CRITERIA FOR ACCREDITING ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Effective
for Evaluations During the
2011-2012 Accreditation Cycle
Incorporates all changes approved by the ABET
Board
of Directors as of
October
30, 2010
Engineering Accreditation Commission
ABET,
Inc.
111
Market Place, Suite 1050
Baltimore,
MD 21202
Telephone:
410-347-7700
Fax: 410-625-2238
E1 11/12/10
Copyright
© 2010 ABET, Inc.
Printed
in the United States of
America.
All rights reserved. No part of these criteria may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.
Published
by: ABET,
Inc.
111 Market Place
Suite 1050
Baltimore, MD 21202
Requests for further information
about
ABET, its accreditation process, or other activities
may be addressed to the Accreditation Director, ABET, Inc., 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202 or
to accreditation@abet.org .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL CRITERIA
FOR BACCALAUREATE LEVEL
PROGRAMS 2
Students 3
Program Educational
Objectives 3
Student
Outcomes 3
Continuous Improvement 3
Curriculum 4
Faculty 4
Facilities 5
Institutional Support 5
GENERAL CRITERIA FOR MASTERS LEVEL PROGRAMS 5
PROGRAM CRITERIA 6
Aerospace
Engineering 6
Agricultural
Engineering 6
Architectural
Engineering 7
Bioengineering
and Biomedical Engineering 8
Biological
Engineering 8
Ceramic Engineering 9
Chemical,
Biochemical, Biomolecular Engineering 9
Civil Engineering 10
Construction
Engineering 10
Electrical and
Computer Engineering 11
Engineering,
General Engineering, Engineering Physics,
and Engineering Science 11
Engineering
Management 12
Engineering Mechanics 12
Environmental Engineering 13
Geological Engineering 13
Industrial
Engineering 14
Manufacturing
Engineering 15
Materials
and Metallurgical
Engineering 15
Mechanical Engineering 16
Mining
Engineering 16
Naval
Architecture and Marine Engineering 17
Nuclear and Radiological Engineering 17
Ocean
Engineering 18
Petroleum Engineering 18
Software Engineering 19
Surveying Engineering 19
Systems Engineering 20
PROPOSED CHANGES
TO THE CRITERIA 21
Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs
Effective for Evaluations during the 2011-2012 Accreditation Cycle
Definitions
While ABET recognizes and supports the prerogative of institutions to
adopt and use the terminology of
their choice, it is necessary for ABET
volunteers and
staff to have a consistent understanding of terminology. With that purpose in mind, the
Commissions will use the following basic definitions:
Program Educational
Objectives – Program educational
objectives are broad statements
that describe what graduates are expected to attain
within a few years of graduation. Program educational
objectives are based on
the needs of the
program’s
constituencies.
Student Outcomes – Student outcomes describe what students
are expected to
know
and
be able to
do by
the time
of graduation. These relate to
the skills, knowledge,
and behaviors that students acquire as they progress through
the program.
Assessment
– Assessment is one or
more processes
that identify, collect, and prepare data
to evaluate the attainment of student outcomes and program educational objectives. Effective
assessment uses relevant direct, indirect, quantitative
and qualitative measures as appropriate
to the objective
or outcome being measured. Appropriate
sampling methods may be used as part
of
an assessment process.
Evaluation – Evaluation is one
or more
processes
for interpreting the data and evidence accumulated through assessment processes. Evaluation determines the extent to
which student outcomes and
program educational
objectives are being attained. Evaluation results
in decisions and actions
regarding program improvement.
This document
contains three sections:
The first section includes important
definitions used by all ABET commissions.
The second
section contains the General Criteria
for Baccalaureate Level Programs that
must
be satisfied by all programs
accredited by the Engineering Accreditation
Commission of
ABET
and the General
Criteria for Masters
Level Programs that must
be satisfied by those programs seeking
advanced level accreditation.
The third
section contains the Program Criteria that
must
be satisfied by certain programs. The
applicable Program Criteria are determined by the
technical specialties indicated
by the title
of
the program. Overlapping requirements need
to be satisfied only once.
-----------------------------
These criteria are intended to assure quality and to foster the systematic
pursuit of improvement in the quality of engineering education that satisfies the needs of constituencies in a dynamic
and competitive environment. It is
the responsibility of the institution seeking accreditation of an engineering program to demonstrate clearly that the program meets the
following criteria.
