The general NCEES exam for candidates whose field has no dedicated FE exam — and the broadest one offered, spanning 14 knowledge areas from mathematics and statics to thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, instrumentation, and ethics.
The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Other Disciplines exam is the NCEES exam taken by candidates outside the named FE disciplines. Here is how the exam itself works.
110 questions across 14 knowledge areas, from Mathematics to Safety, Health, and Environment.
Delivered on a computer at Pearson VUE test centers, not on paper.
The actual exam time. The full appointment runs about 6 hours.
The appointment also includes a tutorial and an optional 25-minute break.
A searchable NCEES FE Reference Handbook is provided on screen.
NCEES reports Pass or Fail only, with no published passing percentage.
Breadth cuts both ways. Pick the exam that fits your background.
Built for specialties NCEES does not test separately: biomedical, agricultural, nuclear, petroleum, aerospace, mining, engineering management.
Questions come from fundamentals, not specialty practice, so a broad background is less of a handicap.
If NCEES publishes an exam for your field, take it — your coursework counts for far more.
The discipline you sit for does not restrict your later PE exam, but confirm rules before registering.
No other FE exam covers this much ground. Here is what each area asks.
8-12 questions · Analytic geometry and trigonometry, single-variable calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, and numerical methods.
6-9 questions · Estimation and confidence intervals, expected value in decisions, sample distributions and hypothesis testing, goodness of fit.
5-8 questions · Oxidation and reduction, acids and bases, and chemical reactions: stoichiometry and equilibrium.
4-6 questions · Sensors, data acquisition and signal processing, and logic diagrams.
5-8 questions · Codes of ethics, public protection and licensing boards, and societal impacts such as sustainability and life-cycle analysis.
6-9 questions · Industrial hygiene, safety equipment, gas detection, electrical safety, confined spaces, and hazard communication.
6-9 questions · Time value of money, cost analysis, break-even and benefit-cost analysis, uncertainty, and project selection.
9-14 questions · Force systems and couples, equilibrium and support reactions, trusses, frames and machines, area properties, and static friction.
9-14 questions · Particle and rigid-body kinematics, linear and angular motion, mass moment of inertia, impulse and momentum, work and energy, vibrations.
9-14 questions · Stress and strain under axial, bending, torsion and shear loads, shear and moment diagrams, Mohr's circle, buckling and fatigue.
6-9 questions · Phase diagrams; mechanical, chemical, thermal, and electrical properties; and material selection.
12-18 questions · The largest area: fluid properties, statics, energy and momentum, pipe and open-channel flow, flow measurement, pumps and turbines, gas laws.
6-9 questions · Ohm's and Kirchhoff's laws, AC and DC circuits, measuring devices, and three-phase power.
9-14 questions · Thermodynamic laws, properties and processes, conduction, convection and radiation, mass and energy balances, combustion, psychrometrics.
Breadth is the challenge. Four habits that keep 14 areas manageable.
Mathematics can reach 17 questions and Fluid Mechanics 14; others top out at eight. Our guide on how long to study helps you size a plan.
On a breadth exam you lean on the on-screen handbook constantly. Our FE study guide makes it an asset instead of a maze.
NCEES allows only specific models. Pick one early and use it for every problem — check the approved calculator list first.
110 questions in 5 hours 20 minutes leaves under 3 minutes each. Timed practice teaches you what to solve now and what to flag.
The FE Other Disciplines simulator is in development. We build to the same standard as our live products and do not announce launch dates until a discipline is ready.
Our FE Civil, FE Mechanical and FE Electrical simulators are available today, with full-length timed exams, step-by-step solutions, and a realistic CBT interface. Both overlap Other Disciplines in mathematics, statistics, statics, dynamics, materials, fluid mechanics, ethics, and economics.
It is the general FE exam for candidates whose field has no dedicated NCEES exam, including biomedical, agricultural, nuclear, petroleum, aerospace, and engineering management backgrounds. If NCEES publishes an exam for your discipline, take that one instead.
It has 110 questions across 14 knowledge areas, delivered by computer at Pearson VUE test centers.
You get 5 hours and 20 minutes of exam time within an appointment of about 6 hours, which includes a tutorial and an optional 25-minute break.
Not easier, broader. Questions stay closer to fundamentals, but they come from 14 knowledge areas at once, so depth in one specialty will not carry your score.
Not yet, it is still in development. Our FE Civil, FE Mechanical and FE Electrical simulators are fully available today, and this page will be updated when FE Other Disciplines launches.
We're working hard to bring you the best FE Other Disciplines exam preparation. In the meantime, try our FE Civil, FE Mechanical or FE Electrical simulators.
Coming SoonTo master the FE Other Disciplines exam you will need steady practice across a broad NCEES outline spanning mechanics, fluids, electricity and engineering economics. The full PECivilClick question bank for this discipline is in development; while we build the full Other Disciplines experience, every study habit on this page — timed problem blocks, reviewing worked solutions, and simulating the computer-based exam format — applies directly to the FE Other Disciplines exam. Join the waitlist and we will email you the moment enrollment opens.