By Emily Sitton
For some, their last year at the University of Portland is marked by a thesis or a capstone. For others, it is marked by the GRE, MCAT or LSAT exam. For 39 of last year's graduates, the culmination of their time at UP was marked by the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. UP's exam pass rate of 90 percent beat the national rate - by 12 percent."It gives us bragging rights and it shows that our graduates are more prepared than graduates nationally," said School of Engineering Dean Zia Yamayee.Every engineering major who wishes to become a licensed engineer must take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. The exam is divided into two sections, each lasting four hours. The first section tests students' general knowledge on subjects such as chemistry, mathematics and physics. The second section tests students in their respective disciplines such as mechanical, civil or electrical engineering.The first section has basic engineering questions that everyone knows and the questions in the second section are longer and more challenging, said Jill Hector, a 2009 Mechanical Engineering graduate. On exam day, students entered a convention-style building holding hundreds of desks. Each sat at their desk with a supplied reference handbook, their calculators and provided mechanical pencils preloaded with three lead pieces while the examiners read them their test-taking rights. Then, the eight-hour exam began. "Your hand starts to hurt and you're slumped at the table," she said, "I literally didn't look up for hours.""It's really more of an endurance exam," said Hector.Hector passed the exam, along with 34 of the 39 graduates who took the exam. The passing score changes each year and is determined by a "committee of licensed subject-matter experts," according to the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying Web site. Students are informed of whether they passed or failed, but not their score.Lewis and Hector attribute their success to the faculty, staff and the yearly review course offered. "I feel that the UP review course and curriculum in general set us up well to take the exam," said Travis Lewis, a 2009 Mechanical Engineering graduate.The School of Engineering offers an optional one-credit course every year to prepare students for the exam.The course is taught by 15 faculty who review the general and discipline specific subjects covered on the exam, said engineering professor Mojtaba Takallou, who is in charge of the review course. The professors go above and beyond their normal teaching load to teach this review course, said Yamayee.After passing the exam, students become Engineers in Training (EITs) and must meet the licensing requirements of the state where they want to work. This could include four years of experience and passing a Principles of Practice exam. Like Lewis, who works at an engineering consulting firm in Eugene, some graduates already have jobs and are working toward licensure.Others, like Hector, are still searching. She has interviewed with several companies, but has yet to receive an offer. Hector is optimistic that she will have a job in the next month or two and definitely by January."Everyone that I've talked to or interviewed with loves UP," she said.