I. GENERAL CRITERIA FOR BACCALAUREATE
LEVEL PROGRAMS
All programs seeking accreditation from the Engineering Accreditation Commission
of ABET must
demonstrate that they satisfy all of
the following General
Criteria for Baccalaureate Level Programs.
Criterion 1. Students
Student
performance must be evaluated. Student progress must be monitored to foster success in attaining
student outcomes, thereby enabling
graduates to attain program educational
objectives. Students must be advised regarding curriculum and career matters.
The program must have and enforce policies for accepting both new and transfer students,
awarding appropriate academic credit for courses taken at other
institutions, and awarding appropriate
academic credit for work in lieu of courses taken at the institution. The program must
have and enforce procedures to ensure
and document that students who graduate meet
all graduation requirements.
Criterion 2. Program
Educational Objectives
The program must have published program educational objectives that are consistent with the mission of the institution,
the needs of the program’s various constituencies, and these criteria. There must be a documented and effective process, involving program constituencies, for the periodic review
and
revision of these program
educational objectives.
Criterion 3. Student Outcomes
The program must have documented student outcomes that prepare graduates to attain the
program educational objectives.
Student outcomes are outcomes (a)
through (k) plus any additional
outcomes that may be articulated by the program.
(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
(c) an ability to design a system,
component, or process to meet desired
needs within realistic
constraints such as economic, environmental,
social, political, ethical,
health and safety, manufacturability,
and sustainability
(d) an ability to function
on multidisciplinary teams
(e) an ability to identify,
formulate, and solve engineering
problems
(f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
(g) an ability to communicate effectively
(h) the broad education necessary to
understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
(i) a recognition
of the need for, and an ability to engage
in life-long learning
(j) a knowledge of contemporary issues
(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills,
and modern engineering tools necessary for
engineering practice.
Criterion 4. Continuous Improvement
The program must regularly use appropriate, documented
processes for assessing and
evaluating the extent to which both the program educational objectives
and the student outcomes are being
attained. The results of these evaluations must
be systematically utilized as input for the
continuous improvement
of the program.
Other available information may
also be used to assist in the
continuous improvement of the program.
Criterion 5. Curriculum
The curriculum requirements specify
subject areas appropriate to engineering but do not prescribe specific courses. The faculty must ensure that the
program curriculum devotes adequate attention and time
to each component, consistent with the outcomes and
objectives of the program and institution. The professional component must include:
(a) one year of a combination of college level mathematics and basic sciences (some with experimental experience) appropriate to the discipline.
Basic sciences are defined as biological, chemical, and physical sciences.
(b) one and one-half years of engineering
topics, consisting of engineering sciences
and engineering design appropriate to the student's field of study. The
engineering sciences have their roots in mathematics
and basic sciences but carry knowledge further
toward creative application. These studies provide a bridge between mathematics
and basic sciences on the one hand and engineering practice on the other. Engineering design is the process of
devising a system, component,
or process to meet desired needs. It is a decision-making
process (often iterative), in which the basic
sciences, mathematics,
and the engineering sciences are
applied to convert resources optimally to meet these stated needs.
(c) a general education component that complements the technical content of the curriculum and is consistent with the program and
institution objectives.
Students must be prepared for engineering practice through a curriculum culminating in a major design experience based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work
and incorporating appropriate engineering standards and multiple
realistic constraints.
One year is the lesser of 32 semester
hours (or equivalent) or one-fourth of the total credits required for graduation.
Criterion 6. Faculty
The faculty must be of sufficient
number and must have the competencies
to cover all of the curricular areas of the program. There must be
sufficient faculty to accommodate
adequate levels of student- faculty interaction, student advising and
counseling, university service activities,
professional development, and
interactions with industrial and professional practitioners, as well as employers
of students.
The program faculty must have
appropriate qualifications and must
have and demonstrate sufficient
authority to ensure the proper guidance
of the program and to develop and implement
processes for the evaluation, assessment,
and continuing improvement of
the program, its educational
objectives and outcomes. The overall
competence of the faculty may be judged
by such factors as education,
diversity of backgrounds, engineering experience, teaching effectiveness and
experience, ability to communicate,
enthusiasm for developing more
effective programs, level of scholarship, participation in professional societies, and licensure as Professional Engineers.
