I downloaded the list of ABET colleges. Most of the “Program and Degree Level” listings are for specific types of engineering like civil engineering, but a number of colleges have just “Engineering, B” as a program and degree level. Examples: Dartmouth, Harvey Mudd, Swathmore. Any ideas on what that means? Any suggestions on how to find out except by contacting the college directly? Thanks.
@katrina1 - Some schools have ABET accreditation for nondisciplinary or general engineering only. Many liberal arts colleges such as Dartmouth and Swarthmore that have engineering programs do not have disciplinary accreditation (that is, seperate accreditation for EE. ME, CE, etc.). ABET accredits both general/nondisciplinary programs as well as discipline-specific programs. Most universities with engineering programs and dedicated engineering schools have discipline-specific accreditation. The general/nondisciplinary accreditation is common for smaller programs that do not have the numbers of students and discipline-specific faculty and resources that are required for the disciplinary accreditation.
ABET accreditation is program-specific, not school or degree specific. It is possible for the same school to have both accredited and unaccredited engineering programs. Another thread discussed Stanford University (unwisely, IMO) dropping ABET accreditation for its EE program, but retaining it for its CE and ME programs (which more commonly require PE licensing, which is normally restricted to ABET accredited degree holders).
Very helpful. Thank you.
To answer your question ABET. No, ABET accreditation is not for engineering programs only. There are four accord in ABET but five signatory mutual recognition agreements. ABET accredit four types of academic programs.
1.Computing- Seoul Accord
2.Engineering- Washington Accord
3.Engineering Technology (which is the same as engineering)- Sydney Accord. Travel overseas to places like the UK you will be recognized as an engineer.
4.Engineering Technician- Dublin Accord.
You can go to the ABET website http://www.abet.org.
@IncorE206 First, the question you just answered is not the question that she asked.
Second, engineering and engineering technology are not the same thing.
I think you mean in the United States. Could you please explain to me why in UK engineering technologist are recognized as “Incorporated Engineers” and in Ireland “Associated Engineers”? They have a different definition for engineers or something?
It’s semantics and tradition mostly. I’m not here to argue semantics. I’m here to help students and prospective students make informed decisions. In the vast majority of cases, if you apply to a job asking for a BS in engineering but your degree is in engineering technology, your application is getting trashed. I wouldn’t be surprised if the converse was also true.
Even if they, in some jurisdictions, can both claim the title of “engineer”, that doesn’t make the degrees and resulting career paths equivalent.
I am in no way attempting to imply one is superior to the other. They are simply different and play mostly different roles.
@boneh3ah thanks for you replay. Maybe engineering technology graduates should start applying oversea in jurisdictions that call them engineers and see how valuable their degree is to their country. This is not about which one is superior or inferior but being recognized.
The US is full of engineers from the UK. Have you ever met one with en eng tech degree?
Met an engineer from the UK with a Bachelor’s degree Honours in Technology and M.Sc of Professional Engineering.By the way I don’t know if you know but engineering education program accredited by Washington Accord signatories use to contribute to the education requirements for international Chartered Engineer (CEng) registration. The Engineering Council in UK announced in the Washington Accord meeting 2015 to cease recognizing Bachelor’s degrees of the Washington Accord signatories. Because the requirement for Chartered Engineer registration is a Masters level qualification.
So the American PE would need to demonstrate learning to a master level when applying for chartership.
The degrees are valued here as well. Just because the US doesn’t generally call those with engineering technology degrees “engineers” doesn’t mean they are devalued. As far as I know, those graduates are in high demand. They’re just different than traditional engineers, no matter what you call them and no matter what country.
@boneh3ad hope you do understand but the problem with engineering technology graduate is not about the value or who is being inferior or superior. The problem is that engineering technology graduates are being under appropriate because they have an engineering technology degree. Like you said, if you apply to a job asking for a BS in engineering but your degree is in engineering technology, your application is getting trashed. So there is a recognition and respect problem. That is the point I am trying to get across.
That’s not a recognition and respect problem. It’s a qualifications problem. Engineering technology degrees are not the same as engineering degrees, and the graduates from each program do not have the same training or basic skill sets as each other. Given that, I don’t know why you would expect that they should be given equal weight for jobs that really require one or the other.
For example, if I’m hiring for a position that requires knowledge of fluid mechanics beyond simple pipe relations and Bernoulli, then I’m not even considering someone with a mechanical engineering technology degree. They didn’t take differential equations and their fluids and similar core courses were taught with that in mind at a more superficial level. However, they likely have much more hands-on experience, and I’d be happy to hire them for a position requiring that kind of work instead.
It’s simply a different skill set with a (usually) different career path.
@boneh3ad Sorry to burst your bubbles but I did find an engineering technology program that offer both differential equations and fluid mechanics. It is the Civil Engineering Technology program from Point Park University. Well, civil engineers doesn’t go that in depth with fluid mechanics like mechanical engineers.
Having fluid mechanics in the program is common. Having it at the same level as a traditional engineering program is not.
You can scour the internet for outliers if you wish, but the fact that they are outliers should tell you something.
Technically I’m not a moderator. I just play one on the engineering forum.
I also don’t like closing threads in which I’m the only one engaged in a debate, as it looks like I’m abusing power to get the last word.
Wait! isn’t there one more…?
- The "Bestest" Engineering Major - Baskin-Robbins Accord
Do I need to stretch my original metaphor?
Engineering technology and engineering are like sorbet and ice cream. They’re both delicious, but sorbet is a little bit lighter and especially great for those who are mathtose intolerant. Also, fans of sorbet tend to get really up-in-arms when they think someone is treating their favored dessert as being inferior to ice cream.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Please keep in mind that the Terms of Service prohibit discussion of moderation on the public forums. I deleted several posts. Please get back on track with the OP’s subject so that the thread may remain open.