PPD Exam Approach / Studying it with PDD
I’m a recent grad with about 3 years of experience (interned throughout school) and just wrapped up my 4th ARE exam!
So far, I’ve passed:
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PA: 9/20/25
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PcM: 10/11/25
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CE: 10/18/25
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PjM: 10/24/25
Now I’m gearing up for the final stretch, PPD and PDD. My plan is to study for both at the same time and take them fairly close together.
For those who’ve gone this route, what was your strategy?
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Did you study both simultaneously or focus on one before the other?
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How close together did you schedule them?
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Any resources or study methods that helped tie the two together?
Any insights, lessons learned, or tips would be super appreciated as I plan out my final push toward licensure.
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100 percent study them both together and take them as close together on the calendar as you can.
While the Venn diagram of the test items in the two exams do not COMPLETELY overlap, the Venn diagram of what content to study for each exam reads, at first approximation, as a single circle.
Michael Ermann, Amber Book creator
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Congratulations on passing 4 exams! PPD and PDD are a lot alike but PPD is more about pulling together the building code, occupancy and construction types, lateral loads, mechanical systems and building types, and climate. PDD refines all of these further into construction documents, enclosure details, coordination between systems. Definitely take them close together so you are in "exam mode" & take the NCARB and Amber Book Practice exams. Additional resources I found most helpful are below. Good luck!
- Building Codes Illustrated
- Building Construction Illustrated
- Architects Studio Companion
- FEMA 454, Designing for Earthquakes
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
- IBC 2018 Building Code Essentials
- Architectural Graphic Standards
- Heating, Cooling, Lighting. Sustainable Design Methods for Architects
- MEEB
- Sun, Wind, Light
- Site Planning and Design Handbook
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