The Definitive List of Advanced Placement (AP) Online Courses

Update December 23, 2024

Many courses on this list are archived or no longer available. Please see our updated list of online courses that help prepare you for AP exams:

AP Success Without Boundaries

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Two years ago, we published a list of Advanced Placement (AP) online courses. This update represents a complete overhaul, rebuilt by sifting through our vast catalog. The result? A longer, more comprehensive list of some 200+ AP courses covering 24 subjects that's easier to read and better organized.

We hope you'll find the resources in this list helpful. If you do, please remember to bookmark this page and tell a friend about it. Best of luck in your AP endeavors!

What is the Advanced Placement program? What are its benefits?

In the US, high schools offer AP courses to students who demonstrate a readiness to take on college level courses. Students who perform well in these courses can register to sit for AP exams for various subjects. These exams are graded on a scale from 1-5.

Many colleges and universities recognize high scores (usually a 4 or 5) as indicators of competence in a subject. While these institutions differ in how they reward high scores, most will grant credit and allow students to place out of certain intro level courses. In other words, if you score highly, you may earn credit on your transcript and skip ahead a bit.

Ultimately, this means being able to save time and tuition money. When you consider the annual cost of undergraduate studies in the US ($21,370/year for public four-year college, $48,510 for private four-year college according to College Board), placing out even one course can yield implicit savings in the thousands of Dollars.

There are other less tangible benefits as well. AP courses by design offer a level of rigor meant to match those found in first-year university classrooms. Performing well in these courses signals to others that you’re college-ready, academically. Indeed, the College Board asserts that admissions officers view having “AP” on a transcript favorably.

How you can use these online courses

These online courses are designed for virtually any audience. You might be taking AP courses now, planning on sitting in on this year’s AP exams, or anticipate taking AP courses in the future. You might not be taking them at all.

Generally, we’ve seen students take these courses to help them:

Prepare for the May exams
Preview AP courses they’ll take in the upcoming academic year
Get a head start on intro-level university courses
Self-study AP courses in preparation for the exam

Many of these courses are structured so that they can effectively supplant a formal course. They also provide test preparation for the exams. Because of this, most students use these courses as study aids or as supplements to existing courses.

Self studying AP subjects

Several universities and institutions whose courses are featured here recognize that AP’s have much to offer students. They’re also aware, however, that not all students have access to AP’s. Most high schools only have enough resources to offer a handful of the 38 AP subjects. Those that do often lack enough seats to accommodate all students interested in taking them.

In response this gap, these institutions have created online courses designed to substitute in-classroom instruction. They might not replicate the in-classroom experience, especially in subjects with lab components, but enterprising students can use them to perform well on the AP exams.

Finally, know that College Board offers reduced exams fees for those with a financial need. You can find out more here.

Advanced Placement Online Courses: Our 2019 List

Our 2019 list comprises of a whopping 214 online courses. We’ve grouped these into AP subjects. Note that many subjects do not have online courses available for them. Similarly, you may not find the perfect course for you in available subjects.

We’ll try to fill these gaps over time. In the meantime, subscribe to our newsletter and bookmark this post for future updates.

The Arts

Art History

AP®︎ Art History

Collection

The Definitive List of Advanced Placement (AP) Online Courses

What is the Advanced Placement program? What are its benefits?

How you can use these online courses

Self studying AP subjects

Advanced Placement Online Courses: Our 2019 List

The Arts

Art History

Music Theory

English

History & Social Science

Human Geography

Microeconomics

Macroeconomics

Psychology

United States Government and Politics

United States History

World History

Math & Computer Science

Calculus AB and BC

Computer Science A

Computer Science Principles

Statistics

Sciences

Biology

Chemistry

Environmental Science

Physics C

Physics 1

Physics 2

World Languages & Cultures

Italian

Latin

Spanish

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