2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The clearest path for individuals to become a licensed professional engineer includes passing the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) and Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exams. An array of materials and training opportunities is available to individuals to prepare for and successfully pass these exams. In addition, much of the individual’s preparation occurs when they take undergraduate level engineering courses that are related to the exam subject matter. However, less information is available to engineering administrators or faculty on how to encourage and prepare their students to take and pass the exams. Of the guidance that is available, suggestions for supporting student preparation often include a modest use of department resources such as teaching an entire FE exam preparation course which reduces the number of engineering courses students take during their undergraduate studies. This paper includes a description of several novel and known measures engineering program faculty and administrators can implement in their courses and programs to prepare students for both the FE and PE exams. Recommendations described in this paper were derived from the author’s reflection of measures considered or implemented over the author’s teaching career in civil and/or environmental engineering departments. Moreover, the paper focuses on describing measures taken over a recent four-year period which presumably resulted in improved performance metrics on both exams. Some recommendations require minimal department resources such as being selective on when to remind students to take the FE exam. Notwithstanding, this paper provides guidance to engineering faculty and administrators on how to prepare their students to pass the FE and PE exams via course/curriculum modifications, teaching pedagogy, organizing exam lectures, faculty collaboration, and performance assessment strategies.