AP Physics C, currently a single-year course, will be split into two one-year courses to improve class pacing and depth of understanding starting in the 2025-26 school year. Students will be able to take Physics C: Mechanics, a calculus-based course, if they are in AP Calculus AB or above. Students can then take Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism after taking Mechanics or AP Physics I.

AP Physics I and C teacher Joseph Vanderway hopes the change will improve class pacing. “One of the big advantages is that, currently, we are doing Mechanics and E&M in one year, which makes the class a bit rushed,” Vanderway said. “You’ve got to go through a lot of material, and even though it’s a second year for Mechanics, there’s still enough stuff that it makes it a rush.”
“I think if it’s split into several courses, you can spend more time on a subject, dive more deeply into it, and get a better understanding,” junior Nolan Kanevsky, a current AP Physics I student who signed up for Physics C: Mechanics next year, said.
Physics C: E&M is a relatively new course at M-A. It was added to the Physics C course in 2023.
The Physics department has seen overall increased enrollment, which Vanderway attributes to increased accessibility. “We’ve opened it up to students who are in Finite Math & Trigonometry, so we encourage students who are taking Finite Math & Trigonometry and are interested in physics to try the AP Physics I class,” Vanderway said. “What we’re trying to do with this change is make it so that students are using the math that they’re ready to use. This way, they can sink their teeth into deeper physics because they have the math ability to do that.”
Vanderway predicts an increase in Physics C enrollment. “I expect next year that I will have at least one section of the E&M course, which is the second-year calculus class, and one or possibly two sections of the mechanics course,” he said.