FAQs about the Electrical and Computer Engineering PE Exam

Exam Format
Question Format
Exam Topics
NEC and Other Codes and Standards Required for the Exam
Exam Dates
Exam Scoring
Passing Rates
Advice from Previous Examinees

What's the format of the electrical and computer PE exam?

The electrical and computer PE exam is 8 hours long, divided into 2 equal sessions, morning and afternoon. All questions are multiple choice.

This exam is structured in a "breadth and depth" format. In the morning session, all examinees work the same "breadth" exam, which consists of 40 questions drawn from the areas of electrical engineering listed below. Examinees must answer all 40 questions. In the afternoon, examinees choose to work one of three "depth" exam modules: (1) Computer Engineering, (2) Electronics, Control, and Communication Engineering, and (3) Power Engineering. Each depth exam consists of 40 questions that test knowledge in the areas specified. Examinees must work all 40 questions in the depth exam of their choice.

What format are the questions in?

The questions are multiple-choice, with four answer choices each. Nearly all questions are unique--that is, one problem statement followed by one question. There may be a few multi-part questions, where one problem statement is followed by 2 or 3 questions, but in these cases the answers to the questions will be independent from each other (i.e., the answers do not "cascade").

What topics will be covered on the electrical and computer PE exam?

The exam topics are as follows:

MORNING SESSION: BREADTH (40 multiple-choice problems)

Note: NCEES states that the knowledge areas specified are examples of kinds of knowledge, but they are not exclusive or exhaustive categories.

Basic Electrical Engineering: approx. 45% of problems
- Professionalism and engineering economics: 6%
  - Engineering economics
  - Ethics
  - Professional practice
- Safety and reliability: 6%
  - Reliability
  - Electric shock and burns
  - General public safety
- Electric circuits: 24%
  - Ohm's Law
  - Coloumb's Law
  - Faraday's Law
  - Kirchoff's Laws
  - Thevenin's Theorem
  - Norton's Theorem
  - Superposition
  - Source transformation
  - Sinusoidal steady-state analysis
  - Power and energy calculations
  - Transient analysis
  - Fourier analysis
  - Transfer functions
  - Complex impedance
  - Laplace transforms
  - Mutual inductance
- Electric and magnetic field theory and applications: 3%
  - Electrostatic effects
  - Magnetostatic fields
- Digital logic: 6%

Electronics, Electronic Circuits, and Components: approx. 20% of problems
- Components: 14%
  - Solid-state device characteristics and ratings
  - Operational amplifiers
  - Transistors
  - Signal grounding
  - Transducers/sensors
- Electrical and electronic materials: 6%
  - Conductivity/resistivity
  - Thermal characteristics
  - Semiconductors

Control and Communication Systems: approx. 15% of problems
- System stability
- Frequency response
- Analog modulation
- Frequency selective filters

Power: approx. 20% of problems
- Transmission and distribution: 12%
  - Voltage reduction
  - Power factor correction
  - Grounding
- Rotating machines and electromagnetic devices: 8%
  - AC and DC machines
  - Transformers

AFTERNOON SESSIONS: DEPTH MODULES

Examinees must choose to work one of the following three depth exam modules. Each depth module has 40 multiple-choice problems, and examinees must work all questions.

Note: All three depth modules will be printed in the same exam booklet, so you will have the opportunity to look at each exam before deciding which one to select. Be aware that the time you spend making your selection is part of the total four hours you have to work the afternoon exam.

