PE Civil: Structural is one of the most concentrated PE exams — just 5 topics — and Design and Details: Component Design and Detailing alone is worth 26–39 of the exam's 80 questions, up to nearly half the exam. That single topic, combined with Analysis of Structures, accounts for the large majority of the test.
70–106, across 5 topics
Effective April 2024
8 or 8.5 hours testing; 9 or 9.5 hours for the appointment
Ranked by question count weighted against the spec's own difficulty rating — not question count alone, since a smaller topic rated harder can be worth more study time than a bigger, easier one.
Horizontal members (beams, slabs, diaphragms) · Vertical members (columns, walls) · Systems (trusses, braces, frames) · Connections
Shear and moment diagrams · Axial (tension and compression) · Shear · Flexure
Dead loads · Live loads · Construction loads · Wind loads
Every topic in the official NCEES spec, with its question range and share of the exam. Study Scheduler allocates your study hours in this same proportion automatically.
Design and Details — Component Design and Detailing on PE Civil: Structural, worth up to 39 questions — more than a third of the entire exam concentrated in one topic.
Just 5 — only PE Mechanical: HVAC has fewer — but weighted so heavily toward component design and structural analysis that depth matters far more than breadth here.
For how many hours to budget, week-by-week study plans, and how Study Scheduler weights your plan — see the full PE study guide.
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