<p>I am really concerned that while looking at the College of Engineering 2010-2011 Handbook sent to to-be freshmen mid-may and in Undergraduate programs is the only engineering programs that ahs this leyend:</p>
<p>3This program is not accredited by the Engineering Accreditation
Commission or Computing Accreditation Commission of the
ABET, Inc.</p>
<p>Can someone who knows, will completely and puntually explain: What exactly does this mean exactly??? AND Why is it not accredited unlike all the other engineering programs??</p>
<p>I think its not accredited because it’s a new program. It will definitely get accredited over time, it’s just a matter of time. But I don’t know what it means to be in an unaccredited program though.</p>
<p>It’s not a big deal; grad schools don’t care, and companies looking to hire you probably won’t care, especially with a prestigious name like Berkeley behind your degree. It might get accredited by the time you graduate, but it doesn’t really matter.</p>
<p>It doesn’t mean anything as far as someone looking for job or graduate school prospects should be concerned. A faculty member once told me that it only really mattered for majors like CivE. Also Terry has said that they are working on accreditation anyways and it may be retroactive up to the point that the curriculum changes took effect (3 years ago), so don’t sweat it.</p>
<p>Engineering accreditation only matters if you plan to enter an engineering career for which state licensing is important, and bioengineering is not one of them. In fact, the vast majority of engineers will not enter such careers, instead working for engineering firms that sell products or services that are or could be sold across state boundaries (i.e. cars, computers, chemicals), and are therefore exempt from state regulation. As mentioned above, only the construction industry and a few other industries that provide engineering products that inherently cannot cross state boundaries, such as buildings, require state licensing, and hence only civil/structural engineers care about accreditation, as well as a small minority of mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineers. {For example, if you plan to work as an electrical engineer who designs and installs electric power systems for office buildings, you may need accreditation.} </p>
<p>I cannot think of a single bioengineering product or service that would have to provided only within a single state and therefore would not be exempt, hence requiring licensing. Until such a product actually exists, bioengineering accreditation means little. </p>
<p>I’ll put it to you another way. The Bioengineering programs at MIT and Stanford aren’t accredited either. But apparently the program at the University of Central Oklahoma is. So does that mean that the UCO bioE students are better than the ones at MIT, Stanford, and Berkeley?</p>
<p>The Noble Prize committee must be carefully watching the promising output of the University of Central Oklahoma graduates. Certainly the biotech hub in Oklahoma will snap up those engineers, unlike the rather more poorly qualified ones who are stuck in places like Silicon Valley and the Boston area and constantly passed over for jobs that get taken by the more desirable ‘accredited’ UCO grads.</p>
<p>basically nowhere is accredited…probably only ucsd…johns hopkins? its just such a new major in general. schools/jobs know this so it wont put you at a disadvantage. still a great program.</p>