What is the difference between the PE Civil Breadth and the PE Civil Depth Exam?

Are you thinking about taking the PE Civil exam? If so, you may be wondering what the difference is between the breadth section of the exam and the depth section. We've broken down the differences below:
About the PE Civil Breadth Exam

What is the PE Civil breadth exam?
The breadth section of the PE Civil exam is a section that all examinees must take. It's often thought of as the "general" portion. The purpose of the breadth section is to test one's knowledge without going in depth into segmented specialties.
How many questions are on the PE Civil breadth exam?
The exam consists of 40 multiple choice questions.
What is the time limit for the PE Civil breadth exam?
The time limit is 4 hours.
Below are the topics that are found on the PE Civil breadth exam:

1. Project Planning
2. Means and Methods
3. Soil Mechanics
4. Structural Mechanics
5. Hydraulics and Hydrology
6. Geometrics
7. Materials
8. Site Development

From there, examinees then must take their chosen depth exam.

About the PE Civil Depth Exam

What is the PE Civil depth Exam?

The depth portion of the PE Civil exam is considered the "specialty" portion of the exam. When registering for the exam, examinees must choose one depth to be tested on. The depth exam portion is given after the breadth portion.

How many questions are on the PE Civil depth exam?

The exam consists of 40 multiple choice questions.

What is the time limit for the PE Civil depth exam?

The time limit is 4 hours.

What are the different depths to choose from for the PE Civil exam?

There are 5 different depths one can choose from when registering for the exam: Construction, Geotechnical, Structural, Transportation, & Water Resources and Environmental.

Which depth to register for

It is recommended that examinees register for a depth exam that correlates with their career goals. For example, if one wants to focus on environmental civil engineering, they should register for the Water Resources and Environmental depth.

How to Prepare for Both Sections of the PE Civil Exam

We get that preparing for two different sections of an exam can be overwhelming, and we're here to help! If you're looking for a comprehensive review course that covers both the breadth and depth section of your choice, check out our PE Civil exam review course. This 84-hour review course is split into 2 sections. 56 hours of review is dedicated to the breadth exam and 28 hours are dedicated to the depth section of your choice.