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Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement
For Students and Teachers
You probably know that qualifying grades on Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) Exams can lead to advanced placement or college credit. But did you know that AP grades can also lead to scholarships and other recognition?
For Students
If you've earned grades of 5 in AP science and math, you may be eligible for a $2,000–5,000 scholarship.
Scholarships in the amount of $2,000 are awarded to students from each of the 50 states who have earned the greatest number of AP grades of 5 in eight exams. Students are awarded in the state where their high school is located. Each state potentially has two winners, one male and one female. Two additional national winners (one male, one female) are awarded a $5,000 college scholarship. The exams are:
- Biology
- Calculus BC
- Chemistry
- Computer Science AB
- Environmental Science
- Physics C: Mechanics
- Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
- Statistics
There is no application for this award. Students must be enrolled in high school in spring 2010 when the award is announced. A student must attain a score of 5 on at least two of the exams listed above to qualify. If multiple students have the same number of AP exams with scores of 5, composite exam scores are used as the tiebreaker. High school or home-schooled students in the United States, who have taken any AP Exam during the 2008-09 school year, are eligible for this award. AP Exams taken in the current year (2009-10) are not factored into the scores of the winners.
Students receive AP Grade Reports during the summer for review. It is the student’s responsibility to check the grade report for accuracy and to ensure that all AP grades are listed on the report. Students receiving multiple reports must contact the AP Program to merge these into one record. Any corrections must be resolved before September 15, 2009 in order for the corrected data to be included for this award.
Students may be awarded a state or national AP award only once, although state winners may be considered for the national award in subsequent years.
Children of employees of either the College Board or the Educational Testing Service are not eligible for this award.
For Teachers
Beginning in 2009, the Siemens Awards for AP Teachers and High Schools will be consolidated into one award, selecting one teacher per state and providing a $1,000 grant to the teacher’s high school to support science and math education. One of the 50 teachers is selected as the Siemens National AP Teacher of the Year and that teacher's school instead receives a $5,000 grant.
This award recognizes AP teachers in math, science and technology for their exemplary teaching and enthusiastic dedication to AP both inside and outside the classroom. Nominees must have a minimum of five years of teaching experience in math, science and technology AP courses.
The College Board's Advanced Placement Report to the Nation includes participation and performance data for each state within the context of its population and racial/ethnic demographics. Using data from this report, invitations to nominate teachers for this award are sent to high schools with exemplary AP programs in math, science and technology. Other factors such as size, private/public, rural/urban and socioeconomic background of schools are considered in keeping with the Siemens Foundation's goal to recognize teachers from a broad spectrum of schools. Teachers must complete an application to be considered for this award.
How It Works
The College Board identifies the students and teachers for the Siemens Foundation. The recipients of the awards will be notified in spring 2010. View the list of last year's winners. The names of previous winners of the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement can be found on the Siemens Foundation website at www.siemens-foundation.org. If you have any questions, please contact the College Board at (800) 626-9795.