Computer Engineering Module (40 multiple-choice problems)

General Computer Systems: approx. 10% of problems
- Interpretation of codes and standards: 4%
  - IEEE standards
  - ISO standards
- Microprocessor systems: 6%
  - Number systems and codes
  - Microprocessor systems: components, control applications, math applications, programmable logic controllers, real-time operations
Hardware: approx. 45% of problems
- Digital electronics: 16%
  - Memory devices
  - Medium-scale integration devices
  - Programmable logic devices and gate arrays
  - Tristate logic
  - Digital electronic devices
  - Logic components: properties, fan-in, fan-out, propagation delay
  - Large-scale integration
  - Analog to digital and digitial to analog conversion
- Design and analysis: 19%
  - Clock generation/distribution
  - Memory interface
  - Processor interfacing
  - Asynchronous communication
  - Metastability
  - Races and hazards
  - State transition tables
  - State transition diagrams
  - Algorithmic state machine charts
  - Timing diagrams
  - Synchronous state machines
  - Asynchronous state machines
  - Pipelining and parallel processing
  - Fault tolerance
  - Sampling theory
- Systems: 10%
  - Digitial signal processor architecture
  - Design for testability
  - Computer architecture
  - Mass storage devices
  - Input/output devices
  - Central processing unit architecture
Software: approx. 35% of problems
- System software: 12%
  - Computer security
  - Real-time operating systems
  - Computer architecture
  - Error detection and control
  - Drivers
  - Time-critical scheduling
- Development/applications: 23%
  - Computer control and monitoring
  - Software lifecycle: requirements definition, specification, design, implementation, and debugging, testing, maintenance and upgrade
  - Fault tolerance
  - Modeling and simulation
  - Software pipelining
  - Human interface requirements
  - Software design methods and documentation: structured programming, top-down or bottom-up programming, successive refinement, programming specifications, program testing, structure diagrams, recursion
  - Object-oriented design
  - Data structures: internal, external
Networks: approx. 10% of problems
- Protocols: TCP/IP, ethernet
- Computer networks: OSI model, network topology, network technology, network security

Electronics, Control, and Communication Module (40 multiple-choice problems)

General Electrical Engineering Knowledge: approx. 10% of problems
- Measurement and instrumentation: 4%
  - Transducer characteristics
  - Frequency response
  - Quantization
  - Data evaluation
  - Sampling theory
- Interpretation of codes and standards: 2%
  - ANSI standards
  - NEC (code)
  - IEEE standards
  - FCC standards
  - EIA standards
  - ISA standards
  - ISO standards
- Computer systems: 4%
  - Programmable logic devices
  - Computer networks
  - Number systems and codes
  - Digital electronic devices
Electronics: approx. 35% of problems
- Electrical circuit theory: 10%
  - Small signal and large signal
  - Active networks and filters
  - Delay
  - Distributed parameter circuits
  - Nonlinear circuits
  - Two-port theory
  - Phase delay
- Electric and magnetic field theory and applications: 7%
  - Microwave systems
  - Transmission line models
  - Electromagnetic fields and interference
  - Antennas
  - Free-space propagation
  - Guided wave propagation
- Electronic components and circuits: 18%
  - Programmable logic devices
  - Programmable gate arrays
  - Solid-state power devices and applications
  - Battery characteristics and ratings
  - Power supplies
  - Phase locked loops
  - Oscillators
  - Amplifiers
  - Modulators and demodulators
  - Discrete components
  - Diodes
  - Circuit protection
  - Relays and switches
  - Logic components: properties, fan-in, fan-out, propagation delay
  - Transistors and applications
Controls: approx. 25% of problems
- Control system fundamentals: 10%
  - Difference equations
  - z-transform
  - Frequency response
  - Characteristic equations
  - Block diagrams
  - State variable analysis
- Control system design/implementation: 6%
  - Compensators
  - Feed forward
  - Feedback
  - Optimal control systems
  - Adaptive control
  - Computer control and monitoring
  - Error-actuated control
  - Proportional-inetgral-derivative control
- Stability: 9%
  - Stability analysis and design: Nyquist stability, root locus, Bode diagrams
  - Pole and zones
  - Phase and gain margin
  - Transport delay
Communication: approx. 30% of problems
- Communications and signal processing: 15%
  - Modulation theory: linear, angle, and pulse modulation
  - Correlation and convolution
  - Fourier transforms
  - Spectral properties
  - Signal processing
  - Digital transmission
  - Quadrature amplitude modulation
  - Personal communication system
  - Spread spectrum modulation
  - Adaptive filtering
  - Nyquist sampling theorem
- Noise and interference: 8%
  - Signal-to-noise ratio
  - Quantization noise
  - Noise figure and temperature
  - Aliasing
  - Random variables
  - Error detection and correction
- Telecommunications: 7%
  - Wireless communications
  - Compression
  - Cellular communications
  - Optical communications
  - Circuit and packet switching
  - Network distribution systems
  - Wireline communications

