The AP World History course content is structured around the investigation of five course themes and 19 key concepts in six different chronological periods, from approximately 8000 B.C.E. to the present. The Five Course Themes are:

Interaction Between Humans and the Environment

Development and Interaction of Cultures

State -Building, Expansion, and Conflict

Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems

Development and Transformation of Social Structures