<p>fogfog, actually Harvard’s non-engineering sci programs are very new so I would think they are just in the process of becoming accreditated…otherwise there is some other reason for the delay…so i wouldn’t dig into Harvard as an example too much…</p>
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There are very few ABET-accredited engineering MS programs. It’s not like architecture, where the B.Arch. and M.Arch. are well established as alternative routes to a professionally accredited degree. In engineering, the concept of the accredited MS degree is generally a new and unusual one. It exists in theory, but is rare in practice, at least for now. </p>
<p>For example, abet.org indicates that California currently has 21 schools with ABET-accredited programs in civil engineering (the discipline where accreditation is most important). They all have BS-level accreditation only. Nationally, there is only one school that I know of (Univ. of Louisville) with an ABET-accredited MS program in civil engineering.</p>
<p>So if you want an ABET degree, you should try to pursue it as an undergradate. It’s theoretically possible to get an ABET MS degree, but the options are extremely limited. Accredited engineering graduate degrees may become common in the future (as they did in architecture), but it’s not that way yet.</p>
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<p>Uh, since when does Yale offer a better engineering program than Harvard does? Engineering rankings generally place Harvard above Yale. </p>
<p>Besides, Harvard is hardly a ‘running joke’ among engineering schools. Last time I checked, they were ranked somewhere in the 20’s or 30’s. Contrast that with the hundreds and hundreds of other engineering programs in the country. If Harvard engineering is ‘a running joke’, what does that say about those ranked even lower?</p>
<p>Well typically you find Harvard at the top of things… that’s the idea you get when someone mentions Harvard. Perhaps it’s the running joke of the other overall top tier schools?</p>
<p>If that’s the standard used, then Yale should be a running joke as well. After all, Harvard engineering is ranked higher than Yale engineering. </p>
<p>Look, if you want to state that Harvard is not as good as MIT or Stanford at engineering, nobody is going to argue with you. But it’s quite another thing to call Harvard engineering a ‘running joke’. Let’s face it. The vast majority of engineering students don’t attend an engineering program even as good as Harvard’s, but are instead attending low-ranked programs at no-name schools. </p>
<p>Personally, I don’t see what’s so terrible about Harvard offering engineering, even if it isn’t as highly ranked as some of its other programs. That’s better than not even offering engineering at all, as is the case at certain other top schools such as Chicago or many of the LAC’s. And, like I said, Harvard engineering is better than the vast majority of other engineering programs in the country.</p>
<p>At my school they have about 4 or 5 ABET engineering technology degrees. In the last 3 or so years they have started to introduce 6 new full engineering programs(ConstructionE, MechE, CivilE, SystemsE, ElectronicE and MechatronicE). Because these programs are new and have no graduates until this year or next, these new programs aren’t accredited yet.Given that the school already has many ABET accredited programs, is it likely that these new programs will also become accredited? I’ve got a big problem with being their guinea pig, and I don’t know how common this is.</p>
<p>If they have ABET accredited engineering technology programs, and plan on pursuing ABET accreditation for their engineering programs, it is very likely they will receive it. And once they receive ABET accreditation, it will be applied retroactively to your degree as well.</p>
<p>You can always ask the school this question. They should be prepared to answer it to your satisfaction.</p>
<p>Well I thought about talking to them I just felt there may be a conflict of interest seeing as how they are trying to attract students and not have them transfer out to another program. But I guess it never hurts to ask.</p>
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<p>Or perhaps it’s the running joke of the uninformed.</p>
<p>Harvard’s relatively low engineering rankings are by choice. If Harvard decided tomorrow to be a Top 10 engineering program, it could easily balloon it’s enrollment and faculty and reach the top echelon of engineering in 10 years or less. The fact is, Harvard runs the SEAS with a different vision than other engineering schools which keeps it small and its research interdisciplinary, both of which hurt the rankings.</p>
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<p>Yes, it is likely. If they’ve already gone through ABET-EAC accreditation of other programs, they should have a good idea of what the process entails. In that case, you’d have to assume that they wouldn’t go through the accreditation process unless they were ready. </p>
<p>I might have a problem being in the first class of a school that has never been accredited, or in a degree where accreditation is usually necessary to practice (like law, environmental engineering, or civil engineering), but for lower impact degrees (mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, etc.) from a school that is already accredited elsewhere, I wouldn’t worry.</p>
