Course syllabus
AP® European History
A High Bluff Academy course, authorized through the College Board's AP Course Audit.
AP® European History is a course in the history of Europe from about 1450 to the present. The College Board's framework asks students to investigate the significant events, individuals, developments, and processes of that period and to use the methods of historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources, developing historical arguments, making historical connections, and reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change over time.
The College Board describes AP European History as the equivalent of an introductory college or university survey of modern European history.
The College Board's AP European History framework has nine units in a logical sequence often found in college courses and textbooks, and the AP Exam assesses all nine. The framework describes what colleges and universities expect students to know and be able to do to qualify for college credit or placement.
Course identification
- Course title
- AP European History
- Subject area
- Social Science
- AP authorization
- Authorized through the College Board's AP Course Audit
- Framework
- College Board, AP European History Course and Exam Description, effective fall 2026
- Length
- Two semesters of credit; the calendar length depends on the format
- Prerequisites
- The recommended preparation below
- Term
- Set at enrollment
Credit and accreditation
- School of record
- High Bluff Academy
- CEEB code
- 053036
- AP Exam
- Given at High Bluff Academy, an official College Board testing site
- Accreditation
- Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACS WASC)
- Credits
- 10 credits: 5 for each semester
- Grading
- A letter grade for each semester, recorded on the High Bluff Academy transcript
- Transcript title
- AP European History, with the AP designation
High Bluff Academy is a private, college-preparatory school in Rancho Santa Fe, California. It offers coursework leading to a high school diploma and grants that diploma. The course is authorized through the College Board's AP Course Audit, which permits High Bluff Academy to use the AP designation for the course on student transcripts. One enrollment covers both semesters: a student earns 5 credits for each semester passed and 10 credits for the full course. A semester is passed with a grade of D or better.
How the course is offered
High Bluff Academy offers AP European History in person as a group class, one-on-one with a teacher, and online, with a High Bluff Academy teacher as the teacher of record. The course framework, the credit, and the transcript record are the same in every format. Availability of each format may vary with enrollment and demand.
Recommended preparation
The College Board sets no prerequisites for AP European History. It expects students to be able to read a college-level textbook and to write grammatically correct, complete sentences.
Units and topics
Unit 1
Renaissance and Exploration
Assessed on the AP Exam
Europe from c. 1450 to c. 1648: the revival of classical learning in the Italian Renaissance and the spread of Renaissance ideas to northern Europe; the printing press; the new monarchies; the technology and motives of European exploration; colonial expansion and the Columbian Exchange; the slave trade; and the commercial and agricultural developments of the period.
- 1.1Contextualizing Renaissance and Discovery
- 1.2Italian Renaissance
- 1.3Northern Renaissance
- 1.4Printing
- 1.5New Monarchies
- 1.6Technological Advances and the Age of Exploration
- 1.7Rivals on the World Stage
- 1.8Colonial Expansion and Columbian Exchange
- 1.9The Slave Trade
- 1.10The Commercial Revolution
- 1.11Causation in the Renaissance and Age of Discovery
Unit 2
Age of Reformation
Assessed on the AP Exam
Europe from c. 1450 to c. 1648: changes in religious belief and practice in the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Reformation; the ways religion and politics shaped each other in the wars of religion; the changing role of the Catholic Church; 16th-century society and politics; and Mannerist and Baroque art.
- 2.1Contextualizing 16th- and 17th-Century Challenges and Developments
- 2.2Luther and the Protestant Reformation
- 2.3Protestant Reform Continues
- 2.4Wars of Religion
- 2.5The Catholic Reformation
- 2.616th-Century Society and Politics
- 2.7Art of the 16th Century: Mannerism and Baroque Art
- 2.8Causation in the Age of Reformation and the Wars of Religion
Unit 3
Absolutism and Constitutionalism
Assessed on the AP Exam
Europe from c. 1648 to c. 1815: the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution; continuity and change in commerce and the economy; mercantilism; the Dutch Golden Age; the efforts of European states to establish and keep a balance of power; absolutist forms of rule; and a comparison of the different forms of political power that developed in the period.
- 3.1Contextualizing State Building
- 3.2The English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution
- 3.3Continuities and Changes to Economic Practice and Development
- 3.4Economic Development and Mercantilism
- 3.5The Dutch Golden Age
- 3.6Balance of Power
- 3.7Absolutist Approaches to Power
- 3.8Comparison in the Age of Absolutism and Constitutionalism
Unit 4
Scientific, Philosophical, and Political Developments
Assessed on the AP Exam
Europe from c. 1648 to c. 1815: the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment and how they changed the understanding of the natural world; demographic change in the 18th century; 18th-century culture and the arts; and the influence of Enlightenment ideas on different forms of political power.
