This page is strictly provided for your information and to aid in preparation for taking the exam. The Fundamentals in Land Surveying Exam is commonly known as the Land Surveyor in Training (LSIT) exam. The exam is developed by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). In Pennsylvania, you can apply to take the exam after either (1) graduation from a board-approved BS in Surveying Engineering program, (2) graduation from a board-approved AS in Surveying Technology degree, (3) graduation from a board-approved civil engineering degree program with a minimum of 10 credits in surveying, or (4) six years of experience under a licensed, professional land surveyor. To apply for the exam you need to contact the Pennsylvania State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologist.
The eight-hour exam consists of the following knowledge areas. The number of test items for each area are listed in right-hand column. Descriptions of each knowledge area are provided at the bottom of this document.
Units of measurement, formula development, formula manipulation, solving systems of equations, basic mensuration formulas for length, area, volume, quadratic equations, trigonometry functions, right triangle solutions, oblique triangle solutions, trigonometric identities, spherical coordinates and spherical trigonometry.
Analytical geometry, linear algebra, equation of a line, circle, parabola, ellipse, differentiation of functions, integration of elementary functions, infinite series, mathematical modeling.
Standard deviation, variance, standard deviation of unit weight, test of significance, concepts in probability and confidence intervals, error ellipses, data distributions and histograms.
Light and wave propagation, basic electricity, optics, gravity, refraction, mechanics, forces, kinematics, temperature of heat, biology, dendrology, geology, plant science.
Reference ellipsoids, gravity fields, geoid, geodetic data, direction and distance on the ellipsoid, conversion from geodetic heights to elevation, orbit determination and tracking, determination of azimuth using common celestial bodies, time systems.
Operating systems, graphical user interfaces (windows), data communication by serial or parallel interface, bits and bytes, Internet, computer architecture, keyboard programming of hand-held calculator, programming a computer in a compiled language, order of arithmetic operations, programming concepts such as decision statements, flow charts, looping, arrays.
Written communication, grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, bibliographical referencing, verbal and non-verbal communication.
Land descriptions, real property rights, concepts of land ownership, case law, statute law, conveyancing, official records, public/quasi-public/private land record sources, tax assessment, legal instruments of title, U.S. Public Land Survey System, Colonial/metes and bound survey system, other cadastral systems.
Rules of evidence relative to land boundaries and court appearance, boundary control and legal principles, order of importance of conflicting title elements, possession principles, conflict resolution, riparian/littoral/water boundaries, boundary evidence, simultaneous and sequential conveyance.
Sole proprietorship, corporation, partnership structures, contract law, tax structure, employment law, liability, operation analysis and optimization, land economics, appraisal science, critical path analysis, personnel management principles, cost/benefit analysis of a project or operation, econometric modeling, time value of money, budgeting.
Surveying/mapping instruments and their development, prominent events and personalities, history of cartography, photogrammetric instruments and their development, history of the profession.
Field notes and electronic data collection, measurement of distances, angles and directions, modern instruments and their construction and use, precise levels, theodolites, total stations, EDM's, precision tapes, global positioning system, hydrographic data collection instruments, construction layout instruments and procedures for routes and structures.
Cameras, image scanners, digitizers, stereoplotters, orientation, editing, ortho-image production, georectification, airborne GPS, image processing, raster/vector data conversions.
Principles of effective graphical display of spatial information, preparation of sketches, scaled drawings, survey plats and maps, interpretation of features on three-dimensional drawings, principles of cartography and map projections, computer mapping, use of overlays.
Computation and adjustment of traverses, COGO computation of boundary, route alignments, construction, subdivision plats, calculation or route curves and volumes.
Calculation of position on a recognized coordinate system such as latitude/longitude, state plane coordinate systems, and UTM, coordinate transformations, scale factors, convergence.
Analysis of error sources, error propagation, control network analysis, blunder trapping and elimination, least squares adjustment, calculation of uncertainty of position, accuracy standards.
Spatial data storage and retrieval and analysis objects, attribute value measurement, data definitions, schemas, metadata concepts, coding standards, GIS analysis of polygons and networks, buffering, overlay, spatial data accuracy standards.
Soil classifications and properties, hydrology and hydraulics, land planning and practices, laws controlling land use, drainage systems, construction methods, geometric and physical aspects of site analysis and design of land subdivisions, street alignment calculations, application of subdivision standards to platting of land.
Techniques for planning and conducting surveys including boundary surveys, control surveys, hydrographic surveys, topographic surveys, route surveys, aerial surveys, construction surveys, issues related to professional liability, ethics, and courtesy.
This information was provided to educational institutions in 1998. The format of the exam was started in October, 1999. Some items in each category will probably change with time. However this is a good starting location for identifying areas of study for the Fundamentals in Land Surveying Exam.