fogfog

With respect to ABET accredited programs and undergraduate engineering schools,

How important is the ABET stamp of approval when either

a- going to grad school or
b- looking for a job (if not going directly to grad school)

???

bigtrees

It's very important for two reasons:

1) Large companies often don't recognize engineering degrees that aren't accredited by ABET

2) It's very difficult or impossible to get your PE license if you graduated from a non ABET accredited school.

The one exception is if you are going to school outside the US, where there may be a different body that is equivalent to ABET for foreign schools.

fogfog

THANK YOU/ This is a big help.

So if for example a certain ivy only has a engineering sciences ABET...but our student wants to major in a certain field of engineering...
that means the student really should attend a school and get an ABET degree.

ENgineering sciences is then not a degree leading to a PE ?

AuburnMathTutor

Engineering degrees at prestigious schools often don't require ABET accreditation, unless you want to get licensed. For instance, if the MechE program at MIT weren't accredited (no idea here), I'd still say graduates of the program would do very well, even compared to ABET degree holders.

bigtrees

FogFog,

Can you post what degree and school is in question?

AuburnMathTutor,

MIT is ABET accredited as is CalTech, Yale, and other ivy league schools. In the United States, if it's not accredit by ABET, it's not an engineering degree.

fogfog

Harvard has an Engineering sciences which is ABET
but the Harvard SEAS web pages talk about broad education etc and the concentrations
mechanical and
engineering physics etc

only the Eng Sci is ABET

In our house we are going to need to sift through the ABET site..and cross check schools. Our student is a jr and will need to really consider the ABET card here.

I found a grid comparing MIT and many other schools..and then started looking at the ABET data for lots of schools

DH is a prof architect - that required a masters degree, work, liscensing after a week of professional exams etc We understand the importance of that but didn't realize it came into play at the undergrad level

Corbett

Sure it does, even for architects. State architecture boards prefer or require NAAB-accredited degrees, either the B.Arch. or the M.Arch. You can become a licensed architect without a master's degree, as long as you have an accredited B.Arch. If you didn't get a B.Arch. as an undergrad, then you can pursue an NAAB-accredited M.Arch. So even in architecture, the accreditation of your undergraduate degree makes a difference for licensing purposes.

The difference is that ABET has traditionally only accredited bachelor's degrees (the B.S. or B.E.). They haven't usually accredited master's degrees in the past (although this may change in the future). So if you want to get a license as a professional engineer, it is desirable (and in some states vital) to get an ABET-accredited B.S. degree.

But there is another difference. The vast majority of engineers -- unlike architects -- never actually get licensed. In general, you only need a PE license for working on infrastructure (structures, roads, utilities). Most civil engineers do get licensed, but most other engineers do not. The vast majority of traditional engineering programs do have ABET accreditation, but most of their graduates (apart from civils and a few others) will never apply for licensure.

No state licenses or regulates "engineering scientists".

Corbett

This is only partially true.

If engineering work is subject to government regulation, then yes, ABET accreditation is the normal standard. In a field like civil engineering, which is heavily regulated, it would be virtually impossible to find a non-ABET degree.

But most engineering work falls under the so-called "industrial exemption", in which case there is no regulation of individual engineers. For example, the field of biomedical engineering is completely unregulated in the US. So many top engineering schools (e.g. Stanford, MIT, Cornell) have never bothered to get ABET accreditation for the biomedical engineering programs (although ABET does offer it).

bigtrees

Ah, Harvard. They're kind of a running joke among engineering schools. No, I wouldn't go to Harvard.

MIT, Yale, Stanford are all good engineering programs. But not Harvard.

Engineering licensing is not required for most people in engineering. I do have an engineering license though and would recommend it to others. It helps me gain respect in the workforce.

MaineLonghorn

OT, but interesting - DH needs to take the Structural II exam in April. The test registration fee is $815!! That's the hard part of being self-employed - you have to pay for all this stuff yourself.

ME 76

I can't believe people are always asking this on this forum. ABET is extremely important. The main selling point for an engineering school is that it is recognized in industry and has connections with a lot of alumni. This is extremely important when trying to find a job or when applying to grad school. A non ABET accredited school will likely not be a well established institution and will probably have very little to no research opportunities.

Corbett

The SEII exam costs way more than any other NCEES exam; apparently NCEES charges the state boards over $700 to issue and grade each one. This is most likely because it's not a multiple-choice, fill-in-the-bubble exam that can be scanned by a computer. Apparently it's all essay questions, which are much harder to grade.

Corbett

ABET doesn't accredit schools. It accredits specific engineering degree programs at schools.

It's true that it would be very unusual for a school to lack ABET accreditation in traditional engineering disciplines like civil, electrical, mechanical, or chemical.

However, it would not be unusual for the same school to have non-ABET programs in other disciplines, like biomedical engineering or computer engineering. For example, the Stanford School of Engineering (generally regarded as a well established institution) has non-ABET programs in aeronautics/astronautical engineering, bioengineering, and materials science and engineering.

ME 76

I was referring to engineering programs. Sorry for not being more specific.

I think for a place like Stanford, an exception could be made. I talking about a place that is not well known for engineering that doesn't have a lot of industial connections or alumni in the field. A place like Stanford obviously would.

GLOBALTRAVELER

You can goto engineering grad school without a ABET degree. I was a math major as an undergrad and went onto a M.S. Engineering in grad school. Here is a sample...

MIT (M.S. Engineering Systems) - Applicants should have an undergraduate degree in a technical field, usually an engineering or science discipline.

Cornell (MEng Systems Engineering) - Applicants are expected to have strong disciplinary credentials.

Columbia - Students who have earned an undergraduate degree in engineering, mathematics, or related field can apply to take classes for credit or audit without first enrolling in a degree program at the University or taking the GRE or TOEFL exams by registering as non-degree students.

I went Michigan State (Math undergrad) to Wisconsin (Engineering grad school).