PE Civil Structural Exam Prep

The PE Civil Structural exam covers a wide range of materials and member types, so a good plan matters as much as knowing the theory. Problems usually ask you to find the forces in a structure, combine loads, and then size or check a member or a connection. STEM Tutor 360 offers one-on-one prep for this exam. We start with a diagnostic, work backward from your test date, and practice with the electronic reference material open so you can find provisions quickly.

Topics include analysis of determinate and indeterminate structures, loads and load combinations, steel, reinforced concrete, timber, and masonry members, connections, and foundations at a general level. Many people are comfortable with one or two materials and thin on the rest, so sessions give equal attention to the weaker ones. We also practice the parts that decide many problems: a clean free-body diagram, a consistent unit system, and a quick reasonableness check before moving on.

How we build your plan

• A timed diagnostic samples analysis, loads, steel, concrete, timber, masonry, and connections.
• Early sessions rebuild analysis skills, since every design problem depends on correct forces: shear and moment diagrams, deflections, and indeterminate methods.
• Material by material, each topic is worked from the load path through the member check, with the reference material open.
• Your weakest material gets a second pass, with problems that mix member checks and connection checks.
• The final stage is mixed timed sets and one full practice session in the electronic format, followed by a review of every miss.

A typical structural problem, worked

A simply supported floor beam spans 24 ft. It carries a uniform dead load of 1.2 kips per foot and a uniform live load of 2.0 kips per foot. Using the $1.2D + 1.6L$ combination, find the factored maximum moment and shear. (Always confirm the combinations against the provisions you will use.)

• Factored load: $w_u = 1.2 \times 1.2 + 1.6 \times 2.0 = 1.44 + 3.20 = 4.64$ kips per foot.
• Maximum moment at midspan: $M_u = \tfrac{w_u \times L^{2}}{8} = \tfrac{4.64 \times 24^{2}}{8} = 334.1\ \text{kip-ft}$.
• Maximum shear at the supports: $V_u = \tfrac{w_u \times L}{2} = \tfrac{4.64 \times 24}{2} = 55.7\ \text{kips}$.
• These are the demands. A steel or concrete design would now compare them to the member capacity from the relevant provisions.

About the exam

NCEES offers the PE Civil exam as five separate computer-based exams, and Structural is the one built around loads, analysis, and member design. The others are Construction, Geotechnical, Transportation, and Water Resources and Environmental. During the exam the PE Civil Reference Handbook and the listed design standards are available on screen.

Check the current NCEES exam specification for the list of standards, the question count, the timing, and the question weights. Some states also require the separate 16-hour Structural Engineering (SE) exam for structural licensure or titles, and rules differ by state, so ask your board which exams apply to you. STEM Tutor 360 is an independent tutor and is not affiliated with NCEES or the publishers of any standard.