Honestly, looking at the full list of all AP courses feels a bit like staring at a 40-page diner menu when you're already starving. You just want to know what’s good. But in the world of Advanced Placement, "good" is relative. One person's easy A in AP Psychology is another person's nightmare in AP Physics C.
The College Board currently offers 40 distinct courses (as of the 2025-2026 school year), and they’ve recently started branching out into some pretty specific career-focused areas. It isn't just about Calculus and History anymore. We've got stuff like AP African American Studies and a new "Career Kickstart" track that basically tries to bridge the gap between high school and a literal job.
If you’re trying to map out your next three years, or you’re a parent wondering why your kid is crying over a DBQ (Document-Based Question), here is the ground truth on what exists right now.
The current list of all AP courses by category
Most people think of APs in big chunks—STEM, Humanities, and the "hard" ones. But the College Board breaks them down into seven specific groups. Don't feel like you have to touch every group; that's a one-way ticket to burnout city.
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English and the Capstone Program
These are the heavy hitters for writing.
- AP English Language and Composition: Basically "How to Argue 101." It's less about books and more about rhetoric.
- AP English Literature and Composition: This is where you actually read the classics and analyze why the curtains were blue.
- AP Seminar: The first half of the Capstone. You research stuff and give presentations.
- AP Research: You spend a year writing one giant paper on a topic you actually care about.
History and Social Sciences
This is the biggest category. It's where most students start their AP journey, usually with Human Geography or World History.
- AP African American Studies: This is officially out of its pilot phase and into full rollout.
- AP Comparative Government and Politics: You look at how six different countries (like Iran, Nigeria, and the UK) actually run things.
- AP European History: Kings, wars, and the Renaissance.
- AP Human Geography: Often called "AP Hug." It's about how humans interact with the planet.
- AP Macroeconomics: The big picture—inflation, GDP, and why money is weird.
- AP Microeconomics: The small picture—supply, demand, and how firms make decisions.
- AP Psychology: Extremely popular. Sorta like an intro to how your brain breaks.
- AP United States Government and Politics: How the three branches of government work (or don't).
- AP United States History (APUSH): A massive, fast-paced dive into American history.
- AP World History: Modern: Covers 1200 CE to now. It's a lot of ground to cover.
Math and Computer Science
Math is where the credit really stacks up in college.
- AP Calculus AB: The standard "hard math" class.
- AP Calculus BC: AB on steroids. It covers everything in AB plus some extra units like polar coordinates and series.
- AP Computer Science A: Coding in Java. It’s very logic-heavy.
- AP Computer Science Principles: A broader, more creative look at how the internet and tech work.
- AP Precalculus: The newest math addition. It’s been a huge hit because it gets kids into the AP track earlier.
- AP Statistics: Learning how to read data and not get lied to by graphs.
The Sciences
Pick your poison: plants, chemicals, or gravity.
- AP Biology: Lots of memorization and labs.
- AP Chemistry: Known for being one of the toughest exams on the list.
- AP Environmental Science (APES): Often considered the most "accessible" science.
- AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based: Newtonian mechanics. No calculus needed, but the concepts are tricky.
- AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based: Thermodynamics, fluids, and optics.
- AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism: Requires calculus. Very intense.
- AP Physics C: Mechanics: Also requires calculus. Usually taken after Physics 1.
Arts and World Languages
- AP Art History: Looking at 250 specific works of art throughout history.
- AP Music Theory: Learning to read, write, and listen to music like a pro.
- AP 2-D Art and Design: Portfolio-based (no written exam!).
- AP 3-D Art and Design: For the sculptors and architects.
- AP Drawing: Focusing on mark-making and surface.
- AP Chinese / French / German / Italian / Japanese / Spanish / Latin: These are all about "Language and Culture." There’s also AP Spanish Literature, which is much harder and focuses on reading old texts.
What changed in 2025 and 2026?
The College Board isn't stagnant. They've been watching where the money is going—specifically in tech and finance.
Starting in the 2025-2026 cycle, we’re seeing the rise of AP Career Kickstart. This is a pilot program that includes courses like AP Business with Personal Finance and AP Cybersecurity. These are specifically designed to give you industry-recognized credentials, not just college credit. It's a huge shift. For years, AP was purely academic. Now, it’s trying to be vocational too.
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Also, keep an eye on AP Precalculus. It just became the fastest-growing AP course in history. Why? Because schools realized that if they label a standard Precalc class as "AP," students get the GPA boost and the College Board gets more test fees. It’s a win-win, even if some colleges are still figuring out how much credit to give for it.
The "Easiest" vs. "Hardest" debate
Let's be real. Everyone wants to know which ones to take to pad their GPA without dying.
According to 2024 and 2025 pass rate data, AP Chinese Language and AP Research usually have the highest percentage of 3s, 4s, and 5s. But that’s a trap! People taking AP Chinese are often heritage speakers. People taking AP Research have already survived AP Seminar.
The courses with the lowest pass rates are often AP Physics 1 and AP Environmental Science. This sounds counterintuitive for APES, but it's often because students take it thinking it’ll be a breeze and don't study. Physics 1 is just legitimately hard because it requires a specific type of conceptual thinking that "plug and chug" math students struggle with.
How to actually use this list
Don't just pick the five most prestigious-sounding names. Look at the colleges you actually want to attend. Some state schools will give you 30 credits for a handful of 3s, while Ivy Leagues might only give you "placement" (meaning you skip the intro class but still have to pay for four years of credits).
Your next steps:
- Check the AP Credit Policy Search: Go to the College Board website and type in the names of colleges you like. See if they actually give credit for AP Precalculus or AP Human Geography.
- Talk to the teacher, not just the counselor: A great teacher can make AP Chem feel like a hobby; a bad one can make AP Psych feel like a prison sentence.
- Balance the load: If you’re taking APUSH and AP Bio in the same year, your social life is basically over. Pair a "heavy" reading course with a "lighter" one or a math-based one to keep your brain from melting.