Criterion 7. Facilities
Classrooms, offices, laboratories, and
associated equipment must be adequate
to support attainment of the student outcomes and to provide an atmosphere
conducive to learning. Modern tools, equipment, computing
resources, and laboratories
appropriate to the program must be
available, accessible, and systematically
maintained and upgraded to enable students to attain the student outcomes and to support program needs. Students must be provided
appropriate guidance regarding the use of the tools, equipment, computing
resources, and laboratories available to the program.
The library
services and the computing and information
infrastructure must be adequate to
support the scholarly and professional activities of the students and faculty.
Criterion 8. Institutional Support
Institutional support and leadership must be adequate to ensure the quality and continuity of the
program.
Resources including institutional
services, financial support, and staff (both administrative
and
technical)
provided to the program must be adequate to meet
program needs. The resources
available to the program must be sufficient to attract, retain, and provide for the continued professional development
of a qualified faculty. The resources available to the
program must be sufficient to acquire, maintain,
and operate infrastructures,
facilities, and equipment appropriate for the program, and to provide an environment in which student outcomes can be attained.
II. GENERAL CRITERIA FOR MASTERS
LEVEL PROGRAMS
Masters level programs must develop, publish, and periodically review,
educational objectives and student outcomes. The criteria for masters level programs are fulfillment of the baccalaureate level
general criteria, fulfillment of
program criteria
appropriate to the masters level specialization area, and one academic year of study beyond the baccalaureate
level. The program must demonstrate
that
graduates have an ability to apply masters level knowledge
in a specialized area of engineering related
to the program area.
III. PROGRAM CRITERIA
Each program must satisfy applicable Program Criteria
(if any). Program Criteria provide the specificity needed for
interpretation of the baccalaureate
level criteria as applicable to a given discipline. Requirements
stipulated in the Program Criteria are limited to the areas of
curricular topics and faculty qualifications. If a program, by virtue of its
title, becomes subject to two or more sets of Program Criteria, then that program must
satisfy each set of Program Criteria; however, overlapping requirements need to be satisfied only once.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR AEROSPACE
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics
These program criteria apply to engineering program including
"aerospace," "aeronautical," "astronautical," and
similar modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
Aeronautical engineering programs must prepare graduates to have a knowledge of aerodynamics,
aerospace materials, structures, propulsion,
flight mechanics, and stability and control. Astronautical engineering programs must prepare graduates to have a knowledge of orbital mechanics, space environment,
attitude determination and control, telecommunications,
space structures, and rocket
propulsion. Aerospace engineering programs
or other engineering programs combining aeronautical engineering and
astronautical engineering, must
prepare graduates to have knowledge
covering one of the areas -- aeronautical
engineering or astronautical engineering as described above -- and, in addition, knowledge of some topics from the area not emphasized.
Programs must also prepare graduates to have design competence that includes integration of aeronautical or
astronautical topics.
2. Faculty
Program faculty must have responsibility and sufficient
authority to define, revise, implement, and achieve program objectives. The program must demonstrate that faculty teaching upper-division
courses have an understanding of
current professional practice
in the aerospace industry.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR AGRICULTURAL
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead
Society: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
including “agricultural,” “forest,” and similar modifiers
in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The curriculum must include mathematics through differential
equations and biological and engineering sciences consistent with the program educational objectives. The curriculum must prepare
graduates to apply engineering to
agriculture, aquaculture, forestry, human,
or natural resources.
2. Faculty
The program shall demonstrate that those faculty members teaching courses that are primarily design in
content are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of education and experience or professional
licensure.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR ARCHITECTURAL
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: American Society of Civil Engineers
Cooperating
Society: American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning
Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs including "architectural"
and similar modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to be proficient in mathematics through differential equations,
probability and statistics, calculus-based physics, and general chemistry; be
proficient in statics, strength
of materials, thermodynamics,
fluid mechanics, electric circuits, and engineering economics; be proficient in a minimum of two (2) of the three (3)
basic curriculum areas of structures, building mechanical and electrical systems, and construction/construction management;
have engineering design capabilities in at least two (2) of the three (3) basic curriculum areas of architectural engineering, based upon design exposure
that has been integrated across the
breadth of the program; and have an understanding of architectural design and history leading to architectural design that will
permit communication and interaction
with the other design professionals in the execution of building
projects.
2. Faculty
Program faculty must have responsibility and sufficient authority to define, revise,
implement, and achieve program objectives.
