What are the different types of AP classes available for high schoolers?
- Stephen Turban
- Jul 31
- 5 min read
AP is not one subject. It is a portfolio of 42 different courses spanning seven broad categories, from studio art to computer science to Latin. Knowing how they are actually organized makes it much easier to plan a course load that fits your interests rather than picking names off a list at random.
Key takeaways
There are 42 AP courses and exams currently offered, organized into seven categories: arts, English, history and social science, math and computer science, science, world languages and cultures, and the two-course AP Capstone program, plus a newer Career Kickstart pathway.
History and social science is the largest category, with 10 distinct courses covering everything from psychology to comparative government.
Most high schools offer a fraction of the full 42, typically somewhere between 10 and 30, depending on staffing and student demand.
The right category to start with depends on your intended major and interests, not on which category has the most options.
How many types of AP classes are there?
According to CollegeBoard's own course listing, the current 42 AP subjects are grouped into seven categories: Arts, English, History and Social Sciences, Math and Computer Science, Sciences, World Languages and Cultures, and AP Capstone, alongside a newer Career Kickstart pathway aimed at business and technology skills. Each category is built around a distinct kind of thinking and skill set, which is worth understanding before you pick a course based on its title alone.
Arts
The Arts category covers five courses: AP 2D Art and Design, AP 3D Art and Design, AP Drawing, AP Art History, and AP Music Theory. The three studio-based courses are portfolio-driven, meaning your final score depends on a sustained body of creative work rather than a single exam. AP Art History and AP Music Theory work differently, combining content knowledge with analysis, closer in structure to a traditional AP humanities course.
English
English has two courses: AP English Language and Composition, which focuses on rhetorical analysis and argumentative writing, and AP English Literature and Composition, which focuses on literary analysis of fiction, poetry, and drama. Many schools fold AP English Language into the standard junior-year curriculum, which is part of why it consistently ranks among the most popular AP classes nationally.
History and social science
This is the largest category, with 10 courses: AP African American Studies, AP Comparative Government and Politics, AP European History, AP Human Geography, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Psychology, AP United States Government and Politics, AP United States History, and AP World History: Modern. AP Human Geography is frequently the entry point for freshmen taking their first AP class, since it has no heavy prerequisites.
Math and computer science
This category includes AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Precalculus, and AP Statistics. Calculus AB and BC follow a sequential relationship, BC covers everything in AB plus additional material, while Computer Science A (programming-focused) and Computer Science Principles (broader, conceptual) serve different kinds of students interested in the field.
Sciences
The science category includes AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, and AP Physics C: Mechanics. The two Physics C courses assume a stronger calculus background than Physics 1 or 2, and are typically taken after a student has already completed at least one algebra-based physics course.
World languages and cultures
This category covers AP Chinese Language and Culture, AP French Language and Culture, AP German Language and Culture, AP Italian Language and Culture, AP Japanese Language and Culture, AP Latin, AP Spanish Language and Culture, and AP Spanish Literature and Culture. Spanish is the only language offered at two distinct levels, a language-focused course and a literature-focused one, similar to the split between AP English Language and AP English Literature.
AP Capstone and Career Kickstart
AP Capstone consists of two sequential courses, AP Seminar followed by AP Research, built entirely around independent research, argumentation, and presentation skills rather than a fixed subject. Career Kickstart is a newer, smaller pathway that includes courses like AP Business with Personal Finance and AP Cybersecurity, aimed at practical, career-adjacent skills.
How do you decide which type of AP class fits you?
Start with your intended area of interest rather than a category's overall size. A student aiming for engineering gets more direct value from the math and computer science or sciences categories than from taking a world language AP purely because it is available. That said, colleges do value some breadth across categories, so a course load concentrated in a single category to the total exclusion of others is generally not necessary and not particularly advantageous either.
If you are still deciding how many total AP classes to build into your schedule across these categories, our guide on how many AP classes you should take walks through how to think about course load by grade level.
Beyond the standard AP categories
Every AP category is ultimately built around a fixed curriculum and a standardized exam. If a specific question within one of these subjects genuinely excites you, whether that's a question in history, biology, economics, or computer science, going deeper than any single AP course allows is where independent research comes in.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program pairs students with a PhD mentor to design and complete an original research project in almost any of these subject areas, extending what a single AP course can offer into something more open-ended and self-directed.
Frequently asked questions
How many AP classes are there in total?
There are currently 42 AP courses and exams, according to CollegeBoard's official course listing, organized across seven categories plus a newer Career Kickstart pathway.
What is the largest category of AP classes?
History and social science is the largest category, with 10 distinct courses, ranging from AP Psychology to AP Comparative Government and Politics.
Do all high schools offer every type of AP class?
No. Most schools offer a subset of the full 42, commonly somewhere between 10 and 30 courses, depending on staffing, facilities, and student demand.
What is the difference between AP Computer Science A and Computer Science Principles?
AP Computer Science A is programming-focused, centered on Java, while AP Computer Science Principles is broader and more conceptual, covering computing's impact alongside foundational programming ideas. Either can serve as a starting point, though CS A assumes more comfort with direct coding.
Which type of AP class should I take first?
Most students start with a history and social science course, commonly AP Human Geography, since it requires no heavy prerequisites. The best first choice ultimately depends on your intended interests rather than a single universal recommendation.
Resources
Official AP resources
AP Courses and Exams, the full, current list of all 42 AP subjects by category.
Choosing Your AP Courses, College Board's own planning guidance.
More from the Lumiere blog
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.