AP European History

The AP European History Exam was among the first AP Exams introduced in 1956. The exam tests knowledge of topics included in a full-year introductory college course in European history from c. 1450 to the present. Questions on intellectual-cultural, political-diplomatic, and social-economic history form the basis for the exam. 

Approximately half of the multiple-choice questions cover the period from 1450 to the French Revolution and Napoleonic era, and half cover the period from the French Revolution and Napoleonic era to the present, evenly divided between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  About one-third of the questions focus on cultural and intellectual themes, one-third on political and diplomatic themes, and one-third on social and economic themes. Many questions draw on knowledge of more than one chronological period or theme. 

Multiple-Choice Questions

Free-Response Questions

Below are free-response questions from past AP European History Exams. Included with the questions are scoring guidelines, sample student responses, and commentary on those responses, as well as exam statistics and the Chief Reader's Report for past administrations.