ENGINEERING EXAM SYLLABUS
Civil Engineering: SSC JE & UPSC ESE (IES)
1. SSC Junior Engineer (JE) - Civil
Exam Pattern: Paper-I (CBT - Objective) and Paper-II (CBT - Objective/Descriptive
specialized).
Paper-I: General Subjects
• General Intelligence & Reasoning
• General Awareness
• General Engineering (Civil & Structural): Building Materials, Estimating, Costing and Valuation,
Surveying, Soil Mechanics, Hydraulics, Irrigation Engineering, Transportation Engineering,
Environmental Engineering.
Paper-II: Civil & Structural Engineering
Building Materials
Physical and Chemical properties, classification, standard tests, uses and manufacture/quarrying
of materials e.g. building stones, silicate based materials, cement (Portland), asbestos products,
timber and wood based products, laminates, bituminous materials, paints, varnishes.
Estimating, Costing and Valuation
Estimate, glossary of technical terms, analysis of rates, methods and unit of measurement, Items
of work – earthwork, Brick work (Modular & Traditional bricks), RCC work, Shuttering, Timber
work, Painting, Flooring, Plastering. Boundary wall, Brick building, Water Tank, Septic tank, Bar
bending schedule, Centre line method, Mid-section formula, Trapezoidal formula, Simpson’s rule.
Cost estimate of Septic tank, flexible pavements, Tube well, isolates and combined footings, Steel
Truss, Piles and pile-caps. Valuation – Value and cost, scrap value, salvage value, assessed value,
sinking fund, depreciation and obsolescence, methods of valuation.
Surveying
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Principles of surveying, measurement of distance, chain surveying, working of prismatic compass,
compass traversing, bearings, local attraction, plane table surveying, theodolite traversing,
adjustment of theodolite, Levelling, Definition of terms used in levelling, contouring, curvature
and refraction corrections, temporary and permanent adjustments of dumpy level, methods of
contouring, uses of contour map, tachometric survey, curve setting, earth work calculation,
advanced surveying equipment.
Soil Mechanics
Origin of soil, phase diagram, Definitions-void ratio, porosity, degree of saturation, water content,
specific gravity of soil grains, unit weights, density index and interrelationship of different
parameters, Grain size distribution curves and their uses. Index properties of soils, IS
classification of soils, UPSC permeability, consolidation of soils, Terzaghi’s theory of one-
dimensional consolidation, compaction of soil, field control of compaction, total stress and
effective stress, shear strength of soils, Mohrs failure theory, effective cohesion and angle of
friction, Vane shear test, Direct shear test, Tri-axial test, Active and passive earth pressures,
Bearing capacity of soils, plate load test, standard penetration test.
Hydraulics
Fluid properties, hydrostatics, measurements of flow, Bernoulli’s theorem and its application, flow
through pipes, flow in open channels, weirs, flumes, spillways, pumps and turbines.
Environmental Engineering
Quality of water, source of water supply, purification of water, distribution of water, need of
sanitation, sewage systems, circular sewer, oval sewer, sewer appurtenances, sewage treatments.
Surface water drainage. Solid waste management – types, effects, engineered management
system. Air pollution – pollutants, causes, effects, control. Noise pollution – cause, health effects,
control.
Structural Engineering
Theory of structures
Concrete Technology
Properties, Advantages and uses of concrete, cement aggregates, importance of water quality,
water cement ratio, workability, mix design, storage, batching, mixing, placement, compaction,
finishing and curing of concrete, quality control of concrete, hot weather and cold weather
concreting, repair and maintenance of concrete structures.
RCC Design
RCC beams-flexural strength, shear strength, bond strength, design of singly reinforced and
double reinforced beams, cantilever beams. T-beams, lintels. One way and two way slabs, isolated
footings. Reinforced brick works, columns, staircases, retaining wall, water tanks (RCC design
questions may be based on both Limit State and Working Stress methods).
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Steel Design
Steel design and construction of steel columns, beams roof trusses, plate girders.
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2. UPSC Engineering Services Examination (ESE)
Exam Pattern: Stage-I (Preliminary), Stage-II (Main), and Stage-III (Personality Test).
Stage-I Paper-I: General Studies & Engineering Aptitude
• General Studies and Engineering Aptitude: Current issues of national and international
importance, Engineering Aptitude (Logical reasoning and Analytical ability), Engineering
Mathematics and Numerical Analysis, General Principles of Design, Drawing, Importance of
Safety, Standards and Quality practices, Basics of Energy and Environment, Basics of Project
Management, Basics of Material Science and Engineering, Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT), Ethics and values in Engineering profession.
Civil Engineering - Paper I
Building Materials
Stone, Lime, Glass, Plastics, Steel, FRP, Ceramics, Aluminum, Fly Ash, Basic Admixtures, Timber,
Bricks and Aggregates
Solid Mechanics
Elastic constants, Stress, plane stress, Strains, plane strain, Mohr’s circle of stress and strain,
Elastic theories of failure, Principal Stresses, Bending, Shear and Torsion.
Structural Analysis
Basics of strength of materials, Types of stresses and strains, Bending moments and shear force,
concept of bending and shear stresses; Analysis of determinate and indeterminate structures;
Trusses, beams, plane frames; Rolling loads, Influence Lines, Unit load method & other methods;
Free and Forced vibrations of SDOFs, Suspension bridges and Arches.
Design of Steel Structures
Principles of Working Stress methods, Design of tension and compression members, Design of
beams and beam column connections, built-up sections, Girders, Industrial roofs, Principles of
Ultimate load design.
Design of Concrete and Masonry Structures
Limit state design for bending, shear, axial compression and combined forces; Design of beams,
Slabs, Lintels, Foundations, Retaining walls, Water tanks, Staircases; Principles of pre-stressed
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concrete design including materials, methods of pre-stressing, losses. Design of Masonry
Structure.
Construction Practice, Planning and Management
Construction - Planning, Equipment, Site investigation and Management including Estimating
with types of estimates and training; Quality Control; Network analysis – CPM/PERT; Cost
reduction and Productivity analysis.
Civil Engineering - Paper II
Flow of Fluids, Hydraulic Machines and Hydro Power
Fluid Mechanics, Continuity, Momentum and Energy equations, Flow in pipes, Network networks;
Flow in open channels, Specific energy and conserved quantities, Hydraulic jump; Dimensional
analysis and models; Pulse momentum theory, Jet propulsion, Hydraulic turbines and pumps,
Specific speed, Performance characteristics.
Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering
Hydrological cycle, Ground water hydrology, Well hydraulics and Ground water recharge; River
engineering, Flood forecasting, Storage and its utilization, Water resources capacity and its
optimization.
Environmental Engineering
Water Supply Engineering, Waste Water Engineering, Solid Waste Management, Air, Noise
pollution and Ecology.
Geotechnical Engineering and Foundation Engineering
Geo-technical Engineering
Surveying and Geology
Surveying
Transportation Engineering
Highways - Planning & construction methodology, Alignment and geometric design; Highway
Material and pavement design; Traffic Engineering and Management; Railway Engineering –
Terminology, Geometry, Working and maintenance; Airport Engineering – Layout, Planning and
Design.
Reference: Official SSC and UPSC ESE Notification Syllabus for Civil Engineering.
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