- 4.1Contextualizing the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
- 4.2The Scientific Revolution
- 4.3The Enlightenment
- 4.418th-Century Society and Demographics
- 4.518th-Century Culture and Arts
- 4.6Enlightened and Other Approaches to Power
- 4.7Causation in the Age of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
Unit 5
Conflict, Crisis, and Reaction in the Late 18th Century
Assessed on the AP Exam
Europe from c. 1648 to c. 1815: maritime competition and the rise of global markets; the rivalry between Britain and France; the causes, events, and effects of the French Revolution; Napoleon's rule and the responses to it; the Congress of Vienna; and Romanticism and religious revival as challenges to Enlightenment thought.
- 5.1Contextualizing 18th-Century States
- 5.2The Rise of Global Markets
- 5.3Britain's Ascendency
- 5.4The French Revolution
- 5.5The French Revolution's Effects
- 5.6Napoleon's Rise, Dominance, and Defeat
- 5.7The Congress of Vienna
- 5.8Romanticism
- 5.9Continuity and Change in 18th-Century States
Unit 6
Industrialization and Its Effects
Assessed on the AP Exam
Europe from c. 1815 to c. 1914: the origins and spread of industrialization; the second wave of industrialization and its technologies; the social effects of industrialization; the Concert of Europe and conservatism; revolutions and reactions against the existing order; new ideologies and movements for reform; and the responses of governments and other institutions.
- 6.1Contextualizing Industrialization and Its Origins and Effects
- 6.2The Spread of Industry Throughout Europe
- 6.3Second Wave Industrialization and Its Effects
- 6.4Social Effects of Industrialization
- 6.5The Concert of Europe and European Conservatism
- 6.6Reactions and Revolutions
- 6.7Ideologies of Change and Reform Movements
- 6.819th-Century Social Reform
- 6.9Institutional Responses and Reform
- 6.10Causation in the Age of Industrialization
Unit 7
19th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments
Assessed on the AP Exam
Europe from c. 1815 to c. 1914: nationalism, the unification of Italy and Germany, and the diplomatic tensions among the European powers; Darwinism and Social Darwinism; science and modernity in the age of progress; the motives, methods, and global effects of the New Imperialism; and 19th-century culture and the arts.
- 7.1Contextualizing 19th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments
- 7.2Nationalism
- 7.3National Unification and Diplomatic Tensions
- 7.4Darwinism, Social Darwinism
- 7.5The Age of Progress and Modernity
- 7.6New Imperialism: Motivations and Methods
- 7.7Imperialism's Global Effects
- 7.819th-Century Culture and Arts
- 7.9Causation in 19th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments
Unit 8
20th-Century Global Conflicts
Assessed on the AP Exam
Europe from c. 1914 to the present: the causes, conduct, and effects of World War I; the Russian Revolution and its effects; the Versailles settlement; the global economic crisis; fascism and totalitarianism; Europe between the wars; World War II and the Holocaust; and 20th-century cultural, intellectual, and artistic developments.
- 8.1Contextualizing 20th-Century Global Conflicts
- 8.2World War I
- 8.3The Russian Revolution and Its Effects
- 8.4Versailles Conference and Peace Settlement
- 8.5Global Economic Crisis
- 8.6Fascism and Totalitarianism
- 8.7Europe During the Interwar Period
- 8.8World War II
- 8.9The Holocaust
- 8.1020th-Century Cultural, Intellectual, and Artistic Developments
- 8.11Continuity and Changes in an Age of Global Conflict
Unit 9
Cold War and Contemporary Europe
Assessed on the AP Exam
Europe from c. 1914 to the present: rebuilding Europe after World War II; the Cold War and the emergence of two superpowers; postwar nationalism, ethnic conflict, and atrocities; contemporary Western democracies and the fall of communism; 20th-century feminism; decolonization; the European Union; migration and immigration; technology and globalization; and culture, the arts, and demographic trends in the 20th and 21st centuries.
- 9.1Contextualizing Cold War and Contemporary Europe
- 9.2Rebuilding Europe
- 9.3The Cold War
- 9.4Two Super Powers Emerge
- 9.5Postwar Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Atrocities
- 9.6Contemporary Western Democracies
- 9.7The Fall of Communism
- 9.820th-Century Feminism
- 9.9Decolonization
- 9.10The European Union
- 9.11Migration and Immigration
- 9.12Technology
- 9.13Globalization
- 9.1420th- and 21st-Century Culture, Arts, and Demographic Trends
- 9.15Continuity and Change in the 20th and 21st Centuries
Historical thinking skills and reasoning processes
The College Board names six historical thinking skills for AP European History, which it expects students to develop throughout the course and which form the basis of the tasks on the AP Exam.
Skill 1
Developments and Processes
Identifying and explaining historical developments and processes.
- 1.AIdentify a historical concept, development, or process.
- 1.BExplain a historical concept, development, or process.
