DIPLOMA DISTINCTIONS
Not
More Classes. More Purpose.
A Signature Pathway blending advanced academics and intellectual depth, real-world experience, and original research— preparing students for college and purposeful leadership.
WHY DIPLOMA DISTINCTIONS?
The world your student is entering doesn’t reward credentials alone. It rewards people who can think across disciplines, work through ambiguity, and lead with both expertise and judgment. The leaders building tomorrow’s most important institutions are looking for something more: great communicators, creative problem solvers, and compassionate leaders who are curious, emotionally intelligent, and genuinely driven to help others.
At Davidson Day, our mission is to empower students to embrace challenge, live with character, and lead with purpose — and the Diploma Distinctions are designed to build exactly that foundation. Through immersive practicums, original research, and sustained ethical inquiry, students graduate with something no transcript can fully capture: the habits of mind, real-world experience, and intellectual confidence that carry them not just into college, but through it and beyond, emerging as world and work-ready leaders.
The Diploma Distinctions represent our commitment to preparation that goes deeper than any single milestone. They reflect our belief that the most meaningful education equips young people to contribute thoughtfully to a complex and changing world — not by responding to the future, but by preparing students to lead with purpose, wherever they land.
This is an exciting chapter for Davidson Day, and for your student. We are proud to offer this pathway, and we look forward to seeing where our students take it.
Andrew R. Bishop | Head of School
CHOOSE YOUR SIGNATURE PATHWAY
3
Diploma Distinctions
Business and Civic Engagement STEMM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Medicine)
Global Studies
Parents and students will value the program because it:
• Signals sustained intellectual commitment to colleges
• Builds independence and executive functioning
• Connects learning to real-world application
• Develops confidence through professional experiences
• Encourages clarity about future academic and career goals
Students don’t simply take advanced classes—they apply their learning in authentic settings and produce original scholarship before graduation.
What I love about the Diploma Distinctions is that they give students a structured way to go deeper — and that kind of real-world experience and original research doesn’t just strengthen a college application, it gives students a genuine edge in a competitive process.
~ Tia Hill, Director of College Counseling
HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS
Students apply at the end of sophomore year and, upon acceptance, enter a structured and mentored pathway beginning junior year, guided by experienced faculty whose expertise is directly aligned to their field of study.
Each Diploma Distinction includes:
Focused Advanced Coursework
AP and Honors classes aligned to a specific academic track, building the intellectual foundation for original inquiry.
Immersive Practicum (Minimum 100 Hours)
Internships, international travel, laboratory research, medical shadowing, civic engagement, engineering placements, nonprofit leadership, or pre-collegiate programs. The practicum is not a standalone requirement — it becomes the lived experience that anchors and drives the student’s original research.
Ethics Labs
Ethics Labs are structured, discussion-centered experiences in which students analyze complex real-world dilemmas through the lenses of philosophy, civic responsibility, and public leadership. Drawing on seminar-style inquiry models such as those used at Davidson College, students examine contemporary issues in bioethics, political philosophy and public policy, international ethics, and business ethics.
Scholars Research Program (The Culminating Experience)
Junior Year – Research Methods Honors
Students learn collegiate-level research skills, conduct academic database searches, synthesize scholarship, and develop a research question grounded directly in their practicum experience.
Senior Year – Capstone Research Honors
Under close faculty mentorship, students design and execute an original research project — collecting and analyzing data, constructing sustained academic arguments, and presenting their findings at the Davidson Day Scholars Research Conference. Many also present at collegiate conferences.
It is here — in the creation of original knowledge, mentored by experts and rooted in real-world experience — that the Diploma Distinction is earned.
This integration of coursework, fieldwork, and research creates the depth that distinguishes graduates in meaningful ways.
Here, Davidson Day’s C.O.R.E. Values become a lived experience.
COURAGE: Embracing challenge and pursuing ambitious questions
OWNERSHIP: Taking responsibility for intellectual growth and scholarly integrity
RESILIENCE: Persisting through challenge, complexity, and critique
EMPATHY: Recognizing the human impact of ideas and decisions
1. Business & Civic Engagement Diploma
For students who aspire to careers in business, finance, entrepreneurship, public policy, law, or other fields requiring strong analytical thinking and civic responsibility. Students will explore how markets, institutions, and communities function—and how principled leadership can strengthen them.
