The Advanced Placement program has grown steadily since College Board launched it in 1955. What started with a handful of subjects is now a catalog of 42 courses spanning arts, humanities, sciences, math, world languages and career-focused pathways, with a few more in pilot for future school years.
This is the complete inventory of AP courses currently offered for the 2026-27 school year, grouped by category, with a one-line description of each. It's the reference to bookmark when a student is trying to figure out what's available or a parent wants to check whether a particular course really exists as an AP option. Every course listed here is verified against the College Board's official course inventory as of 28 September 2026.
Key things to know: College Board offers 42 AP courses across 8 categories for 2026-27. Two new Career Kickstart courses (Business with Personal Finance and Cybersecurity) launched this school year. AP Networking is in pilot and joins the official list in Fall 2027, which will bring the total to 43.
The 8 AP subject categories
College Board organizes its AP courses into eight categories. Here's the headline count for 2026-27:
| Category | Courses offered |
|---|---|
| Arts | 5 |
| English | 2 |
| History and Social Sciences | 10 |
| Math and Computer Science | 6 |
| Sciences | 7 |
| World Languages and Cultures | 8 |
| AP Capstone Diploma Program | 2 |
| AP Career Kickstart | 2 |
Arts: 5 courses
AP 2-D Art and Design
A portfolio-based course where students develop a body of work in two-dimensional media: drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, digital art or photography. Assessed through a submitted portfolio rather than an end-of-year exam.
AP 3-D Art and Design
The three-dimensional counterpart: sculpture, ceramics, architectural design, figurines, jewelry. Also portfolio-assessed. Students who used to take AP Studio Art now choose between 2-D, 3-D and Drawing.
AP Drawing
Focused on mark-making and observational skill. Portfolio-assessed. Students submit a Sustained Investigation and Selected Works.
AP Art History
A survey of art from prehistory to the present, structured around 250 required works. Exam features multiple choice and short-answer plus long essay questions.
AP Music Theory
Aural skills, sight-singing, part-writing and harmonic analysis. Exam includes a listening section and a written portion.
The old AP Studio Art course was split into three separate courses (2-D Art and Design, 3-D Art and Design, Drawing). If you see "AP Studio Art" quoted anywhere, that's the pre-split naming. It's no longer offered under that title.
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English: 2 courses
AP English Language and Composition
Rhetorical analysis, argument construction and non-fiction writing. Often called AP Lang. Exam features three FRQs (synthesis, rhetorical analysis, argument) plus multiple choice.
AP English Literature and Composition
Close reading and analysis of literary fiction, poetry and drama. Often called AP Lit. Exam features three FRQs (poetry analysis, prose analysis, literary argument) plus multiple choice.
History and Social Sciences: 10 courses
AP African American Studies
The newest history course, officially launched in 2024-25 after a two-year pilot. Covers the origins of the African diaspora through the present, structured around four units.
AP Comparative Government and Politics
Compares the political systems of six countries: China, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia and the UK. Exam features MCQ, short-answer, conceptual analysis and argument essay.
AP European History
European history from 1450 to the present. Exam features MCQ, short-answer, Document-Based Question (DBQ) and long essay.
AP Human Geography
Patterns and processes shaping how humans understand and use Earth's surface. Often a first AP course for freshmen or sophomores.
AP Macroeconomics
Economics at the national and global level: inflation, unemployment, monetary and fiscal policy, international trade.
AP Microeconomics
Economics at the individual and firm level: supply and demand, market structures, factor markets.
AP Psychology
A redesigned framework was rolled out recently. Covers biological, cognitive, developmental, social and clinical psychology.
AP United States Government and Politics
The US constitutional system, political behavior, civil liberties and civil rights. Anchored in nine foundational documents.
AP United States History
US history from the pre-Columbian era to the present, often called APUSH. Exam features MCQ, short-answer, DBQ and long essay.
AP World History: Modern
World history from 1200 CE to the present. Exam features MCQ, short-answer, DBQ and long essay.
Math and Computer Science: 6 courses
AP Calculus AB
Roughly equivalent to a first-semester college calculus course. Covers limits, derivatives, integrals and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus.
AP Calculus BC
Covers everything in Calculus AB plus additional topics: parametric, polar and vector functions, series and sequences. Roughly equivalent to two semesters of college calculus.
AP Computer Science A
Java programming, object-oriented design and problem-solving. The framework was revised for Fall 2025.
AP Computer Science Principles
A broader introduction to computer science: programming, algorithms, data, the internet and computing impacts. Suitable for students without prior coding experience.
AP Precalculus
Introduced in 2023-24, this course prepares students for calculus by covering polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric and polar functions.
AP Statistics
Data collection, probability distributions, inference and statistical reasoning. Framework was revised for Fall 2026.
Sciences: 7 courses
AP Biology
Structured around eight units and four Big Ideas. Course and Exam Description was revised for Fall 2025. Our AP Biology units guide covers the full breakdown.
