Suggested Resources to Take into the Civil PE Exam

It is certainly possible to pass the civil PE exam without having all of the books listed below. What you see here are simply suggestions for resources that may be helpful during the exam, compiled by Civil Engineering Reference Manual author Michael Lindeburg and augmented with recommendations from recent examinees.

The resources are divided according to the five "depth" modules currently found in the civil exam. Remember that none of the modules is "pure"--each has some percentage of problems from several of the other modules.

The core resources for each module are listed first. These are materials that have consistently proven valuable in previous exams (for example, the code-related books). The secondary, "suggested" lists are just that--books that recent examinees have suggested they found useful. (If you would like to add to this list, please send us your recommendation by email.)

Sources for more specialized publications are provided. If no source is given, the publication can be found in better bookstores.

Construction

Design Loads on Structures During Construction, 2002. American Society of Civil Engineers.

National Design Specification for Wood Construction, 2005. American Forest & Paper Association/American Wood Council.

Standard Practice for Bracing Masonry Walls During Construction, 2001. Council for Masonry Wall Bracing, Mason Contractors Association of America.

Steel Construction Manual, 13th ed. American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc.

Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete, 2005. American Concrete Institute.

Guide to Formwork for Concrete, 2004. American Concrete Institute.

Formwork for Concrete, 7th ed. 2005. American Concrete Institute.

Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry, 29 CFR Part 1926. US Department of Labor.

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices - Part 6 Temporary Traffic Control, 2003. US Federal Highway Administration.

Geotechnical

Previous examinees have suggested:

Foundation Analysis and Design, 5th ed. Joseph E. Bowles, 1996 (McGraw-Hill).

Foundation Design: Principles and Practices, 2nd ed. Donald P. Coduto, 2000 (Prentice Hall).

Foundation Engineering Handbook, 2nd ed. Hsai-Yang Fang, ed., 1997 (Kluwer Academic Publishers).

Fundamentals of Geotechnical Engineering, Braja M. Das, 2000 (Brooks/Cole).

Principles of Foundation Engineering, 5th ed. Braja M. Das, 2003 (Brooks/Cole).

Geotechnical

Previous examinees have suggested (in alphabetical order):

Foundation Analysis and Design, 5th ed. Joseph E. Bowles, 1996 (McGraw-Hill).

Foundation Design: Principles and Practices, 2nd ed. Donald P. Coduto, 2000 (Prentice Hall).

Foundation Engineering Handbook, 2nd ed. Hsai-Yang Fang, ed., 1997 (Kluwer Academic Publishers).

Fundamentals of Geotechnical Engineering, Braja M. Das, 2000 (Brooks/Cole).

Principles of Foundation Engineering, 5th ed. Braja M. Das, 2003 (Brooks/Cole).

Structural

AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications,3rd ed. 2004, with 2005 and 2006 Interim Revisions. American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials.

International Building Code, 2006 ed. International Code Council.

Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, 2005. American Society of Civil Engineers.

Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete, 2005. American Concrete Institute.

Building Code Requirements and Specifications for Masonry Structures, 2005. American Concrete Institute; Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers; The Masonry Society

Steel Construction Manual, 13th ed. American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc.

Seismic Design Manual, American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc.

National Design Specification for Wood Construction ASD/LRFD & National Design Specification Supplement, Design Values for Wood Construction, 2005 ed. American Forest & Paper Association

PCI Design Handbook: Precast and Prestressed Concrete, 6th ed. 2004. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute

Transportation

AASHTO Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets ("AASHTO Green Book"), 5th ed., 2004. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

Roadside Design Guide, AASHTO, 2002.

Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices - For Streets and Highways (MUTCD), Millennium edition, 2003. (US Customary Version required.)

Highway Capacity Manual 2000. Transportation Research Board/National Research Council.

Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures, 14th ed. 2002. Portland Cement Association.

Traffic Engineering Handbook, 5th ed., 1999.

Previous examinees have also suggested:

Traffic and Highway Engineering, 3rd ed. Nicholas Garber & Lester Hoel. 2001 (Brooks/Cole).

Water Resources and Environmental

Handbook of Hydraulics: For the Solution of Hydraulic Engineering Questions, 7th ed. Brater, King, Lindell, and Wei. 1996 (McGraw-Hill).

Urban Hydrology for Small Watersheds (Technical Release TR- 55). 1986. United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service). Hydrocad.

Previous examinees have also suggested:

Applied Hydrogeology. C. W. Fetter. 2000 (Prentice Hall).

Groundwater, 2nd ed. R. Allan Freeze and John A. Cherry. 1979 (Prentice Hall).

Groundwater and Wells, 2nd ed. Fletcher G. Driscol, 1986 (Mower House).

Groundwater Hydrology, 3rd ed. David Keith Todd. 2004 (John Wiley).

Hydraulic Design Handbook. American Water Works Association, 1999. AWWA.

Hydrology and Hydraulic Systems. Ram S. Gupta, 2001 (Waveland Press).

Unit Operations and Process in Environmental Engineering, 2nd ed. Tom D. Reynolds and Paul A. Richards, 1995 (Wadsworth).

Wastewater Engineering: Treatment, Disposal, and Reuse, 3rd ed. (Metcalf & Eddy) George Tchobanoglous and Franklin L. Burton, 1991 (McGraw-Hill).

Water Resources Handbook. Larry W. Mays, 1996 (McGraw-Hill).

Water Supply and Pollution Control. Warren Viessman et al., 2004 (Addison Wesley Longman).

Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 21st ed. 2005. A joint publication of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and the Water Pollution Control Federation (WPCF).

Wastewater Engineering: Treatment, Disposal, and Reuse, 4th ed. (Metcalf & Eddy) George Tchobanoglous and Franklin L. Burton, 2002 (McGraw-Hill).

Previous examinees have also suggested (in alphabetical order):

Applied Hydrogeology. C. W. Fetter. 2000 (Prentice Hall).

Groundwater, 2nd ed. R. Allan Freeze and John A. Cherry. 1979 (Prentice Hall).

Groundwater and Wells, 2nd ed. Fletcher G. Driscol, 1986 (Mower House).

Groundwater Hydrology, 3rd ed. David Keith Todd. 2004 (John Wiley).

Introduction to Environmental Engineering, 4th ed. M. L. Davis and D. A. Cornwell, 2006 (McGraw-Hill).