Course Audit for AP African American Studies

Find resources below to help you complete the AP Course Audit for the 2024-25 school year.

New: AP African American Studies Course Framework (2024-25)

Download the Framework

Note: For course authorization in the 2024-25 school year, teachers will need to complete the AP Course Audit form and have it approved by their course audit administrator. For the 2025-26 school year, teachers won’t be required to submit a syllabus until March 2025.

Curricular and Resource Requirements

Your course must fulfill these requirements. 

AP African American Studies curricular requirements: 

  • The teacher and students have access to a college-level African American Studies textbook (in print or electronic format). 
  • The course is structured to incorporate all the required sources for each topic in the new AP African American Studies Course Framework (2024-25). 
  • The teacher and students have access to diverse primary sources (including texts, visuals, data), and a range of secondary sources written by African American Studies scholars. Sources should represent multiple disciplines, such as history, art, political science, literature, music, and sociology. 
  • The course includes at least 2 secondary sources from the field of African American Studies per unit. 
  • The course allows students to develop understanding of the required content outlined in each unit described in the course framework. 
  • The course provides opportunities for students to evaluate key concepts, developments, and processes that have shaped Black experiences from interdisciplinary perspectives. 
  • The course provides opportunities for students to develop the skills outlined in the course framework related to:
    • Skill Category 1: Applying Disciplinary Knowledge
    • Skill Category 2: Source Analysis (text, visual, and data sources)
    • Skill Category 3: Argumentation
  • The course provides instructional time for students to engage in the required course project, including research, analysis of multiple sources, and the development and delivery of a presentation and oral defense.

AP African American Studies resource requirements: 

  • The school ensures that each student has a college-level African American Studies textbook (in print or electronic format) for individual use inside and outside of the classroom. The textbook is supplemented when necessary to meet the curricular requirements. 
  • The school ensures that each student has access to the required sources listed in the course framework for individual use inside and outside of the classroom. 
  • The school ensures that each student and teacher have access to appropriate instructional resources and technology (i.e., library and research databases, the internet, computers, and presentation software). 
  • The school ensures that each student has access to support materials for the AP African American Studies course, including scholarly, college-level texts, articles, and diverse sources that correspond with course topics.

Example Textbook List

The list below shows examples of textbooks that meet the curricular requirements of AP African American Studies courses. The list is not exhaustive, and the texts listed should not be regarded as endorsed, authorized, recommended, or approved by College Board. Not using a book from this list does not mean that a course will not receive authorization. 

The current editions of the following textbooks meet the AP Course Audit curricular requirements. While every effort is made to keep this list current, it can take a few months for newly published titles and revised editions to be reviewed. 

  • Brooks-Higginbotham, Evelyn, and John Hope Franklin. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans. 10th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2022. 
  • Hine, Darlene Clark, William C. Hine, and Stanley C. Harrold. The African-American Odyssey, Combined Volume. 7th ed. Pearson, 2019. 
  • Painter, Nell Irvin. Creating Black Americans: African-American History and Its Meanings, 1619 to the Present. Oxford University Press, 2006. 
  • White, Deborah Gray, Mia Bay, and Waldo E. Martin Jr. Freedom on My Mind, A History of African Americans, with Documents. 3rd ed. Macmillan Learning, 2021.

For more information on the authorization process, please see About AP Course Audit.

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