The program must demonstrate
that faculty teaching courses that
are primarily engineering design in
content are qualified to teach the subject matter
by virtue of professional licensure, or by education and design experience. It must also demonstrate that the majority
of the faculty members
teaching architectural design courses are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, or by education and design experience.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR BIOENGINEERING AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
AND SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: Biomedical Engineering Society
Cooperating Societies: American
Institute of Chemical
Engineers, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and National Institute of Ceramic Engineers
These program criteria apply
to engineering programs including “bioengineering,” “biomedical,” and similar
modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The structure of the curriculum must provide both breadth and depth across the range of engineering topics implied by the title of the program.
The program must prepare
graduates to have: an understanding of biology and physiology, and the capability to apply advanced
mathematics (including differential equations and statistics), science,
and engineering to solve the problems
at the interface of engineering and
biology; the curriculum must prepare graduates with the
ability to make measurements on
and interpret data from living systems,
addressing the problems
associated with the interaction
between living and non-living materials
and systems.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR BIOLOGICAL
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead
Society: American Society of Agricultural
and Biological Engineers Cooperating Societies:
American Academy
of Environmental Engineers, American Institute of
Chemical Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers,
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Biomedical
Engineering Society, CSAB, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
Institute
of Industrial Engineers, Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society, National Institute
of Ceramic Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
including “biological,” “biological
systems,” “food,” and similar modifiers in their titles with the exception of
bioengineering and biomedical
engineering programs.
1. Curriculum
The curriculum must include mathematics through differential equations, a thorough grounding in chemistry and biology and a working knowledge
of advanced biological sciences consistent with the program educational
objectives. The curriculum must prepare
graduates to apply engineering to biological systems.
2. Faculty
The program shall demonstrate that those faculty members teaching courses
that are primarily design in content are qualified to teach the subject matter
by virtue of education and experience or professional licensure.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR CERAMIC
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: National Institute of Ceramic
Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
including "ceramic,"
"glass," and other similar
modifiers in their titles. All
programs in the materials related areas share
these criteria, including programs with materials, materials processing, ceramics, glass, polymer, metallurgical, and
similar modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to apply advanced science (such as chemistry
and physics) and engineering principles to materials systems; to have an
integrated understanding of scientific and engineering principles underlying the four major
elements of the field, viz. structure, properties,
processing, and performance, related to the material
systems appropriate to the field; to
apply and integrate knowledge
from each of the above four elements
of the field to solve material selection and design problems; and to utilize experimental, statistical, and computational
methods consistent with the program educational objectives.
2. Faculty
The faculty
expertise for the professional
area must encompass the above four major elements of the field.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR CHEMICAL, BIOCHEMICAL, BIOMOLECULAR,
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: American Institute of Chemical Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
that include “chemical,”
“biochemical,” “biomolecular,”
and similar modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program must demonstrate
that graduates have: thorough grounding in the basic sciences
including chemistry, physics, and
biology appropriate to the objectives
of the program; and sufficient
knowledge in the application of these basic sciences to enable graduates to
design, analyze, and control physical, chemical,
and biological processes, consistent with the program educational objectives.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR CIVIL
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: American Society of Civil Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
including "civil" and similar
modifiers
in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates
to apply knowledge of mathematics
through differential equations, calculus-based physics, chemistry, and at least one additional area of
basic science, consistent with the
program educational objectives; apply
knowledge of four technical areas
appropriate to civil
engineering; conduct civil engineering experiments
and analyze and interpret the
resulting data; design a system, component, or process in more than one civil engineering context; explain basic concepts in management,
business, public policy, and leadership;
and explain the importance of
professional licensure.
2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that faculty teaching courses that are primarily design in content are
qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, or by education
and design experience. The program must
demonstrate that it is not critically dependent on one individual.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR CONSTRUCTION
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED
Lead Society: American
Society of Civil Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
including "construction" and similar
modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to apply knowledge of mathematics through differential
and integral calculus, probability and statistics,
general chemistry, and calculus-based
physics; to analyze and design
construction processes and systems in a construction engineering specialty field, applying
knowledge of methods, materials, equipment, planning, scheduling,
safety, and cost analysis; to explain basic legal and ethical concepts and the importance of professional
engineering licensure in the construction industry; to explain basic concepts of management topics
such as economics, business, accounting, communications, leadership, decision
and optimization methods, engineering economics,
engineering management, and cost control.
