DS is in the very early stage of making a list that he’ll then narrow down. One thing he’s looking for is ABET certification.
A few schools have popped up as having ABET certification, but it’s just listed as “engineering” rather than specific disciplines. The first time this came up, I thought maybe this meant that the engineering program is tiny, or that it’s not good, but it came up for Harvey Mudd, which is certainly well regarded for engineering.
Here’s the list of schools I found
Dartmouth
Harvey Mudd
Loyola University of Maryland
Swarthmore
Trinity College – Connecticut
Wake Forest
What, if anything, should I conclude about these schools?
I would call and ask each engineering department your son is interested in.
My nephew majored in mechanical engineering at Stephen F. Austin in Texas. He thought it was ABET accredited. When he was a sophomore or junior, he learned that engineering physics is accredited but not mechanical engineering. They EXPECT the accreditation, but it will be after he graduates. He would be grandfathered in, supposedly, but that doesn’t help him get his first job. So he switched to engineering physics and it will take him longer than expected to graduate. Yes, he should have done his due diligence, but this is a warning to other students.
Your son, not you, should say, “I’m interested in studying mechanical (or whatever) engineering at your school. Is your mechanical engineering program ABET accredited?”
If they say, “Not yet, but we expect it to be,” I would be wary.
We already know that information, I got it by searching the ABET database.
We know to avoid schools that aren’t certified at all, or aren’t certified in his anticipated major. I just don’t know what it means when a school is certified in “Engineering” vs. a specific discipline.
Some professions require students to go have degrees from ABET accredited programs. Civil engineering is one but some mechanical engineering employers also want to see it. A general engineering ABET accreditation isn’t going to cut it.
FWIW, other than Mudd, none of the schools you listed are known for their engineering programs.
“ABET accreditation is voluntary; the request for accreditation is initiated by the institution seeking accreditation. Accreditation is given to individual programs within an institution rather than to the institution as a whole.” There’s no such thing as a general engineering accreditation.
My dad was head of Architectural Engineering at UT. As well-established and respected as the program was, I remember him sweating it whenever the ABET accreditation people came for their evaluation!
Dartmouth has an unusual engineering approach. Students study inter-disciplinary engineering so that may explain why the accreditation is not specifically in traditional divisions like civil or electrical engineering
I agree with the prior poster that this probably isn’t the list you want. If you want ABET accredited civil/mechanical programs then stick with the well-regarded undergraduate engineering schools which includes both large public’s and smaller privates.
We get that Dartmouth isn’t a great choice. But we’re stuck on Harvey Mudd.
Does anyone know about why a school would be accredited this way?
He has lots of other schools with ABET certification in specific disciplines.
Another school that seems weird is Caltech, which is only accredited for Mechanical Engineering. Surely engineers in other disciplines get jobs coming out of Caltech.
Why does Harvey Mudd only offer a general engineering major?
Harvey Mudd College believes that its broad engineering program is most likely to produce engineers capable of adapting a changing technology to expanding human needs. Within this context, an engineering major may choose to emphasize a particular engineering specialty by choosing appropriate elective courses and Engineering Clinic projects.
Can I still specialize in an area or engineering?
Yes. Through the elective courses and your Clinic project, you can focus on a specific area with in engineering. It is also possible to take courses above and beyond the requirements for graduation.
ABET accreditation is important for some jobs like government roles or government funded. But the other element is the PE license (professional engineers license). Someone has to sign off drawings and that is usually the licensed PE.
So, two things you will want to ask schools about (a) preparation for the PE exam, and (2) success rate in the PE exam.
I went to Bucknell as a ChemE and at the time we had to take electrical and mechanical Eng courses to prepare us to take the PE exam which is broad based. Not every college does that - I’m sure fewer do now - but you do want to ask the Eng depts how they prepare students for work, for licensure, and the success rate.
Huh, I don’t think I like that concept. Every discipline is so different. I felt like I didn’t get enough in four years in just one discipline so that’s why I went to grad school.
I remember sitting in circuits working on a bread board not paying attention and instead listening to Bucknell-Georgetown March Madness opening round on my headphones. It was a LONG time ago.
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