New AP Courses for 2026–27: AP Cybersecurity and AP Business with Personal Finance
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College Board launched two new AP courses in 2026–27: AP Cybersecurity and AP Business with Personal Finance. Both are part of the AP Career Kickstart program, both exams are fully digital in Bluebook, and both are first given in May 2027. Colleges are still setting credit policies, and College Board expects to announce the first colleges granting credit in spring 2027.
The two courses at a glance
| AP Business with Personal Finance | AP Cybersecurity | |
|---|---|---|
| First exam | Tuesday, May 4, 2027 (morning) | Wednesday, May 5, 2027 (morning) |
| Format | Fully digital in Bluebook | Fully digital in Bluebook |
| Multiple choice | 60 questions, 70 minutes, 60% of score | 60 questions, 80 minutes, 70% of score |
| Free response | 4 questions, 90 minutes, 40% of score | 1 question, 50 minutes, 30% of score |
AP Business with Personal Finance: what it covers
Students build a Business Canvas Project around their own product idea and, on exam day, answer a free-response question that asks them to pitch it and explain how they tested their assumptions. The other free-response questions ask students to interpret a household’s finances, use business data for planning, and recommend between two business decisions. About 20 to 25% of multiple-choice questions cover personal finance.
- Unit 1: Businesses, Competition, and New Ideas
- Unit 2: Marketing
- Unit 3: Personal Saving and Borrowing, and Business Finance and Accounting
- Unit 4: Management and Strategy
- Unit 5: Personal Goals, Budgeting, and Investing (can be taught after the exam)
AP Cybersecurity: what it covers
AP Cybersecurity is a yearlong course aligned with first-year college cybersecurity courses and the NICE Workforce Framework. It covers defending physical spaces, networks, devices, applications and data, and it builds three core skills: analyzing risk, mitigating risk and detecting attacks. A fourth skill area covers collaboration, including working with AI.
The free-response question gives students sources from one device, such as firewall rules, system logs, file permissions and a device policy. Students find signs of attacks, configure permissions and firewall rules, and recommend ways to harden the device.
Will colleges give credit?
Not yet confirmed. College Board says the content matches what colleges typically expect for credit or placement, but colleges are still developing policies. The first institutions granting credit are expected to be announced in spring 2027. Use College Board’s AP credit policy search for updates.
Who should consider these courses
- AP Business with Personal Finance suits students curious about entrepreneurship, marketing or economics, and anyone who wants practical money skills such as budgeting, saving and investing.
- AP Cybersecurity suits students interested in computer science, IT, engineering or security careers, and those who like hands-on problem solving.
- Both can add a career-focused AP to a transcript without replacing core academic APs. Check with your school counselor on how they fit your schedule.