2. Faculty
The program
must demonstrate that the majority of faculty teaching courses that are primarily design in
content are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, or by education and
design experience. The faculty
must
include at least one member who
has had full-time experience and decision-making
responsibilities in the construction industry.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR ELECTRICAL, COMPUTER,
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Cooperating Society for Computer Engineering Programs: CSAB
These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include electrical, electronic,
computer, or similar modifiers
in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The structure of the curriculum must provide both breadth and depth across the range of engineering topics implied by the title of the program.
The curriculum must include
probability and statistics, including applications appropriate
to the program name; mathematics through
differential and integral
calculus; sciences (defined as biological, chemical, or physical science); and
engineering topics (including computing science) necessary to analyze and design complex electrical and electronic devices, software, and systems
containing hardware and software components.
The curriculum for programs containing the modifier “electrical” in the title must include advanced mathematics,
such as differential equations, linear algebra,
complex variables, and discrete mathematics.
The curriculum for programs containing the modifier “computer” in the title must include discrete mathematics.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR ENGINEERING, GENERAL ENGINEERING,
ENGINEERING PHYSICS, AND ENGINEERING
SCIENCE AND SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS Lead Society: American
Society for Engineering Education
These program criteria apply to engineering (without modifiers), general engineering, engineering
physics, engineering science(s), and similarly named
engineering programs.
There are no program-specific criteria beyond the General Criteria.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: Institute of Industrial Engineers
Cooperating Societies: American
Institute of Chemical
Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, Society of Manufacturing
Engineers, and Society of Petroleum Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs using management or similar
modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare
graduates to understand
the engineering relationships between the management tasks of planning, organization,
leadership, control, and the human
element introduction, research, and
service organizations; to understand and deal with the stochastic nature of management systems. The curriculum must also prepare graduates
to integrate management systems into a series of different technological environments.
2. Faculty
The major professional competence
of the faculty must be in
engineering, and the faculty should be experienced in the management
of engineering and/or technical activities.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR ENGINEERING MECHANICS
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: American Society of Mechanical Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs which include mechanics or similar modifiers
in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program curriculum must require students to use mathematical
and computational techniques to
analyze, model, and design physical
systems consisting of solid and fluid components under steady state and transient
conditions.
2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate
that faculty members responsible for the upper-level professional program are
maintaining currency in their specialty area.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: American Academy of Environmental Engineers Cooperating Societies: American
Institute of Chemical
Engineers,
American Society of Agricultural and
Biological Engineers, American Society
of Civil Engineers, American Society
of Heating, Refrigerating and
Air-Conditioning Engineers,
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, SAE International, and Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
including "environmental", "sanitary,"
or similar modifiers in
their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to be proficient in mathematics through
differential equations,
probability and statistics, calculus-based physics, general chemistry; an earth science, e.g., geology,
meteorology, soil science, relevant to the program
of study; a biological science,
e.g., microbiology, aquatic biology,
toxicology, relevant to the program
of study; fluid mechanics relevant
to the program of study;
introductory level knowledge of environmental issues associated with air, land, and water systems
and associated environmental health impacts;
conducting laboratory experiments and critically analyzing and interpreting data in more than one major environmental engineering focus area,
e.g., air, water, land, environmental health; performing
engineering design by means of design
experiences integrated throughout the
professional component of the
curriculum; to be proficient in
advanced principles and practice relevant to the program objectives; understanding of concepts of professional practice and the roles
and responsibilities of public
institutions and private
organizations pertaining
to environmental engineering.
2. Faculty
The program
must demonstrate that a majority
of those faculty teaching courses
which are primarily design in content are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, or by education and equivalent design experience.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR GEOLOGICAL
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration
These
program criteria apply to engineering
programs that include "geological" and similar modifiers
in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The
program must prepare graduates to
have:
(1) the ability to apply mathematics
including differential equations, calculus-based physics, and chemistry, to geological engineering problems;
(2) proficiency in geological science topics
that emphasize geologic
processes and the identification of minerals and rocks;
(3) the ability to visualize and solve geological problems in three
and four dimensions;
(4) proficiency in the engineering sciences including statics, properties/strength of materials, and geomechanics;
(5) the ability to apply
principles of geology, elements of geophysics, geological and engineering field
methods; and
(6) engineering knowledge to design
solutions to geological engineering problems, which will include one or more of the following considerations: the
distribution of physical and chemical
properties of earth materials, including surface
water, ground water (hydrogeology), and fluid hydrocarbons; the effects of surface and near-surface
natural processes; the impacts of construction projects;
the impacts of exploration, development, and extraction of natural resources, and consequent remediation; disposal of wastes; and other
activities of society on these materials
and processes, as appropriate to the program objectives.
