PE Geotechnical study guide
PE Geotechnical · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Civil: Geotechnical exam is one of the more than 20 PE exams NCEES offers. It tests for a minimum level of competency in geotechnical engineering and is designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years of post-college work experience in the discipline. The PE Geotechnical study guide has 5 sections and about 1,569 words.
01Site Characterization and Subsurface Exploration
Questions in this domain ask whether you can scope an investigation and then read the results critically. Know the rules of thumb: borings at building corners and center, spacing roughly 50–100 ft for fills and 200–500 ft for linear work, and termination at the depth where the foundation-induced stress increase falls to about 10% of the effective overburden stress - often 1.5B to 2B below a footing, deeper for piles or groups.
323 words, about 2 min02Soil Mechanics and Laboratory/Field Testing
You must connect index properties to engineering behavior. Know Atterberg limits and plasticity index, specific gravity (typically 2.65–2.70), and gradation from sieve and hydrometer data.
315 words, about 2 min03Shallow and Deep Foundations
For shallow foundations, know the bearing capacity equation in general form - qu = cNc + qNq + 0.5γBNγ - with Terzaghi, Meyerhof, or Vesic factors, plus shape, depth, and inclination corrections. Confirm drainage: undrained clay uses su with Nc = 5.14 (plus depth and shape terms), drained sand uses c' = 0 and φ'.
317 words, about 2 min04Earth Retaining Structures and Slope Stability
For walls, know lateral earth pressure theory: at-rest K0 = 1 − sin φ' (use for unyielding walls such as basement walls), Rankine active Ka = tan²(45 − φ'/2) for a vertical wall with no wall friction, and passive Kp = 1/Ka. Coulomb adds wall friction and inclined backfill.
327 words, about 2 min05Geotechnical Analysis, Design, and Construction Considerations
This domain tests judgment across the design–build interface. Understand ASD versus LRFD: LRFD applies load factors greater than one to loads and resistance factors less than one to nominal resistances, checking ΣγiQi ≤ φRn.
287 words, about 1 min