Guide to the AP European History Exam

Familiar with the defenestration of Prague? Know the causes of the French Revolution? The AP ^® European History exam tests topics and skills discussed in your Advanced Placement European History course. If you score high enough, your AP Euro score could earn you college credit!

Check out our AP European History guide for the essential info you need about the exam:

• Exam Overview
• Sections and Question Types
• Scoring
• How to Prepare

What’s on the AP European History Exam?

The course focuses on the following nine units of study:

• Unit 1: Renaissance and Exploration
• Unit 2: Age of Reformation
• Unit 3: Absolutism and Constitutionalism
• Unit 4: Scientific, Philosophical, and Political Developments
• Unit 5: Conflict, Crisis, and Reaction in the Late 18th Century
• Unit 6: Industrialization and its Effects
• Unit 7: 19th Century Perspectives and Political Developments
• Unit 8: 20th Century Global Conflicts
• Unit 9: Cold War and Contemporary Europe

The College Board is very detailed in what they require your AP teacher to cover in his or her AP European History course. They explain that you should be familiar with the following themes:

• Interaction of Europe and and the World: commercial and religious motivations to interact with the world; competition for trade; commercial rivalries; Christianity; social Darwinism; mercantilism; slave-labor system; expansion of slave trade; slave revolt and Haitian independence; national self-determination; extreme nationalist political parties; increased immigration into Europe, anti-immigrant policies; Woodrow Wilson’s political/diplomatic idealism; causes of World War I; Columbian exchange; Marshall Plan; 1929 stock market crash; Cold War outside Europe; responses to imperialism; diplomacy and colonial wars

• Economic and Commercial Developments: industrialization; Second Industrial Revolution; French Revolution; Russian reform and modernization; world monetary and trade systems; European economic and political integration; baby boom; the putting-out system; Agricultural Revolution and population growth; mechanization; the factory system; migration from rural to urban areas; critiques of capitalism; evolution of socialist ideology; Russian Revolution; Lenin’s New Economic Policy; Stalin’s economic modernization; fascism; the Great Depression; green parties; revolts of 1968; labor laws and reform programs

• Cultural and Intellectual Developments: revival of classical texts; invention of the printing press; Renaissance art; scientific method; rational thought; theories of Locke and Rousseau; humanism; romanticism; fascist nationalism

• States and Other Institutions of Power: English Civil War; French Revolution; wars of Napoleon; Enlightenment principles; Congress of Vienna; social contract; post-1815 revolutions; nation-building; industrialization; Russian Revolution; constitutionalism; rise of the Nazis; mass media and propaganda; total war; post-1945 nationalist/separatist movements; genocide; imperialism; colonial independence movements; League of Nations; collapse of communism

• Social Organization and Development: gender roles and marriage patterns; hierarchy and social status; urban expansion; rise of commercial and professional groups; family economy; Napoleon and meritocracy; industrialization and class; destructive effects of technology; religious minorities; social Darwinism

• National and European Identity: new class identities; ethnic cleansing; national self-determination; transnational identities; European integration; conflict between religious groups; continued influence of local identities; separatist movements; decolonization; radical political thought; rise of Zionism; mass politics; worker movements

• Technological and Scientific Innovation : Golden Age of Dutch advances (telescope, microscope, etc.); 1 ^st Industrial Revolution (spinning jenny, steam engine, steamboat); 2 ^nd Industrial Revolution (electric motors, railways, telegraph, automobile, medical technology); 20 ^th century (Einstein and theory of relativity, color photography, warfare technology, radio and television, medical innovations)

AP Euro Sections and Question Types

The AP European History exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long. It is composed of two sections: a multiple choice/short answer section and a a free response section. There are two parts (Part A and Part B) to each section.

Note: The College Board has not yet announced if the 2021 digital version of the AP European History exam will be in place for future exam years. For updates on the digital test and its format, please visit the  AP Euro page on the College Board's website .

AP European History Multiple-Choice

Multiple-choice questions are grouped into sets of typically three or four questions and based on a primary or secondary source, including excerpts from historical documents or writings, images, graphs, maps, and so on. This section will test your ability to analyze and engage with the source materials while recalling what you already know about European History.

AP European History Short Answer

The short answer questions will ask you to write answers to questions in your test booklet. Some questions include texts, images, graphs, or maps. Questions 1 and 2 are required and focus on historical developments or processes from 1600–2001. You can choose between Question 3, which focuses on periods 1450–1648 and/or 1648–1815, and Question 4, which focuses on periods 1815–1914 and/or 1914–present.

AP European History Document-Based Question (DBQ)

DBQ questions will present you with a variety of historical documents that are intended to show various perspectives on a historical development or process. You will need to develop a thesis that responds to the question prompt and to support that thesis with evidence from both the documents and your knowledge of European history. The topic of the DBQ will include historical developments or processes between the years 1600 and 2001.

AP European History Long Essay

You’re given a choice form three long essay prompts to complete. You must develop a thesis and use historical evidence to support your thesis, but there won’t be any documents on which you must base your response. Instead you’ll need to draw upon your own knowledge of topics you learned in your AP European History class. Each question focuses on a different time period (1450–1700, 1648–1914, or 1815–2001).

What's a Good AP European History Score?

AP scores are reported from 1 to 5. Colleges are generally looking for a 4 or 5 on the AP Euro exam, but some may grant credit for a 3. Here’s how students scored on the AP European History exam in May 2022:

Source: College Board

How can I prepare?

AP classes are great, but for many students they’re not enough! For a thorough review of AP European History content and strategy, pick the AP prep option that works best for your goals and learning style.