Skill 2
Sourcing and Situation
Analyzing the sourcing and situation of primary and secondary sources.
- 2.AIdentify a source's point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience.
- 2.BExplain the point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience of a source.
- 2.CExplain the significance of a source's point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience, including how these might limit the use(s) of a source.
Skill 3
Claims and Evidence in Sources
Analyzing the arguments in primary and secondary sources.
- 3.AIdentify and describe a claim and/or argument in a text-based or non-text-based source.
- 3.BIdentify the evidence used in a source to support an argument.
- 3.CCompare the arguments or main ideas of two sources.
- 3.DExplain how claims or evidence support, modify, or refute a source's argument.
Skill 4
Contextualization
Analyzing the context of historical events, developments, or processes.
- 4.AIdentify and describe a historical context for a specific historical development or process.
- 4.BExplain how a specific historical development or process is situated within a broader historical context.
Skill 5
Making Connections
Using the reasoning processes of comparison, causation, and continuity and change to analyze patterns and connections between and among historical developments and processes.
- 5.AIdentify patterns among or connections between historical developments and processes.
- 5.BExplain how a historical development or process relates to another historical development or process.
Skill 6
Argumentation
Developing an argument.
- 6.AMake a historically defensible claim.
- 6.BSupport an argument using specific and relevant evidence.
- 6.CUse historical reasoning to explain relationships among pieces of historical evidence.
- 6.DCorroborate, qualify, or modify an argument using diverse and alternative evidence in order to develop a complex argument.
The College Board also names three reasoning processes, the ways of thinking that students apply when they use the historical thinking skills on the AP Exam.
Reasoning process 1
Comparison
- 1.iDescribe similarities and/or differences between different historical developments or processes.
- 1.iiExplain relevant similarities and/or differences between specific historical developments and processes.
- 1.iiiExplain the relative historical significance of similarities and/or differences between different historical developments or processes.
Reasoning process 2
Causation
- 2.iDescribe causes and/or effects of a specific historical development or process.
- 2.iiExplain the relationship between causes and effects of a specific historical development or process.
- 2.iiiExplain the difference between primary and secondary causes and between short- and long-term effects.
- 2.ivExplain how a relevant context influenced a specific historical development or process.
- 2.vExplain the relative historical significance of different causes and/or effects.
Reasoning process 3
Continuity and Change
- 3.iDescribe patterns of continuity and/or change over time.
- 3.iiExplain patterns of continuity and/or change over time.
- 3.iiiExplain the relative historical significance of specific historical developments in relation to a larger pattern of continuity and/or change.
Seven themes run through the College Board's framework and connect developments across the units: interaction of Europe and the world, economic and commercial developments, cultural and intellectual developments, states and other institutions of power, social organization and development, national and European identity, and technological and scientific innovation.
Assessment and grading
Each semester grade is built from the categories below, which carry the weights High Bluff Academy usually uses.
| Category | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Homework | 40% | Homework assigned during the semester |
| Tests | 40% | Tests during the semester |
| Final examination | 20% | The examination at the end of the semester |
Academic integrity
Work submitted for a grade must be the student's own. Tests and exams are taken under the conditions the teacher sets, including whether a calculator is allowed, and the College Board's rules apply on the AP Exam.
The AP Exam
The AP European History Exam assesses all nine units. It lasts 3 hours and 15 minutes and has two sections.
| Part | Questions | Time | Share of score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section I, Part A: Multiple-choice questions | 55 | 55 minutes | 40% |
| Section I, Part B: Short-answer questions | 3 | 40 minutes | 20% |
| Section II, Question 1: Document-based question | 1 | 60 minutes | 25% |
| Section II, Question 2: Long essay question | 1 | 40 minutes | 15% |
| Section I | 58 | 95 minutes | 60% |
| Section II | 2 | 100 minutes | 40% |
| Exam total | 60 | 195 minutes | 100% |
Students answer all three short-answer questions: the first includes a secondary text source, the second a primary text source, and the third a primary or secondary non-text source. The three questions cover historical developments and processes between 1450 and 2001, each focused on a different historical period. The document-based question presents seven documents, and its 60 minutes include a 15-minute reading period. The long essay question covers about half of the chronological scope of the course. The exam is fully digital: students answer the multiple-choice and the free-response questions in the College Board's digital testing app.
Scores are reported on a scale of 1 to 5. This is the exam format in effect from the May 2027 exam, as set out in the College Board's clarifications and corrections to the course and exam description for fall 2026. The AP Exam is given in schools in May.
High Bluff Academy is an official College Board testing site, and students enrolled in the course can take the AP Exam there.
A student who takes the AP Exam at a school other than the one where they take the course, or who takes the exam without taking the course, gets a join code from the AP coordinator at the school where they will test and joins an exam-only section there.
Materials and technology
- Course framework
- apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-european-history