The Humanities Academy

2025 8^th Grade Model UN at ACE provided leadership opportunities for our Humanities Students while also showcasing our program to 8^th graders from DeSana, South, Hendricks, and Otwell Middle Schools.

Stay tuned for details about our upcoming FCHS Academies and Pathways Information Night!

The Humanities Academy at Forsyth Central combines a rigorous learning environment focused on the human condition and culture. Our Unique learning community develops a student’s potential and ensures students are well equipped to meet the challenges of post-secondary education Humanities careers in a global economy. Graduates of the Humanities Academy at Forsyth Central will be able to be creative thinkers who can reason and interpret the human experience, deal with complex information critically and logically, and communicate what they know.

There, they will: 

• Develop creative and critical thinking skills in order to identify problems and craft innovative solutions

• Recognize that true learning is asking the questions to understand our local and global impact through a variety of perspectives and experiences

• Draw from the past to understand the present and help students develop the solutions to future real-world problems

 ABOUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS

The Forsyth Central Humanities Academy is a four year comprehensive program, where students study the experience, ask the questions, and solve the problems. The Humanities Academy will lead students to be published, practice, and prepared for post-secondary work in college and career. 

​Students are selected, much like a college application process, by a team of reviewers who evaluate applicants in the following criteria:

• grades, test scores, and motivation
• teacher recommendations
• student organization involvement
• demonstrated interest in humanities subjects,
• submitted essay response
• student video submission.

Prospective Students

• Applicants must be in the eighth grade and a full-time student in the Forsyth County School system.
• Applicants may only enter the Humanities Academy in the 9th grade since this is a four-year program.
• Applicants must be on the "Advanced" or " Accelerated" Language Arts track to apply.
• ​​Applicants should be recommended for the following as freshmen:
  • Honors English
  • AP Human Geography 

The following information explains the AP Capstone Program that Humanities students will complete during their junior and seniors years at FCHS.  All of the details listed are generalized criteria for the two required courses.  

Capstone

AP Capstone™ is a diploma program from the College Board. It’s based on two yearlong AP courses: AP Seminar and AP Research.

Rather than teaching subject-specific content, these courses develop students’ skills in research, analysis, evidence-based arguments, collaboration, writing, and presenting. Students who complete the two-year program can earn one of two different AP Capstone awards, which are valued by colleges across the United States and around the world.   - The College Board

AP Seminar 

All students must enroll in AP Seminar for their junior year.

AP Seminar is a foundational course that engages students in cross-curricular conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing divergent perspectives. Students learn to investigate a problem or issue, analyze arguments, compare different perspectives, synthesize information from multiple sources, and work alone and in a group to communicate their ideas. -The College Board

AP Research

All Humanities students must enroll in AP Research for their senior year.

AP Research, the second course in the AP Capstone experience, allows students to deeply explore an academic topic, problem, issue, or idea of individual interest. Students design, plan, and implement a yearlong investigation to address a research question. Through this inquiry, they further the skills they acquired in the AP Seminar course by learning research methodology, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. Students reflect on their skill development, document their processes, and curate the artifacts of their scholarly work through a process and reflection portfolio. The course culminates in an academic paper of 4,000–5,000 words (accompanied by a performance, exhibit, or product where applicable) and a presentation with an oral defense. - The College Board

All Humanities students must complete the aforementioned academic paper and verbal defense in order to complete the Humanities program.

1. All Humanities students will participate in the following extracurricular initiative through their Humanities coursework:

• Social Science Fair (9th Grade) - M. Thompson
• National History Day (11th Grade) - E. Teems
• Extracurricular connected to AP Research Study (12th Grade)

2. Humanities students are expected to participate in one of the following each year:

• Model UN (J. Henderson)
• Mock Trial (F. Smith)
• Debate Team (R. Wells)

3. Humanities students are expected to participate in:

• National English Honor Society
• Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society

4. The following Humanities extracurricular opportunities are available in addition for any FCHS student:  

• Mock Trial
• Thespians
• Band
• Chorus
• Central Ambassadors
• Dungeons and Disports
• Euro Club
• Humane Society
• Interact
• Literary Meet Team
• National Art Honor Society
• National Spanish Honor Society
• National Honor Society
• Beta Club