with throughout most of your classes throughout the day, but you can definitely get to know them during POE and the after-school meetings. IAS is definitely a solid choice that can accommodate almost all of your needs.

[ionosphere]

Do other majors have "clusters"? Sounds like freshman year...

[NickC]

All other majors have students in the same major periods/classes.

I like the fact that you don't have to stay with one group of students. You are able to extend your network.

[banapopy]

Clusters?! Since when?!

[NickC]

Since the existence of majors?

For example, if you are in architecture, you take all those classes with the architecture majors.

[banapopy]

You mean all the architecture major classes, you would take with architecture major students? Isn't that kinda obvious?

I don't recognize any clustering in my schedule lol

[NickC]

It is different for all students. Programming restraints prevents that from happening sometimes.

[BassOmegaX]

It is not really clusters. Media has two different classes. If it was clustered, both classes would have the exact same students but that is not the case. My Graphics class and Photography class have different students, some may be the same in both but not all.

[ionosphere]

I kind of miss clusters. You got to know everyone really well in a cluster but now you dont have such a closer friendship since another person might only be in 1-2 of your classes.

[banapopy]

I wish I had some form of cluster.

[NickC]

Don't get annoyed with the same people you see every day?!