The Principles and Practice of Engineering exam is the examination required for one to become a
Professional Engineer
Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thro ...
(PE) in the United States. It is the second exam required, coming after the
Fundamentals of Engineering exam
The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, also referred to as the Engineer in Training (EIT) exam, and formerly in some states as the Engineering Intern (EI) exam, is the first of two examinations that engineers must pass in order to be licensed ...
.
Upon passing the PE exam and meeting other eligibility requirements, that vary by state, such as education and experience, an engineer can then become registered in their State to stamp and sign engineering drawings and calculations as a PE.
While the PE itself is sufficient for most engineering fields, some states require a further certification for structural engineers. These require the passing of the
Structural I exam and/or the
Structural II exam.
The PE Exam is created and scored by the
National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to advancing professional licensure for engineers and surveyors. The Council’s members are the engineering and surveying lic ...
(NCEES). NCEES is a national non-profit organization composed of engineering and surveying licensing boards representing all states and U.S. territories.
Exam format
Exams are offered twice a year, once in April and once in October, and are discipline-specific. With the exception of the Structural exam, each exam is eight hours long, consisting of two 4-hour sessions administered in a single day with a lunch break. There are 40 multiple-choice questions per session. Several disciplines require a common morning breadth exam which broadly covers the discipline and then a more detailed afternoon depth exam where the test taker selects a more detailed area of the discipline. Other disciplines essentially have morning and afternoon breadth exams.
Exam formats
The Structural exam is 16 hours long and administered over two days, with two 4-hour sessions and a lunch break per day. Morning breadth sessions consist of 40 multiple-choice questions, while the afternoon depth sessions require essay responses. An examinee must earn a passing score on both days' exams in order to pass overall, but need not obtain those scores during the same administration of the exam. In computer-based test (CBT) examinees are given access to on-screen reference manuals but for non CBT exams examinees are allowed to carry reference manuals, codes and spirally bided documents.
NCEES began the process of transitioning exams to computer-based testing (CBT) in 2011. NCEES has successfully converted some of the exams and all other NCEES exams are currently in the conversion process and scheduled to launch in computer-based format between now and 2024. Some CBT exams are administered year-round. Other CBT exams that have a smaller examinee population use a different high-stakes testing model and are administered on a single day each year.
Disciplines
PE exams are offered for the following disciplines:
*Agricultural and Biological Engineering (new specifications for the April 2015 exam)
*Architectural
*Chemical
*Civil: Construction (new specifications and design standards for the 2015 exams)
*Civil: Geotechnical (new specifications and design standards for the 2015 exams)
*Civil: Structural (new specifications and design standards for the 2015 exams)
*Civil: Transportation (new specifications and design standards for the 2015 exams)
*Civil: Water Resources and Environmental (new specifications and design standards for the 2015 exams)
*Control Systems
*Electrical and Computer:
Computer Engineering (Study Guide:
Computer Engineering Compendium)
*Electrical and Computer: Electrical and Electronics
*Electrical and Computer: Power
*Environmental
*Fire Protection
*Industrial
*Mechanical: HVAC and Refrigeration
*Mechanical: Mechanical Systems and Materials
*Mechanical: Thermal and Fluids Systems
*Metallurgical and Materials (new specifications and design standards for the 2015 exams)
*Mining and Mineral Processing
*Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
*Nuclear
*Petroleum
*Structural
(with design standards for the 2015 exams)
Unlike the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, outside reference sources are allowed for the PE Exam. The general rule is that any such materials must be in some sort of permanent binding (book, three-ring, spiral, etc.); loose papers and notes are prohibited. No writing tools or scratch paper may be brought in, and only calculators specifically approved by NCEES may be used. Examinees are provided with mechanical pencils and may use the test booklet as scratch paper for solving problems.
Pass rates
The PE exam is a professional exam much like the examinations required for public accounting, law, and other professions for which protection of the public is of the utmost concern. Consequently, exam candidates typically spend large amounts of time preparing for the exam. Exam pass rates vary by discipline module and test date, for the April 2010 exam, the pass rates for first time test takers ranged from 85% (Naval Architecture) to 46% (Structural I). The pass rates for repeat test takers is considerably lower.
Recent Exam Pass Rates
October 2016 Exam
See also
*National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to advancing professional licensure for engineers and surveyors. The Council’s members are the engineering and surveying lic ...
(NCEES)
*Fundamentals of Engineering Examination
The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, also referred to as the Engineer in Training (EIT) exam, and formerly in some states as the Engineering Intern (EI) exam, is the first of two examinations that engineers must pass in order to be licensed ...
(FE exam)
*Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an examination conducted in India that primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of various undergraduate subjects in engineering and science for admission into the Masters Program and ...
(GATE)
*Engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
*Engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
*Regulation and licensure in engineering
Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thr ...
*Glossary of engineering This glossary is split across multiple pages due to technical limitations.
By Alphabetical Order
* Glossary of engineering: A-L
* Glossary of engineering: M–Z
By Category
* Glossary of civil engineering
* Glossary of electrical and elec ...
*Glossary of civil engineering
This glossary of civil engineering terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts pertaining specifically to civil engineering, its sub-disciplines, and related fields. For a more general overview of concepts within engineering as a whole, se ...
*Glossary of electrical and electronics engineering
This glossary of electrical and electronics engineering is a list of definitions of terms and concepts related specifically to electrical engineering and electronics engineering. For terms related to engineering in general, see Glossary of engineer ...
*Glossary of mechanical engineering
''Most of the terms listed in Wikipedia glossaries are already defined and explained within Wikipedia itself. However, glossaries like this one are useful for looking up, comparing and reviewing large numbers of terms together. You can help enhan ...
*Glossary of structural engineering
This glossary of structural engineering terms pertains specifically to structural engineering and its sub-disciplines. Please see glossary of engineering for a broad overview of the major concepts of engineering.
''Most of the terms listed in glo ...
*Glossary of biology
This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms. It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions ...
* Glossary of chemistry
*Glossary of economics
This glossary of economics is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in economics, its sub-disciplines, and related fields.
0–9
A
B
...
*Glossary of physics
This glossary of physics is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to physics, its sub-disciplines, and related fields, including mechanics, materials science, nuclear physics, particle physics, and thermodynamics. For more inclusi ...
*Glossary of probability and statistics
This glossary of statistics and probability is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in the mathematical sciences of statistics and probability, their sub-disciplines, and related fields. For additional related terms, see Glossary of ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Principles And Practice Of Engineering Exam
Standardized tests in the United States
Engineering education
Professional certification in engineering