Alignment of the FE Exam with Civil Engineering Program Content

Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine the extent civil engineering programs include topics from the civil engineering–specific fundamentals of engineering (FE) exam in their curricula. Data were gathered from a representative sample of 86 civil engineering program curricula in the 2017–2018 academic year and mapped to the 18 civil engineering FE topics. Three different methods were used to link program curricula to FE topics based on the type of courses offered and the amount of time dedicated to each topic. The results reveal the average civil engineering program required at least one three–credit hour course in 71% of the FE topics, but among the programs, this ranged from 7 to 17 FE topics. Approximately 40% of the programs offered (but did not require) courses that addressed all FE topics, and fewer than 5% of the programs offered courses in fewer than 16 of the FE topics. The conclusion is that civil engineering programs are very flexible in their course offerings, but they do not require three–credit hour courses in many FE topic areas.