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title: "AP Classes for Law"
description: "AP Classes for Law on Fiveable."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-classes/law"
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---

# AP Classes for Law

## Page Content

For law and pre-law, the best AP<sup>®</sup> classes are AP<sup>®</sup> English Language, AP<sup>®</sup> English Literature, AP<sup>®</sup> US Government, AP<sup>®</sup> Comparative Government, AP<sup>®</sup> US History, and AP<sup>®</sup> Economics. Law does not require a specific undergraduate major, so the best AP<sup>®</sup> plan builds reading, writing, argument, evidence, and civic knowledge.

Use this guide with Fiveable's [AP<sup>®</sup> English Language](/ap-lang), [AP<sup>®</sup> English Literature](/ap-lit), [AP<sup>®</sup> US Government](/ap-gov), [AP<sup>®</sup> Comparative Government](/ap-comp-gov), [AP<sup>®</sup> US History](/apush), and [AP<sup>®</sup> Microeconomics](/ap-micro).

## Recommended AP<sup>®</sup> sequence for law

| Grade | Best AP focus | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 9th grade | AP Human Geography or no AP | Build reading stamina and note-taking habits. |
| 10th grade | AP World History, AP European History, or AP Psychology | Practice argument, causation, and evidence. |
| 11th grade | AP English Language, AP US History, AP US Government | Strongest year for writing and civic foundations. |
| 12th grade | AP Literature, AP Comparative Government, AP Micro/Macroeconomics, AP Research | Add advanced reading, global politics, policy, or research. |

If your school offers AP Seminar or AP Research, those can be useful for students who enjoy argument-based writing. They should supplement, not replace, core English and history rigor.

## Priority tiers

| Tier | AP classes | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | AP English Language, AP US Government, AP US History | Best foundation for legal reading, writing, and civic context. |
| Useful | AP English Literature, AP Comparative Government, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics | Adds interpretation, comparative systems, and policy thinking. |
| Optional | AP Psychology, AP Research, AP European History, AP World History | Useful if your interests lean toward criminal law, international law, or history. |

## Prerequisites and alternatives

- Choose AP English Language before AP Literature if your school sequences them that way. Lang is especially useful for argument and rhetorical analysis.
- AP Government pairs well with AP US History because law connects institutions, constitutional development, and political behavior.
- AP Economics is helpful for business law, public policy, antitrust, labor, and regulatory interests.
- If your school does not offer AP Government, take the strongest civics, debate, history, or English courses available.
- Keep math going through senior year if possible. Pre-law students still benefit from quantitative reasoning.

## College credit and admissions caveats

Law school comes after college, and there is no required pre-law AP® list. Undergraduate admissions teams will care more about course rigor, grades, writing skill, and intellectual direction than a perfect law-themed schedule. AP® credit may help satisfy general education requirements, but your college major and law-school prerequisites will be determined later.

The best AP strategy is to become the kind of reader and writer who can handle dense texts, evidence, and timed argument.

## Fiveable resources for law AP<sup>®</sup> classes

| AP subject | Study hub | Practice | FRQs | Score calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP English Language | [Study guides](/ap-lang) | [Practice](/ap-lang/guided-practice) | [FRQs](/ap-lang/frqs) | [Calculator](/ap-lang/ap-score-calculator) |
| AP English Literature | [Study guides](/ap-lit) | [Practice](/ap-lit/guided-practice) | [FRQs](/ap-lit/frqs) | [Calculator](/ap-lit/ap-score-calculator) |
| AP US Government | [Study guides](/ap-gov) | [Practice](/ap-gov/guided-practice) | [FRQs](/ap-gov/frqs) | [Calculator](/ap-gov/ap-score-calculator) |
| AP Comparative Government | [Study guides](/ap-comp-gov) | [Practice](/ap-comp-gov/guided-practice) | [FRQs](/ap-comp-gov/frqs) | [Calculator](/ap-comp-gov/ap-score-calculator) |
| AP US History | [Study guides](/apush) | [Practice](/apush/guided-practice) | [FRQs](/apush/frqs) | [Calculator](/apush/ap-score-calculator) |

## Official planning notes

- College Board's [AP courses list](https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/courses) includes the English, History and Social Sciences, and AP Capstone courses most relevant to pre-law planning.
- College Board's [Career Connections to AP](https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/start-expand-ap-program/build/career-connections) encourages connecting AP skills to majors and careers.
- Use College Board's [AP Credit Policy Search](https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/getting-credit-placement/search-policies) to check whether English, government, or history AP scores satisfy college requirements.

## Related AP<sup>®</sup> career guides

Compare this plan with [AP® classes for business](/ap-classes/business), [AP® classes for finance](/ap-classes/finance), [AP® classes for education](/ap-classes/education), and [AP® classes by grade](/ap-classes-by-grade).