2. Faculty
Evidence must be provided that
the program’s faculty members
understand professional engineering practice and maintain currency in their respective professional areas. The
program’s faculty must have responsibility and authority to
define, revise, implement, and achieve program objectives.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR INDUSTRIAL
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: Institute of Industrial Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs using industrial or similar modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to design, develop, implement, and improve integrated systems
that include people, materials,
information, equipment and energy.
The curriculum must include in- depth instruction
to accomplish the integration of systems using appropriate analytical, computational, and experimental practices.
2. Faculty
Evidence must be provided that
the program faculty understand professional practice and maintain currency in their respective professional areas. Program faculty must
have responsibility and sufficient authority to define, revise, implement, and achieve program objectives.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR MANUFACTURING
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: Society of Manufacturing
Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
that include "manufacturing"
and similar modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to have proficiency in materials and manufacturing
processes:
understanding the behavior and properties
of materials as they are altered and influenced by processing in manufacturing;
process, assembly and product engineering: understanding the design of
products and the equipment, tooling,
and environment necessary for their manufacture; manufacturing
competitiveness: understanding the creation of competitive advantage through manufacturing planning, strategy, and control; manufacturing systems
design: understanding the analysis,
synthesis, and control of manufacturing
operations using statistical and
calculus based methods, simulation and information
technology; laboratory experience: the
program must prepare graduates to measure manufacturing process variables in a manufacturing
laboratory and make technical inferences about the process.
2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate
that faculty members maintain currency in manufacturing
engineering practice.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR MATERIALS1, METALLURGICAL2,
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
1Cooperating Societies
for Materials Engineering Programs: National Institute of Ceramics Engineers, American Institute of
Chemical Engineers, and American
Society of Mechanical Engineers
2Cooperating Society
for Metallurgical Engineering Programs:
Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and
Exploration
These program criteria apply to engineering programs including "materials," "metallurgical," "polymer,"
and similar modifiers in their titles. All programs in the materials
related areas share these criteria,
including programs with materials,
materials processing, ceramics,
glass, polymer, metallurgical, and
similar modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to apply advanced science (such as chemistry and physics) and engineering principles to materials systems implied by the program modifier,
e.g., ceramics, metals, polymers, composite
materials; to integrate the understanding of the scientific and engineering
principles underlying the four major
elements of the field: structure,
properties, processing, and performance
related to material systems appropriate to the field;
to apply and
integrate knowledge from each of the above four elements of the field to solve
materials selection and design problems, and; to
utilize experimental, statistical, and computational methods consistent with the program
educational objectives.
2. Faculty
The faculty expertise for the
professional area must encompass the
four major elements of the field.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR MECHANICAL
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: American Society of Mechanical Engineers
These program criteria will apply to
all engineering programs including "mechanical" or similar
modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The curriculum must require students to apply principles of engineering, basic science, and mathematics
(including multivariate calculus and differential
equations); to model,
analyze, design, and realize physical systems, components or
processes; and prepare students to work professionally in both thermal and mechanical
systems areas.
2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate
that faculty members responsible for the upper-level professional program are
maintaining currency in their specialty area.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR MINING
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration
These program criteria apply to engineering programs including "mining" and similar
modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to apply mathematics through differential equations,
calculus- based physics, general chemistry,
and probability and statistics as applied to mining engineering problem applications; to have fundamental knowledge in the geological sciences
including characterization of mineral
deposits, physical geology, structural or
engineering geology, and mineral and rock identification and
properties; to be proficient in statics, dynamics,
strength of materials, fluid
mechanics, thermodynamics,
and electrical circuits; to be proficient
in engineering topics related to both surface and underground mining, including: mining methods,
planning and design, ground control and rock mechanics, health and
safety, environmental issues, and ventilation; to be proficient
in additional engineering topics such as rock fragmentation, materials handling, mineral or coal processing, mine surveying,
and valuation and resource/reserve estimation as appropriate to the program
objectives. The
laboratory experience must
prepare graduates to be proficient in geologic concepts, rock mechanics, mine ventilation, and other
topics appropriate to the
program objectives.
