The AP Human Geography exam in 2027: format, date and length

Section I: multiple choice

• 60 questions in 60 minutes, 50% of the score.
• Some questions stand alone and some come in sets. About 30% to 40% refer to a stimulus: a map, table, chart, graph, image, infographic or landscape, split about evenly between numbers and pictures.

Section II: free response

• 3 questions in 1 hour 15 minutes, 50% of the score. Each sets up a real-world scenario and asks you to describe, explain and apply concepts, processes or models.
• Question 1 has no stimulus, question 2 has one (data, an image or a map), and question 3 has two.
• At least one question asks you to analyze across geographic scales.
• In the 2025 and 2026 scoring guidelines each question is worth 7 points, one point for each part from A to G.

The seven units

Unit 1, Thinking Geographically, is 8–10% of the multiple choice; each of the other six units is 12–17%.

• Unit 1: Thinking Geographically (8–10%)
• Unit 2: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes (12–17%)
• Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes (12–17%)
• Unit 4: Political Patterns and Processes (12–17%)
• Unit 5: Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes (12–17%)
• Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes (12–17%)
• Unit 7: Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes (12–17%)

Pacing

The multiple choice gives you one minute a question, so answer the standalone questions quickly and keep time for the stimulus sets. In the free response, about 25 minutes per question leaves time to answer every part in a few clear sentences.

It is fully digital

You answer both sections in the Bluebook app, and your responses are submitted automatically at the end of the exam.