Fundamentals of engineering exam preparation course · EIT
FE Exam Prep Course
A free, self-paced FE exam prep course built directly on the NCEES specifications: eight modules that cover the topics shared across FE exams, each linked to live section drills for your discipline, then your discipline's own practice areas, and two full-length timed exams. Below it: how to judge a paid FE review class, and what the NCEES data says for anyone planning one.
- Cost
- $0no account, no trial
- Modules
- 8 + 2core, your discipline, rehearsal
- Suggested time
- 100–150 hrover 8–12 weeks
- Practice included
- Unlimitednew numbers every attempt
The free FE exam prep course, module by module
Start with the diagnostic, work the modules that are on your exam (the ranges show how many questions each carries for each discipline), then finish with your discipline's practice areas and two timed exams. Each drill link opens ten questions with instant feedback and worked solutions.
- 0
Orientation: spec, handbook, diagnostic
Download your NCEES specification and the FE Reference Handbook (free from MyNCEES), then take a Quick 20 diagnostic with no preparation: Civil · Mechanical · other disciplines. What you'll need is on FE exam study materials.
- 1
Mathematics and statistics
Analytic geometry, calculus, differential equations, vectors and matrices, distributions, confidence intervals, and regression, done with your calculator's solver and matrix modes.
Chemical 10–15 · Civil 8–12 · Electrical and Computer 15–23 · Environmental 9–14 · Industrial and Systems 16–24 · Mechanical 10–15 · Other Disciplines 14–21
- 2
Ethics and professional practice
The NCEES Model Rules applied to realistic dilemmas: public safety first, competence, conflicts of interest, gifts, confidentiality, and reporting violations.
Chemical 3–5 · Civil 4–6 · Electrical and Computer 4–6 · Environmental 5–8 · Industrial and Systems 4–6 · Mechanical 4–6 · Other Disciplines 5–8
- 3
Engineering economics
Interest factors from the handbook table, equivalent annual cost for unequal lives, benefit–cost, rate of return, depreciation, and break-even.
Chemical 4–6 · Civil 5–8 · Electrical and Computer 5–8 · Environmental 5–8 · Industrial and Systems 9–14 · Mechanical 4–6 · Other Disciplines 6–9
- 4
Statics and mechanics of materials
Free-body diagrams, trusses, centroids, and moments of inertia, then axial, torsion, and bending stress, Mohr's circle, deflection, and buckling.
Civil 15–23 · Mechanical 18–28 · Other Disciplines 18–28
- 5
Dynamics and vibrations
Kinematics, Newton's second law, work–energy, impulse–momentum, and (for mechanical) natural frequency and vibration.
Civil 4–6 · Mechanical 10–15 · Other Disciplines 9–14
- 6
Fluid mechanics
Hydrostatics and manometers, the energy equation with losses, Reynolds number and friction, momentum, pumps, and flow measurement.
Chemical 8–12 · Civil 6–9 · Environmental 12–18 · Mechanical 10–15 · Other Disciplines 12–18
- 7
Thermodynamics and heat transfer
Properties and the first law, cycles and COP, then conduction, convection, radiation, heat exchangers, and transient cooling.
Chemical 16–24 · Environmental 3–5 · Mechanical 17–26 · Other Disciplines 9–14
- 8
Electricity and circuits
DC and AC circuits, power and power factor, three-phase basics, and first-order transients.
Electrical and Computer 11–17 · Mechanical 5–8 · Other Disciplines 6–9
- 9
Your discipline's practice areas
The part of the blueprint that belongs to your discipline alone. Civil: water resources, structural, geotechnical, transportation, surveying, construction (see FE Civil exam prep). Mechanical: mechanical design, materials and processing, instrumentation and controls (see FE Mechanical exam prep).
- 10
Exam rehearsal
Two full-length exams under real rules, spaced a week or more apart, with drills on the top priorities in between: FE Civil exam 1 · FE Mechanical exam 1 · FE Civil exam practice test.
Ranges are NCEES question counts for that module's topics on each exam; linked names open a live drill. A name without a link means the topic is on that exam but our drills for it are still in development. Order and pacing follow the FE exam study guide.
