Berkeley Engineering Joint Majors Program

I was recently admitted to Cal for Nuclear Engineering, and I think I’d like to do a joint Mechanical/Nuclear major, which they offer.

A couple of questions about this program:

  1. The joint major programs are not ABET accredited, although it seems like they were up until this year. On the joint majors webpage it says:

“Joint majors lie at the intersection between two fields and cannot be cataloged in a specific bin; therefore, they are not ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accredited programs*

*Note: Students who were admitted to Berkeley Fall 2016 or earlier who wish to pursue a joint major will graduate from an ABET accredited program (other than BioE/MSE which was never ABET accredited). Refer to your ESS or faculty adviser for details.”

Will this be a problem after graduation in the job search?

  1. With the increased course load and rigor, will it be less likely for one to take on a co-op or internship opportunity during his/her time in the program?

I’d appreciate any input. Thanks!

http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramsDetails.aspx?OrganizationID=368 indicates that the joint majors are currently ABET accredited.

You may want to ask the College of Engineering what curricular or other changes are being made that would cause them to drop ABET accreditation.

The curriculum for ME/NE is shown at http://engineering.berkeley.edu/undergraduate-guide/degree-requirements/joint-majors/me-nuclear with links to prior curricula if you wish to compare.

@ucbalumnus Strange… I guess this is a case of conflicting information then.

http://engineering.berkeley.edu/academics/majors-minors/joint-majors states that the joint major programs are not ABET accredited…

“Joint majors lie at the intersection between two fields and cannot be cataloged in a specific bin; therefore, they are not ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accredited programs* (note that there are many highly ranked engineering programs, such as Bioengineering at Berkeley, that are not ABET accredited). However, joint majors (like all engineering majors at Berkeley) are, and will continue to be, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).”

I will definitely get in contact with the department about this.