ABET Accreditation information

Hi,

I wanted to find out or rather confirm if the ABET accreditation is restricted to the BS coursework? Or does it apply to MS coursework too?

I went on the ABET website and did not find any school's MS degree's coursework as ABET accrediated. I am curious so please help me..

I think they only accredit schools at the MS level if they dont award a BS. My school falls under that category and it involves a lot of hoop jumping to verify that our undergrad degrees meet ABET BSME equivalence standards. That means for some folks who have degrees in something other than Mechanical Engineering, they may have to take other classes to bring everyone to a standard baseline.

navyasw02 said:

I think they only accredit schools at the MS level if they dont award a BS. My school falls under that category and it involves a lot of hoop jumping to verify that our undergrad degrees meet ABET BSME equivalence standards. That means for some folks who have degrees in something other than Mechanical Engineering, they may have to take other classes to bring everyone to a standard baseline.

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ABET recently passed dual-level accreditation so that both the BS and MS programs at a single university can be accredited. Not many schools have taken advantage of it yet, though.

wilheldp_PE said:

navyasw02 said:

I think they only accredit schools at the MS level if they dont award a BS. My school falls under that category and it involves a lot of hoop jumping to verify that our undergrad degrees meet ABET BSME equivalence standards. That means for some folks who have degrees in something other than Mechanical Engineering, they may have to take other classes to bring everyone to a standard baseline.

Click to expand...

ABET recently passed dual-level accreditation so that both the BS and MS programs at a single university can be accredited. Not many schools have taken advantage of it yet, though.

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I did a search and my school is certified for MS, but even MIT only shows accreditation at the BS level. I dont know really what the advantage is for schools to even pursue it for the MS level.

Like I said in the other thread...University of Louisville has both.

I don't know why they originally only had the Master accredited..my first guess would be $$$ but I imagine it might be tied into the year long co-op program.

It really screwed over some people trying to get there PE now that received their BS earlier in life from UL.

w0cyru01 said:

Like I said in the other thread...University of Louisville has both.I don't know why they originally only had the Master accredited..my first guess would be $$$ but I imagine it might be tied into the year long co-op program.

It really screwed over some people trying to get there PE now that received their BS earlier in life from UL.

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The co-op, 5-year masters program is exactly why Speed only had their MS accredited. If they could only have one program accredited, they wanted to encourage students to complete the extra year and get their MS. But the dean of Speed School was the person that advocated for dual level accreditation because his undergrads were getting screwed over...plus, it didn't make any sense to limit accreditation to only one program if they both met the requirements.

Regardless, even before the BS at Speed was accredited, they had a special arrangement with KYBOELS to allow Speed undergrads to take the FE without an officially accredited degree.

ABET accreditation has normally been only at the Bachelor's degree level. In the past couple of years, ABET has initiated action to accredit both the Bachelors and Masters degree, if the institution did indeed offer both programs. Some institutions only have a graduate degree at the Master's level and thus, only the Master's level degree is ABET accredited.

Professional accreditation is hard, expensive and resource intensive. I have led a college that was pursuing business college accreditation. The institution finally received it, after I had departed for much greener pastures!! Most Dean's, of which I was one, believe in professional accreditation. In the engineering space, ABET accreditation is the best, is necessary and required to pursue professional licensure.

In the business space, I am not convinced that it makes any real difference. The standards are higher for accredited programs, however, you can have a great under graduate program and not be professionally accredited.

In many states, such as VA where I am, an MS degree can substitute as one year of work experience. So, if I have an MS and it's not ABET accredited, can I count it?

What if it's not directly Engineering, rather something like Engineering Management, or something? Thoughts?

Peele1 said:

In many states, such as VA where I am, an MS degree can substitute as one year of work experience. So, if I have an MS and it's not ABET accredited, can I count it?What if it's not directly Engineering, rather something like Engineering Management, or something? Thoughts?

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I think those are excellent questions...to ask the NCEES directly. We can speculate all you want, but you won't know the true answer without asking the people who make the decisions.

Peele1 said:

In many states, such as VA where I am, an MS degree can substitute as one year of work experience. So, if I have an MS and it's not ABET accredited, can I count it?What if it's not directly Engineering, rather something like Engineering Management, or something? Thoughts?

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If it's not directly engineering, I dont think it counts at all. I have a Masters in Engineering Management and it didn't help my PE application.