Important Updates
Take a Guided Tour of AP Art History
Check out this series of video overview modules for the AP Art History course and exam.
New Module: Writing about Art
This new online module offers strategies to help students transform their analysis and interpretation of art to writing.
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AP Art History Course and Exam Description — September 2015
This is the core document for this course. It clearly lays out the course content and learning objectives, describes the exam, and provides sample questions and rubrics.
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Individual content sections
Download individual content sections of the AP Art History Course and Exam Description.
Course Overview
The AP Art History course is equivalent to a two-semester college survey course exploring the nature of art, art making, and responses to art. By investigating specific course content of 250 works of art characterized by diverse artistic traditions from prehistory to the present, students develop in-depth, holistic understanding of the history of art from a global perspective. Students become active participants in the global art world, engaging with its forms and content. They experience, research, discuss, read, and write about art, artists, art making, responses to, and interpretations of art.
Essential Course Resources
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AP Art History Course Overview Modules
These videos give you a guided tour of the AP Art History course and exam. -
AP Art History Course Overview
The two-page Course Overview provides a succinct description of the course and exam.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about the course, exam, and AP Course Audit. -
AP Art History Teacher's Guide
The Teacher's Guide was developed to support the course prior to the redesigned curriculum now in effect, but continues to provide relevant information about teaching AP Art History.
Course Planning and Pacing Guides
Written by AP teachers, these versatile guides demonstrate a variety of ways to plan and pace the AP Art History curriculum across one academic year. Each author presents a host of ideas for activities, resources, and assessments.
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AP Art History Course Planning and Pacing Guide, Gray
This course is taught at a private boarding and day high school where the teacher uses content-based activities to develop students' art historical thinking skills. The course begins with students analyzing modern and postmodern art followed by a chronological presentation highlighting theme-based comparisons.
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AP Art History Course Planning and Pacing Guide, Nici
This course is taught in a public suburban high school during a compressed school year where the teacher focuses on group discussion and written critical reflection. Learning is inquiry-based, with students responding to questions like, "Who decides what we see in museums?"
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AP Art History Course Planning and Pacing Guide, Russell
This course is taught at an independent Episcopal school where the teacher emphasizes partner and group collaboration to develop visual literacy. Activities are designed to foster in-depth understanding and to help students connect new learning with prior knowledge and skills.
Course and Exam Redesign
The redesigned AP Art History course launched in fall 2015 in conjunction with administration of the redesigned exam in May 2016. Review the Overview of the Redesign, which was informed by Expert Input and a Higher Education Validation Study for Art History.
College Board Store
Find AP Art History publications, released exams, and resources in the College Board Store.
AP and Higher Education
Higher Education professionals play a key role developing AP courses and exams, setting credit and placement policies, and scoring student work. The AP Higher Ed site features information on recruitment and admission, advising and placement, and more.
This chart shows recommended scores for granting credit, and how much credit should be awarded, for each AP course. Your students can look up credit and placement policies for colleges and universities on the AP Credit Policy search.
Meet the current Development Committee for AP Art History.