2. Faculty
Evidence must be provided that
the program faculty understand professional engineering
practice and maintain currency in
their respective professional areas. Program faculty
must have responsibility and
authority to define, revise, implement,
and achieve program objectives.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR
NAVAL
ARCHITECTURE, MARINE ENGINEERING, AND SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS Lead Society: Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
including “naval architecture” and/or “marine
engineering” and with similar modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to apply probability and statistical methods
to naval architecture and marine
engineering problems; to have basic
knowledge of fluid mechanics, dynamics, structural mechanics, materials properties, hydrostatics, and energy/propulsion systems
in the context of marine vehicles and; to have familiarity with instrumentation appropriate to naval
architecture and/or marine engineering.
2. Faculty
Program faculty
must have sufficient curricular and administrative control to accomplish the program objectives. Program faculty must
have responsibility and sufficient authority to define, revise, implement and achieve the program objectives.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR NUCLEAR, RADIOLOGICAL,
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: American Nuclear Society
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
including “nuclear,”
“radiological,” or similar
modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program must prepare the students to apply advanced mathematics,
science, and engineering science, including atomic and nuclear physics, and the transport and interaction of radiation with matter, to nuclear and radiological systems and processes; to
perform nuclear engineering design; to measure nuclear and radiation processes; to work professionally in one or more
of the nuclear or radiological fields of specialization identified by the program.
2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that
faculty members primarily
committed to the program have current knowledge of nuclear or
radiological engineering by education or experience.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR OCEAN
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
Cooperating Societies: American Society
of Civil Engineers
and
Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering
programs including "ocean" and similar modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to have the knowledge and the skills to apply the principles of fluid and solid mechanics, dynamics, hydrostatics, probability and applied statistics,
oceanography, water waves, and underwater acoustics to engineering problems and to
work in groups to perform engineering
design at the system level,
integrating multiple technical areas and addressing
design optimization.
2. Faculty
Program faculty must have responsibility and sufficient
authority to define, revise, implement, and achieve the program objectives.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR PETROLEUM
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: Society of Petroleum Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
that include "petroleum,"
"natural gas," and similar modifiers in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to be proficient in mathematics through differential equations,
probability and statistics, fluid mechanics,
strength of materials, and thermodynamics;
design and analysis of well systems and procedures for drilling and completing
wells; characterization and
evaluation of subsurface geological formations
and their resources using geoscientific and engineering methods; design and analysis of systems for producing, injecting, and handling fluids; application of
reservoir engineering principles
and practices for optimizing resource development and management;
the use of project economics and resource valuation methods for design and decision making
under conditions of risk and uncertainty.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR SOFTWARE
AND SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS Lead Society: CSAB
Cooperating Society: Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “software” or similar modifiers in
their titles.
1. Curriculum
The curriculum must provide both breadth and depth across the range of engineering and computer science topics implied by
the title and objectives of the
program.
The curriculum must prepare graduates to analyze, design, verify, validate, implement, apply, and maintain software systems; to appropriately apply discrete
mathematics, probability and
statistics, and relevant topics in computer science and supporting disciplines to complex software systems;
to work in one or more significant
application domains; and to manage the development of software systems.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR SURVEYING
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: American Congress on Surveying and Mapping Cooperating
Society: American Society of
Civil Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
including "surveying" and similar modifiers
in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to work competently in one or more of the following
areas: boundary and/or land surveying, geographic and/or land information
systems, photogrammetry, mapping,
geodesy, remote sensing, and other
related areas.
2. Faculty
Programs must demonstrate
that faculty members teaching courses that are primarily
design in content are qualified to teach
the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure or by educational and
design experience.
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR SYSTEMS
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Societies: American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
Institute
of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, Institute of Industrial
Engineers, ISA, International Council on Systems
Engineering, and
SAE
International
These program criteria apply to systems engineering programs without modifiers in their
title. There are no program-
specific criteria beyond the General
Criteria.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CRITERIA
The following section presents
proposed changes to these criteria as approved by the ABET Board of Directors on October 30, 2010, for a one-year first reading review and comment period. Comments will be considered until June 15, 2011. The ABET Board of Directors will determine, based
on the comments received and on the advice of the EAC, the content of the adopted
criteria. The adopted criteria will
then become effective following the ABET Board of Directors Meeting in the
fall of 2011 and will first be applied by the EAC for accreditation actions during the 2012-13
academic year.
