Basic Studies vs discipline exams
EGBC's engineering syllabus has exams common to every discipline (Basic Studies and Complementary Studies) and exams in each discipline's own syllabus. This guide compares Basic Studies with discipline exams and explains what the difference means for your study. The EGBC rules it relies on are listed at the end.
This guide is Nivaar's own summary and is independent of EGBC. It may contain errors, so check the EGBC details against the sources below. Where it uses the civil syllabus as an example, other disciplines may be organised differently.
Which exams you write
EGBC assigns specific exams after assessing your academic record, and you may be assigned only some of a discipline's exams. Do not register for exams before they are assigned. Your assignment letter is the list that counts.
Basic Studies
- Basic Studies, like Complementary Studies, is common to all engineering disciplines.
- Its syllabus lists sixteen exams, from 04-BS-1 Mathematics to 04-BS-16 Discrete Mathematics. They include Probability and Statistics, Statics and Dynamics, Mechanics of Materials, Mechanics of Fluids, Thermodynamics, Properties of Materials, and Engineering Graphics and Design Process.
- Their purpose, in the syllabus's words, is "an adequate foundation in advanced mathematics, basic sciences, and engineering sciences".
- The level is that of the textbooks used in first- and second-year courses of programs that hold accreditation from the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board.
- Each exam entry lists its topics, then suggested texts. Some of those are older editions.
- Which Basic Studies exams apply depends on your discipline and your assessment. The civil self-evaluation form, for example, names a required set plus one exam chosen from a second list.
Discipline exams
- Each discipline has its own syllabus document, listing the required topics, a self-evaluation checklist and recommended textbooks.
- In the 2016 civil syllabus, the discipline exams are split into Group A (compulsory, six required) and Group B (elective, three required). A full set of civil exams is nine three-hour papers.
- Some topics carry two or more codes joined by slashes, such as "16-Civ-A2/07-Str-A2 Elementary Structural Design", so one paper can serve more than one discipline. The civil syllabus also allows exams from another discipline's syllabus to be assigned, at the association's discretion.
The order you write them in
The 2016 civil syllabus says: "Before writing the discipline examinations, candidates must have passed, or have been exempted from, the Basic Studies Examinations." EGBC's Academic Exam Regulations do not repeat this, so if your assignment includes both kinds, check your assignment letter or ask EGBC at exams@egbc.ca. You do not have to write all your assigned exams at once, but you must finish them by the deadline in your assignment letter.
Same session, same rules
Basic Studies exams appear in the same session schedule as discipline exams, and each has its own entry for open or closed book and permitted aids. In the Fall 2026 list, for example, 04-BS-15 was closed book and 04-BS-5 was closed book with one aid sheet. EGBC's regulations say most exams are three-hour sittings with a pass mark of 50%, without splitting them by kind.
What it means for your study
- For Basic Studies, the syllabus sets the level at first- and second-year university textbooks, and its suggested texts are a starting point.
- For discipline exams, work from your discipline's syllabus and its recommended textbooks. EGBC allows any textbook but recommends those. The guide to reading the syllabus shows how to turn it into a checklist.
- Discipline exams build on Basic Studies material. Structural design leans on mechanics of materials, for example. Revising the underlying Basic Studies topics first is our suggestion, not an EGBC rule.
- EGBC says past papers are a study aid and should not be your main method of study. Our Basic Studies solutions sit in their own section, apart from the disciplines.
Keep exam content private
When you sit a real exam, its content is confidential, and that includes your own solutions and rough work. EGBC warns that sharing it, or trying to, may affect your application for registration. Do not send us your exam questions or answers, and do not post them anywhere.
Sources
All checked on 4 October 2026. EGBC updates these documents between sessions; the most recent version on its site always wins over this page.
- EGBC, Engineering Syllabus
- EGBC, Basic Studies syllabus
- EGBC, Civil Engineering syllabus (2016, Word file)
- EGBC, Upcoming Session Exam Topics (Spring/Summer 2027, tentative)
- EGBC, Exam Schedule, Formats and List of Aids (Fall 2026)
- EGBC, Academic Exam Regulations (revision of 21 October 2024)
- EGBC, Academic Examinations
- EGBC, Past Academic Exams