<p>I am an international student, and I was wondering if UK civil engineering degrees are ABET-accredited? There seems to be something called the Washington Accord, which makes a UK engineering degree largely equivalent to a USA one, but I can't find any UK schools on the ABET website (Accredited</a> Programs Search).</p>
<p>I have sent my applications to some UK and USA schools for civil engineering (e.g. Imperial, Michigan), and while I am not sure where I would like to work in the future, it would be safer to know that my degree is recognized beyond a country. It seems that a USA engineering degree is accredited in the UK, but not vice versa. Does this reduce the value of a UK civil engineering degree?</p>
<p>P.S. I plan on graduate school in the USA (if I can get a good GPA in college :/)</p>
<p>I did some reading on the ABET website and eventually ended up on a page about the Washington Accord (see link below), and it appears that you are correct, ABET certification is accepted in the UK but EngC (UK certification) is not widely accepted in the US (see #5 in link below). I cannot speak to whether or not this reduces the “value” of a CE degree as the answer would be relative to a specific set of circumstances (for example where you end up working, what kind of experience you have, the prestige of the degree granting institution, etc). My advice would be if you want to work in the US, try very hard to get into a US school. Hopefully someone with some experience here will chime in.</p>
<p>Civil engineering in the US is an area where it is relatively common to get Professional Engineer licensing. Graduation from an ABET-accredited civil engineering degree program is necessary or very helpful for this purpose.</p>
<p>mechmark2013, thanks, #5 in the link says “The signatories are not bound to recognize programs accredited or recognized as substantially equivalent by other signatories outside their national boundaries.” But surely a UK civil engineer can work in the USA right? For example, an Oxbridge or Imperial graduate should be recognized by employers or be eligible to take exams to become a PE?</p>
<p>ucbalumnus, how about if one holds a UK bachelor in engineering and then a USA ABET-accredited engineering PhD?</p>
<p>If you look at the accredited programs list on [ABET</a> | Accrediting College Programs in Applied Science, Computing, Engineering and Technology](<a href=“http://www.abet.org%5DABET”>http://www.abet.org) , you will find that all or almost all of the accredited programs are bachelor’s degree programs, although the criteria do indicate that master’s degree programs can be accredited as well.</p>
<p>PE licensing does vary somewhat by state. You may want to see what a web search of “PE license foreign degree” and the state name comes up with in terms of how foreign degrees are handled.</p>
<p>As a Washington Accord signatory, ABET itself recognizes degrees issued from programs accredited by Engineers UK as being equivalent to an ABET accredited program. Unfortunately, where Engineers UK controls licensure in the UK, ABET merely accredits and has little influence over whether any of the 55 licensing juridications (50 state plus other territories) within the U.S. recognize the other Washington Accord signatories. All of the U.S. licensing boards have different requirements, but universally offer accelerated access (by several years)to licensure if the applicant has a degree from an ABET accredited program. You will need to check with a specific licensing Board to determine its acceptance of an Engineers UK accredited program in lieu of one accredited by ABET.</p>
<p>1) An accredited degree, as described in subparagraphs A & B of this paragraph: A Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from an EAC/ABET accredited program in the United States or Board designated equivalents from Canada or Mexico, the Washington Accord, or the list of substantially equivalent as documented by ABET.
B) A Board-approved combination of a Bachelor’s degree in one of the mathematical, physical, or engineering sciences and a graduate degree in engineering from a university with an EAC/ABET accredited undergraduate program in the same discipline of engineering.</p>
<p>A little off-topic by the way, once you get a license from one state, you automatically get licensed in all states right?</p>
<p>I know this thread is a little old, but hopefully this is worth sharing.</p>
<p>Texas does recognize the Washington Accord, so a UK degree that is accredited by Engineers UK should be fine in Texas. However, you should be aware that most states do not grant licensure to Washington Accord countries anymore–I believe NCEES did a survey a couple of years ago and only 9 out of 50 state boards grant licensure to Washington Accord country engineers.</p>
<p>That said, this only presents a small hurdle anyway. If a state does not recognize the Accord, most will still license you after you pay for and have an evaluation of your degree done by a credential evaluation service. I’m not sure how expensive that is, but it does not seem to be a huge burden. As long as your degree is accredited by Engineers UK it should be good enough to pass that evaluation. If you are interested in particular states the best thing to do is call their board of engineers and ask their requirements. Even if your degree is found to be insufficient, most will allow you to make up those deficiencies years later by taking a course or two. </p>
<p>If you get an Masters in engineering from a school in the US that has an ABET-accredited undergrad program, you should be fine to be licensed in any state that I’m aware of.</p>
<p>Overall, I wouldn’t let possible future migration determine where you go to school if your choices are between the US and the UK and the relevant schools are reputable programs. If you were from someplace other than an English-speaking developed country it would be very different. Good luck.</p>
Well I did a search on pe foreign degree, and it seems the state of Texas accepts UK undergrad engineering degrees (as UK is a Washington Accord signatory country, right?). Here’s what I gathered from <a href=“