Power Module (40 multiple-choice problems)

General Power Engineering: approx. 15% of problems
- Measurement, instrumentation, and statistics: 5%
  - Power metering
  - Instrument transformers
  - Transducers
  - Frequency responses of measurement devices
  - Data evaluation
  - Reliability
- Special applications: 2%
  - Illumination design
  - Lightning and surge protection
- Codes and standards: 8%
  - ANSI standards
  - NEC (code)
  - IEEE standards
  - NEMA standards
  - NESC (code)
Circuit analysis: approx. 28% of problems
- Analysis: 15%
  - Short-circuit analysis
  - Wye-Delta transformation
  - Three-phase circuit analysis
  - Symmetrical components
  - Balanced and unbalanced systems
  - Per-unit analysis
- Devices and power electronic circuits: 8%
  - Solid-state power device characteristics and ratings
  - Battery characteristics and ratings
  - Power supplies
  - Relays and switches
  - Power electronics
- Electric and magnetic fields and applications: 5%
  - Transmission line models
  - Mechanical forces between components
  - Electromagentic fields, coupling, and interference
  - Electrostatics
  - Ferroresonance
Rotating Machines and Electromagnetic Devices: approx. 27% of problems
- Rotating machines: 18%
  - Synchronous machines
  - Induction machines
  - DC machines
  - Machine constants and nameplate data
  - Equivalent circuits
  - Response times
  - Speed-torque characteristics
  - Speed control
  - Motor starting
  - Variable speed drives
  - Testing
- Electromagnetic devices: 9%
  - Transformers
  - Reactors
  - Magnetic circuit theory
  - Testing
Transmission and Distribution: approx. 30% of problems
- System analysis: 15%
  - Voltage drop and voltage regulation
  - Power factor correction
  - Parallel three-phase systems
  - Surge protection
  - Power quality
  - Fault current analysis
  - Grounding
  - Resistance grounding
  - Transformer connections
  - Models
- Power system performance: 6%
  - Load flow
  - Models
  - Power system stability
  - Voltage profile
  - Computer control and monitoring
- Protection: 9%
  - Overcurrent protection
  - Protective relaying
  - Protective devices
  - Coordination

Note: NCEES states that these areas are examples of the kinds of knowledge that will be tested but are not exclusive or exhaustive categories.

Which editions of the NEC and other codes and standards am I required to use on the exam?

According to NCEES:

Electrical Codes and Standards Used on the PE Exams
Exam questions related to codes and standards will either be: (1) an interpretation of a code or standard that is presented in the exam booklet or (2) a code or standard that the committee of licensed engineers feel that minimally competent engineers should know. Exams given in 2006 will then be based on the 2005 NEC.

Will there be a separate passing score established for each of the exam modules?

Beginning with the October 2005 administration, candidates will receive results of "Pass" or "Fail" only. Failing candidates will no longer receive a numerical score. Yes, there will be a separate passing score set for each of the three exam modules. Here's how NCEES explains it:

"From a testing standpoint, the depth modules are [all] different exams. The passing score on each of the exams will be determined separately by panels of licensed engineers who will meet after the exam is given. The passing score will be based on the panelists' expert opinions of the level of difficulty of each of the questions on an exam. Because the questions are different on each of the afternoon exam modules, it is very possible that the experts on the panels will judge the overall difficulty level of each of the exams to be different. Therefore, to maintain a common standard required to pass the exam, it is fair to set different passing scores. If one exam is judged to be harder than another, a lower passing score will be required to pass it."

Electrical and Computer Engineering PE Exam FAQs