<p>As I look through the constant e-mails I receive from recruiters either asking “am I available?” or “do I know someone with this skillset?”…I HIGHLY DOUBT that those recruiters are checking for an ABET degree.</p>
<p>Gobaltraveler, I thought you majored in Math and IT? I’m under the impression that ABET isn’t as important in these areas as engineering is.</p>
<p>“Globaltraveler, I thought you majored in Math and IT? I’m under the impression that ABET isn’t as important in these areas as engineering is.”</p>
<p>I was engineering in grad school but ABET only certifies a handful of M.S. Engineering programs. Still you may be right, I don’t hear recruiters asking for computer science (for software engineering) or computer engineering majors (for networks) to have a ABET degrees. For instance, I know that a local college here in Maryland called Capitol College that offers a CS, Comp E and Soft E degrees and none of them are ABET certified (their EE, EE Tech and CompE Tech degrees are) but there are Capitol College grads working all over the area.</p>
<p>The recruiters may not ask about ABET accreditation but the HR departments do check before extending employment offers. So you may be recruited and then not eligible to be hired for that particular position.</p>
<p>My employer is one of those that checks.</p>
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<p>I doubt that. Let’s face it: the uninformed, by definition, don’t know the rankings. All they know are generic brand names, of which Harvard clearly possesses the most famous of all of higher education. </p>
<p>As a case in point, I know one girl who graduated from MIT then took as a job at Harley Davidson. She would on occasion wear MIT insignia’d clothing that would receive not a glimmer of recognition from the line workers, who are regular people most of whom never graduated from college at all. Because the company in headquartered in Milwaukee, she would constantly field questions about whether MIT stood for the “Milwaukee Institute of Technology”, and her remonstrations that M actually stood for Massachusetts would be met with blank stares. Many regular people think that MIT is of the same caliber as low-level vocational colleges such as ITT Technical Institute or DeVry Institute. </p>
<p>Now, perhaps one could argue that the running joke is on those uninformed people that they would believe that Harvard is a better engineering school than it is because of its blindingly powerful brand name. But that’s not the same as saying that Harvard engineering is itself the running joke. </p>
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<p>As I said before, it’s still better than the vast majority of other engineering programs out there.</p>
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<p>I agree - I have never once heard of a software company caring about ABET accreditation. In fact, many of the best computer science programs, such as the BA CS program at Berkeley and the ‘pure’ CS program at MIT (as opposed to the hybrid EECS engineering degree) are not accredited. It hardly seems to have hurt them, indeed the pure MIT CS students actually earn higher starting salaries than do the EECS students, although in fairness, that may be due to the fact that some EECS students take relatively lower-paying hardware engineering positions. </p>
<p>Furthermore, software engineering is one of those fields where you don’t even need a technical degree at all. One of the most successful software engineers that I know actually majored in English in high school, yet has had a stellar career as a developer and now a project manager, and even went to MIT for grad school. Heck, some of the best software engineers never even graduated from high school. Janus Friis, cofounder and technical architect of Skype, is a high school dropout.</p>
<p>“If they’ve already gone through ABET-EAC accreditation of other programs”</p>
<p>They’ve only been ABET-TAC accredited because up until now the only programs that they offered were engineering technology programs. I realize that TAC and EAC are different, but will that make a difference??</p>
<p>“IT” and “Software” are two general terms for a field/industry that do not require a college degree to achieve the title of Engineer. All that is required is experience and expertise.</p>
<p>Hmm. I thought Southern Poly had some EAC, but apparently not. Plenty of TAC, some CAC, and one ASAC. </p>
<p>I would be more comfortable with a school that had ABET-EAC accreditation in Mechanical Engineering and applying for Electrical Engineering (for example), but I wouldn’t worry too much. If you’re a CE, I would be more worried than if you are a ChE.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, my plan is still to apply to Tech at the end of summer semester. I was just curious. As far as EAC goes, I don’t think there are any programs. From my understanding the technology degrees are TAC, and if you go to spsu.edu/engineering, those six programs are yet to be accredited by ABET. I’m assuming they are aiming for the EAC.</p>