Course Overview
AP African American Studies is an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with rich and varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment.
Bring AP African American Studies to Your School
In AP African American Studies, students will engage with primary sources, develop visual and data analysis skills, and have access to digital collections from prominent institutions.
To learn more about this course, visit Adopt AP African American Studies.
Course and Exam Description
Course Resources
Course Content
The AP African American Studies course framework is organized by four thematic units that follow a chronological sequence across the course. Throughout each unit, students build interdisciplinary analytical skills through deep encounters with a wide range of sources.
| Unit | Exam Weighting |
|---|---|
| Unit 1: Origins of the African Diaspora (~900 BCE–16th century) | 20%–25% |
| Unit 2: Freedom, Enslavement, and Resistance (16th century–1865) | 30%–35% |
| Unit 3: The Practice of Freedom (1865–1940s) | 20%–25% |
| Unit 4: Movements and Debates (1940s–2000s) | 20%–25% |
Course Skills
The skills in the AP African American Studies course framework describe what students should be taught to do while exploring course topics and examining sources.
| Skill Category 1: Applying Disciplinary Knowledge | Skill Category 2: Source Analysis | Skill Category 3: Argumentation |
|---|---|---|
| Explain course concepts, developments, patterns, and processes (e.g., cultural, historical, political, social). | Evaluate written and visual sources, and data (including historical documents, literary texts, music lyrics, works of art, material culture, maps, tables, charts, graphs, and surveys). | Develop an argument using a line of reasoning to connect claims and evidence. |
| 1A. Identify and explain course concepts, developments, and processes. | 2A. Identify and explain a source’s claim(s), evidence, and reasoning. | 3A. Formulate a defensible claim. |
| 1B. Identify and explain the context of a specific event, development, or process. | 2B. Describe a source’s perspective, purpose, context, and audience. | 3B. Support a claim or argument using specific and relevant evidence. |
| 1C. Identify and explain patterns, connections, or other relationships (causation, changes, continuities, comparison). | 2C. Explain the significance of a source’s perspective, purpose, context, and audience. | 3C. Strategically select sources—evaluating the credibility of the evidence they present—to effectively support a claim. |
| 1D. Explain how course concepts, developments, and processes relate to the discipline of African American Studies. | 2D. Describe and draw conclusions from patterns, trends, and limitations in data, making connections to relevant course content. | 3D. Select and consistently apply an appropriate citation style. |
| 3E. Use a line of reasoning to develop a well-supported argument. |
AP and Higher Education
Higher education professionals play a key role in developing AP courses and exams, setting credit and placement policies, and scoring student work. The AP Higher Education section features information on how higher education professionals can get involved in recruitment, admission, advising, placement, and more.
This chart shows recommended scores and how much credit should be awarded for each AP course. See the latest list of institutions that have confirmed credit policies for AP African American Studies.
Meet the Development Committee for AP African American Studies
The AP Program is unique in its reliance on development committees. These committees, made up of an equal number of college faculty and experienced secondary AP teachers from across the country, are essential to the preparation of AP course curricula and exams.