PROPOSED
PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR FIRE PROTECTION
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS Lead
Society: Society for Fire Protection
Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs including
“fire protection” and similar modifiers in their title.
1. Curriculum
The program must demonstrate
the graduates have proficiency in the application
of science and
engineering to protect
the health, safety, and
welfare of the public from the impacts of fire. This includes the ability to apply and incorporate an understanding of the fire dynamics
that affect the life safety of occupants and emergency forces and the protection
of property; the hazards associated with processes and building designs;
the design of fire protection
products, systems, and equipment; the human response and behavior in fire
emergencies; and the prevention,
control, and extinguishment of fire.
2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate
that faculty members maintain currency in fire protection engineering practice.
PROPOSED REVISION TO THE PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR ARCHITECTURAL
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: American Society of Civil Engineers
Cooperating
Society: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineering
These program criteria apply to engineering programs
including “architectural” and similar modifiers
in their titles.
1. Curriculum
The program must demonstrate that graduates can apply have: proficiency in mathematics
through differential equations, probability and statistics, calculus-based physics,
and general chemistry,
proficiency in statics, strength of materials, thermodynamics,
fluid mechanics, electric
circuits, and engineering economics; proficiency in a
minimum of two (2) of the three (3) basic. The
four basic architectural engineering curriculum areas are building of structures, building mechanical systems, and building
electrical systems, and
construction/construction management. ;engineering design capabilities
in at least two (2) of the three (3) basic
curriculum areas in architectural engineering, and that design has been
integrated across the breadth of
the program; and an understanding of
architectural design and history leading to architectural design that
will permit communication, and
interaction, with the other design
professionals in the execution of building projects. Graduates are expected to reach the synthesis (design) level in one of
these areas, the application level
in a second area, and the comprehension level
in the remaining two areas. The
engineering topics required by the
general criteria shall
support the engineering
fundamentals
of each of these four areas at the specified level. Graduates are expected to discuss the basic
concepts of architecture in a context
of architectural design and history.
The design level must be in a context that:
a. Considers the systems or processes from other architectural engineering curricular areas,
b. Works
within the overall architectural
design,
c. Includes communication and
collaboration with other design or
construction team members, d. Includes
computer-based technology and
considers applicable codes and standards, and
e. Considers fundamental attributes of building performance and sustainability.
2. Faculty
Program faculty must have responsibility and sufficient authority to define, revise, implement,
and
achieve program objectives. The program
must demonstrate that faculty teaching courses that are primarily engineering design in content
are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, or by
education and design experience. It must
also demonstrate that the majority of
the faculty members teaching architectural design courses
are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, or by education and design
experience.
PROPOSED REVISION TO THE PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR
CHEMICAL,
BIOCHEMICAL, BIOMOLECULAR, AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: American Institute of Chemical
Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering programs including “chemical,” “biochemical,” “biomolecular,”
and similar modifiers in their title.
1. Curriculum
The program must demonstrate that graduates have: thorough grounding in the basic sciences, including chemistry, physics, and biology appropriate to
the objectives of the program; and sufficient knowledge in the
application of these basic sciences
to enable graduates to design, analyze, and control physical, chemical, and/or biological processes,
and address the hazards associated
with these processes.
PROPOSED REVISION TO THE PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR MANUFACTURING
AND
SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
Lead Society: Society of Manufacturing
Engineers
These program criteria apply to engineering
programs including “manufacturing,” “production,” and similar
modifiers in their title.
1. Curriculum
The program must demonstrate the graduates have proficiency in (a) materials and manufacturing processes: understanding the behavior and properties of materials as they are altered and influenced
by processing in ability to design
manufacturing processes that result in products
that meet specific material and other requirements;
(b) process, assembly,
and product engineering: understanding the
ability to design of products and the equipment, tooling, and environment necessary for their manufacture; (c) manufacturing
competitiveness: understanding
the creation of ability to create
competitive advantage
through manufacturing planning,
strategy, quality, and
control; (d) manufacturing
systems design; understanding the ability
to analyze, synthesize, and control of manufacturing operations using statistical and calculus based methods, simulation, and information
technology; and (e) manufacturing laboratory
or facility experience: graduates
must be able to ability to measure manufacturing process variables in a manufacturing laboratory and make develop technical inferences
about the process.
2. Faculty
The
program must demonstrate that faculty
members
maintain currency in manufacturing enginnering practice