FE exam prep classes compared: self-paced, live, and in-person
Every format can get you through the FE. What differs is how much structure you get, how flexible it is, and what happens when you fall behind.
| Format | Structure | Flexibility | Best for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free self-paced (this course) | Plan and drills; you set the deadlines | Total | Recent grads, disciplined self-starters | Letting the schedule slip; no one checks in |
| Paid self-paced video | Recorded lectures, problem sets | High | Visual learners who want explanations in one place | Lecture hours standing in for practice hours |
| Live online class | Fixed sessions, instructor Q&A | Medium | People who need deadlines and a cohort | Session times that clash with work or classes |
| In-person review (often university-run) | Classroom, peer group | Low | Seniors testing right after graduation | Pace set for the group, not your weak areas |
| One-on-one tutoring | Built around you | High | Repeat takers with a specific diagnostic report | Cost per hour; make every session target a weak area |
How to judge a paid FE review course before you pay
Is it built on the current specification?
All seven FE specs have been in effect since July 2020. Course material organized around older topic lists will miss or misweight areas.
Does it teach from the FE Reference Handbook?
The handbook is the only reference on exam day. Worked problems should use its equations and notation, not a textbook's.
How does it report its pass rate?
Ask: first-time takers only? Everyone enrolled, or only those who finished? Compare with the NCEES baseline, which was 61–69% for first-time takers in FY2025, depending on discipline. A course reporting 75% for mechanical grads is only a few points above average.
How much timed practice is included?
You want full-length exams under real rules (110 questions, 5 hr 20 min, halfway submit), not just end-of-chapter problems.
Is it specific to your discipline?
A "general FE" course can't cover FE Civil geotechnical or FE Mechanical design in depth. Check the syllabus against your spec line by line.
What exactly does the guarantee cover?
Usually a repeat of the course, with conditions. It won't cover the $225 NCEES fee for a retake.
The number every course claim should be compared with
| Exam | First time | ABET, first time |
|---|---|---|
| FE Chemical | 68% | 69% |
| FE Civil | 61% | 64% |
| FE Electrical and Computer | 64% | 67% |
| FE Environmental | 67% | 70% |
| FE Industrial and Systems | 62% | 64% |
| FE Mechanical | 69% | 72% |
| FE Other Disciplines | 61% | 64% |
NCEES fiscal year 2025, NCEES Squared 2025, p. 10.
For course planners and instructors: FE demand in numbers
If you run FE review for a department, a firm, or a study group, these are the NCEES figures worth planning around. All are from the NCEES Squared annual reports; the full tables are on the FE sources and data page.
All disciplines, first-time and repeat. FY2020 reflects COVID-19 test-center closures. Sources: NCEES Squared 2020–2025.
Show the numbers
| FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| examinees | 51,814 | 38,396 | 48,746 | 44,079 | 47,917 | 53,213 | 57,902 |
- Demand is at a high. 57,902 FE examinees in FY2025, the most in the seven years shown and up 9% on the year before.
- Spring is peak season. April–June drew 30% of FY2025 examinees. A cohort that starts in February finishes right on time.
- The retake market is large. 16,480 repeat attempts in FY2025, passing at 25–37% depending on discipline. Repeat takers need diagnostic-driven plans, not the same lectures twice.
- Civil is the volume. 16,639 of 41,422 first-time takers (40%) sat FE Civil.
- Non-ABET takers lag. In FY2024, first-time takers without an ABET degree trailed ABET graduates by 11 to 26 points depending on discipline, the widest gap being industrial and systems.
- Allocate hours by weight. Use the hours planner to split a course by NCEES question counts for any discipline.
- Texas A&M University 714
- Purdue University 585
- Missouri University of Science and Technology 558
- North Carolina State University 509
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo 500
- Clemson University 441
- University of Colorado, Boulder 423
- Penn State University 408
- Colorado School of Mines 406
- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 400
NCEES Squared 2025, p. 14. First-time FE takers only.
Programs that push seniors to take the FE produce hundreds of examinees a year. These ten sent between 400 and 714 first-time takers each in FY2025. That's the scale at which a campus review series pays off, and the data behind it is clear: first-time ABET takers who test before graduating pass at a higher rate than those who wait a year or more.
NCEES has also offered educators free subject-matter reports that break down how a program's students and graduates perform on the FE, which is useful for deciding where a review series should spend its hours.
Subject-matter reports: noted in NCEES Squared 2020 and 2021.
FE exam prep course FAQ
Is an FE exam prep course worth it?
What is the best FE exam prep course?
Are there free FE exam prep courses?
How long is an FE review course?
Do FE prep courses guarantee a pass?
Can I prepare for the FE exam on my own?
Is an EIT exam prep course different from an FE exam prep course?
When should I start an FE exam prep course?
Looking for a professional engineer (PE) exam prep course? The PE is a different NCEES exam, taken after the FE and several years of experience. This course covers the FE only.