Senior-level students are strongly encouraged to to take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE or EIT) examination in their final undergraduate semester. Passing this exam is the first official step to becoming a licensed Professional Engineer (PE), and many employers will look for this while hiring. Additionally, the sooner you pass the FE exam, the sooner you can take the PE exam. Analyses have shown that students who take the FE exam as an undergraduate are more likely to pass than those who wait to take the exam after they graduate. Much of the exam is based on course material from the freshman-to-junior years, so the longer that you wait, the more you potentially will forget.

The FE exam is given year-round at various locations. ChBE urges you to look at the registration form and register for the exam well before the deadline. For more information, see the State of Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation site.

The application requires that an Official Transcript be sent to the licensing board. If you have not graduated, a letter of “anticipated graduation” need to be requested from the Clark School Undergraduate Advising and Academic Support office. Please allow sufficient time for the letter to be prepared.

Peter Kofinas

Professor and Chair in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
1120 Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building
301-405-7335
kofinas@umd.edu