AP Chemistry
Nine units covering atomic structure, bonding, kinetics, thermodynamics and equilibrium. Course and Exam Description was revised for Fall 2024.
AP Environmental Science
Often called APES. Combines biology, chemistry, geology and geography to study environmental problems and solutions.
AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based
Introductory algebra-based mechanics: kinematics, forces, energy, momentum, rotation, oscillations and fluids. No calculus required.
AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based
Thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, circuits, optics, waves and modern physics. Revised from Fall 2024, with exam updates from the May 2027 exam.
AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
Calculus-based electromagnetism, similar in scope to a second-semester introductory college physics course.
AP Physics C: Mechanics
Calculus-based mechanics, similar in scope to a first-semester introductory college physics course.
World Languages and Cultures: 8 courses
AP Chinese Language and Culture
Mandarin at the intermediate-to-advanced level. Delivered by computer, with speaking, listening, reading and writing sections. Framework was revised for Fall 2026.
AP French Language and Culture
French at the intermediate-to-advanced level. Framework was revised for Fall 2026.
AP German Language and Culture
German at the intermediate-to-advanced level. Framework was revised for Fall 2026.
AP Italian Language and Culture
Italian at the intermediate-to-advanced level. Framework was revised for Fall 2026.
AP Japanese Language and Culture
Japanese at the intermediate-to-advanced level. Delivered by computer. Framework was revised for Fall 2026.
AP Latin
Reading, translating and analyzing selections from Vergil's Aeneid and Pliny the Younger's Letters. The framework was revised for Fall 2025 (Pliny replaced Caesar).
AP Spanish Language and Culture
Spanish at the intermediate-to-advanced level. Framework was revised for Fall 2026.
AP Spanish Literature and Culture
A separate course focused on literary works in Spanish from Spain, Latin America and the US.
AP Capstone Diploma Program: 2 courses
AP Capstone is a two-year sequence that leads to a diploma or certificate, separate from the individual AP course exams. Students who complete both courses and earn 3s or higher on four additional AP exams receive the AP Capstone Diploma.
AP Seminar
First year of the Capstone program. Students research, analyze and present on academic and real-world topics. Assessed through team and individual projects plus a written exam. Framework revisions are landing in Spring 2027.
AP Research
Second year of the Capstone program. Students design, plan and conduct a year-long independent research project on a topic of their choice, culminating in an academic paper and oral defense.
AP Career Kickstart: 2 courses
AP Career Kickstart is the newest pathway, designed to bring the college credit AP is known for to career and technical education. Two courses officially launched in Fall 2026:
AP Business with Personal Finance
Fundamentals of business plus personal financial literacy: budgeting, credit, investing, tax and consumer decision-making. Officially launched Fall 2026 after a pilot phase.
AP Cybersecurity
Fundamentals of cybersecurity: threats, vulnerabilities, network security, cryptography and incident response. Officially launched Fall 2026 after a pilot phase.
A third Career Kickstart course, AP Networking, is in pilot for 2026-27 and joins the official inventory in Fall 2027. That will bring the total AP course count to 43.
What's changed recently and what's coming
The AP catalog isn't static. Course and Exam Descriptions are revised on a rolling basis, and the exam format itself gets tweaked over time. Some of the most significant recent and upcoming changes:
AP African American Studies officially launched in 2024-25 after a two-year pilot involving around 700 schools and roughly 13,000 students in the 2023-24 pilot year. It's the newest AP course in the History and Social Sciences category.
Six world-language frameworks (Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish Language and Culture) were revised for Fall 2026, meaning teachers are teaching an updated curriculum this school year.
AP Statistics was revised for Fall 2026 as well, with updated content standards.
AP English Language and AP English Literature both cut their multiple-choice answer options from five to four from Fall 2024.
AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Physics 1 and 2, AP Physics C, AP European History, AP US History and AP World History all have exam updates landing in Fall 2026.
AP Seminar and AP Computer Science Principles both have revised Course and Exam Descriptions scheduled for Spring 2027.
Which AP course should you take?
That depends on the student, but a few practical rules of thumb apply.
For a first AP class, AP Human Geography, AP Environmental Science and AP US History are all popular starting points because they're introductory-level college courses with plenty of support material.
For students targeting selective colleges, taking AP courses in your intended major shows commitment to the field. A student aiming at a science major who hasn't taken any of AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics or AP Computer Science raises questions.
For students focused on efficient credit generation, Calculus BC and Physics C often earn substantial credit, but check each college's policy with College Board's AP Credit Policy Search. AP Chinese and AP Japanese have the highest 5 rates of any exam but are typically dominated by heritage speakers.
Once you've chosen, studying for the exam is its own separate skill. Our subject-specific guides on how to study for AP Biology, how to study for AP US History and how to study for AP Psychology break down what preparation really looks like for each. And Cognito's AP Biology notes and other AP course pages line up with the current unit structures if you want video-and-notes coverage.
