Best High School Electives 2023: A Useful Guide for Students & Parents

Last Updated on July 24, 2023 by

High school students have loads of elective subjects to choose from. Are you looking for the list of best high school electives? If yes, this post will be of help to you. Here, I’ve compiled a list of best high school electives.

High school electives are courses that fall outside of the core curriculum/academic subjects (English, math, history, science and foreign language). These are not compulsory/mandatory courses. These are optional courses, which are usually chosen by the student.

A student may choose a particular elective course for reasons such as –

• He/she is interested in that course
• He/she is interested in skill development (through that course)
• The elective course is related to the Major that he/she is planning to pursue in college
• The elective course won’t add additional burden on him/her
• Other reasons

The right set of elective courses can help a student in different ways. Here’s a guide about identifying and selecting the right electives in high school – tips to find and select the best high school electives.

The next two sections will highlight the importance of electives. Read on to know more –

High school can be the most crucial stage to build up the skills and set the stage for professional moves. Here, students need to develop writing tactics and can beat the odds in college prelims. The students are left with the options of performing better in schools and standardized sets. It leaves the mind of students with creative expressions, thoughts with which they are left to pen down their thoughts.

Selection of meaningful high school electives also leaves up with the option of following the same with their passions. Mindful activities and creative expressions are such that they can essentially minimize the academic burden and after school time commitments. A fun-class can break the rigorous routine schedule of monotonous classes and students are free to enjoy, share, learn and explore.

Before heading to the meat of the matter – list of best high school electives – let us take a closer look at the different types of elective courses. As I mentioned before, high school students have access to loads of electives. These electives can be marked/labelled under different fields/disciplines. Let us check out these fields/disciplines –

High school electives: Field/Discipline-wise classification

High school students have access to loads of elective courses. These elective courses can be categorized into the following fields/disciplines –

• Apologetics
• Bible
• Business
• Communication
• Computer/IT
• Family and Consumer Science
• Fine Arts
• Foreign Language
• Health
• Language and Writing
• Life Skills
• Math
• Performing Arts
• Physical Education
• Rhetoric
• Science
• Social Science
• Visual Arts
• Others

Each field/discipline offers unique, useful and interesting elective courses. You may choose good electives on the basis of factors such as –

• Your interests
• Skill development
• Level of difficulty
• Usefulness of the course (looking from college Major’s point of view)

Let us check out the list of best electives now. Here it is –

List of best high school electives in 2022

1. Apologetics electives

   • World cultures
   • Mythology
   • Comparative religions
   • Worldview studies

2. Bible electives

   • Topical bible studies
   • Old testament/New testament survery
   • Church history

3. Business electives

   • Marketing
   • Advertising
   • Business management
   • Entrepreneurship skills
   • Office skills
   • Business law

4. Communication electives

   • Public speaking
   • Creative writing
   • Journalism
   • Communication skills

5. Computer/IT electives

   • Web design
   • Programming
   • Animation
   • App design/development
   • Computer hardware repair
   • Graphic design
   • DTP

6. Family and consumer science electives

   • Home science and nutrition
   • Culinary arts
   • Family studies

7. Fine arts electives

   • Drawing
   • Film making
   • Sculpture
   • Photography
   • Band
   • Ceramics
   • Painting

8. Foreign language electives

   • Latin
   • French
   • German
   • Chinese
   • Spanish

9. Health electives

   • CPR training
   • Nutrition
   • First Aid

10. Language and writing electives

    • Journalism
    • Creative writing
    • Poetry
    • Debate
    • Literature

11. Life skills electives

    • Plumbing
    • Carpentry
    • Auto mechanics training
    • Driver’s education
    • Electronics
    • Robotics
    • CAD
    • Networking (computer)
    • Hospitality

12. Mathematics electives

    • Statistics and probability
    • Trigonometry

13. Performing arts electives

    • Dance
    • Theater
    • Drama
    • Orchestra

14. Physical education electives

    • Gymnastics
    • Weightlifting
    • Team sports
    • Individual sports
    • Aerobics

15. Rhetoric electives

    • Debate
    • Logic
    • Critical thinking

16. Science electives

    • Geology
    • Astronomy
    • Botany
    • Meteorology
    • Oceanography
    • Physics
    • Agriculture
    • Environmental science
    • Biotechnology

17. Social science/studies electives

    • Psychology
    • Anthropology
    • Sociology
    • US Government
    • Civics
    • Political studies
    • Economics
    • International relations

18. Visual arts electives

    • Drawing
    • Painting
    • Sculpting
    • Film making
    • Graphic design

Vishnu Nambiar

I am Vishnu Nambiar a career and educational blogger from India. I am also a full time educational consultant having more than 12 years of experience in the educational sector.

I share articles related to courses, colleges, careers, exam tips and more here.