BUSINESS & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PATHWAY
Diploma Requirements
Core Course (Choose One):
• Financial Literacy
• Social Entrepreneurship
Elective Courses (Choose Four):
U.S. History
Macroeconomics
AP with WE Service Recognition
AP Statistics
Practicum
U.S. Government & Politics
Business with Personal Finance
Davidson College DCI Programming (minimum two semesters)
• At least 100 hours of an approved internship, volunteer opportunity, or pre-collegiate program
• Quarterly Ethics Labs
Scholars Research Program
• Research Methods Honors Course (11th Grade)
• Capstone Research Honors Mentorship (12th Grade)
Culminating Diploma Experience: Senior Capstone Project
• Seniors present their capstone research project at the Davidson Day Scholars Research Conference.
Davidson College’s Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI)
• A signature opportunity within the Business and Civic Engagement pathway, Davidson College’s Deliberative Citizenship Initiative invites our students into a college-level program — just a mile down the road — built around civil discourse, navigating difficult conversations, and developing the civic leadership skills that define engaged, effective citizens.
2. STEMM Diploma
For students passionate about scientific discovery, engineering innovation, medicine, and applied research. Students combine rigorous laboratory science and advanced mathematics with immersive investigation.
STEMM PATHWAY
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Medicine)
Diploma Requirements
Core Course (Choose One):
• Anatomy & Physiology Honors
• Forensics & Zoology Honors
• AP Physics I
• AP Statistics
Elective Courses (Choose Three):
AP Precalculus or AP Calculus (AB or BC) AP Biology
AP Chemistry AP Physics I
AP Physics II AP Psychology
AP Computer Science A
Competencies
• 4 lab science courses at the Honors or AP level
• 4 mathematics courses at the Honors or AP level
Practicum
• At least 100 hours of an approved internship or pre-collegiate program
• Quarterly Ethics Labs
Scholars Research Program
• Research Methods Honors Course (11th Grade)
• Capstone Research Honors Mentorship (12th Grade)
Culminating Diploma Experience: Senior Capstone Project
• Seniors present their capstone research project at the Davidson Day Scholars Research Conference.
• Capstone projects might explore biomedical advancements, environmental systems, technological innovation, psychological science, or data-driven problem solving.
3. Global Studies Diploma
For students drawn to international relations, environmental policy, cultural research, global public policy, or any field that requires crossing borders — geographic, cultural, or intellectual. Students develop cultural fluency and the ability to navigate complex global systems with discernment.
GLOBAL STUDIES PATHWAY
Diploma Requirements
Core Course
• Honors Anthropology
Elective Courses (Choose Three):
AP World History or AP European History
AP Environmental Science
AP Psychology AP Macroeconomics
AP with WE Service Recognition
Language Competency Requirement
AP Spanish Language & Culture or AP French Language & Culture
• Completion of Level IV or 3 levels of the same language in Upper School
Practicum
• At least 100 hours of an approved internship, volunteer opportunity, or pre-collegiate program
• Quarterly Ethics Labs
Scholars Research Program
• Research Methods Honors Course (11th Grade)
• Capstone Research Honors Mentorship (12th Grade)
Culminating Diploma Experience: Senior Capstone Project
• Seniors present their capstone research project at the Davidson Day Scholars Research Conference.
• Capstone projects might explore international development, environmental sustainability, archaeology, or cultural identity.
AFAR (American Foreign Academic Research)
• A signature opportunity within the Global Studies pathway is the AFAR program, which has taken Davidson Day students to Spain, Portugal, and Belize for immersive, collegiate-level archaeological research and international fieldwork.
BEYOND THE TRANSCRIPT
Davidson Day’s partnership with Davidson College through the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI) provides students with structured collegiate dialogue experiences around complex civic and ethical questions.
Students are also encouraged to explore selective pre-collegiate summer opportunities at institutions such as Princeton University, Carnegie Mellon University, and MIT.
Whether or not a student pursues a diploma distinction, the culture of inquiry, experiential learning, and thoughtful discourse shapes the Upper School experience.
For those who do pursue a diploma distinction, it offers something more:
• Advanced study aligned with real experience
• Mentored research grounded in authentic questions
• Preparation not only for college admission—but for sustained contribution
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