<p>My son (a rising senior) plans to major in computer science with a goal of becoming a gaming programmer. Marist College, in Poughkeepsie, NY, is his #1 choice right now because it offers exactly the major he wants, computer science with a concentration in programming and game design. However the school, despite it's 20+ year partnership with IBM, does not have ABET CAC certification. I've also been investigating small LACs offering CS degrees, and none of them have certification either. How important is certification, and should he stay away from schools that don't have it?</p>
<p>I think, and someone can correct me if I’m wrong, that for CS ABET accreditation isn’t important. It’ll mean he can’t take the PE exam, but I can’t think of a single circumstance where a CS major would need to.</p>
<p>A lot of schools don’t seek accreditation for their CS program because it would require them to require the students to take classes like chemistry which aren’t particularly useful in CS. You’ll want to take extra care to make sure the school has a good career services department (ESPECIALLY if you’re trying to get into something hard like game design) and plenty of opportunities for working on internships and projects, but not being ABET isn’t really a big deal for CS.</p>
<p>Professional accreditation can be vital in fields that are subject to state licensing rules, e.g. engineering (ABET), architecture (NAAB), law (ABA), etc. In these cases, an appropriately accredited degree is legally different from an degree that is unaccredited.</p>
<p>But computer science is completely unregulated. There is no legal difference between an ABET and non-ABET degree in computer science, because there are no laws that regulate practice in this field. So the accreditation is totally optional. If you check at abet.org, you will find that many top universities (e.g. Stanford, Caltech, Cornell) lack ABET accreditation in CS. They have ABET accreditation in engineering (where it matters) but not in CS (where it doesn’t). </p>
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ABET accreditation in CS is irrelevant as regards Professional Engineer (PE) licensing anyway. ABET has separate accreditation programs for engineering (ABET/EAC) vs. CS (ABET/CAC). They are not equivalent for purposes of engineering licensure.</p>
<p>Thank you both so much for the information. It’s very helpful.</p>
<p>I am working my BSCS and I have worked on a few video games that have shipped.</p>
<p>Have CAC/ABET is good, but it is not needed. My college does not have CAC/ABET.</p>
<p>But I would not do a concentration in programming and game design. I did not take any game programming classes. I just worked on Mods, made a few prototypes of small games outside of college…</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s important. UCF has CAC certification. UF does not.</p>
<p>Which school would you anyone prefer to go to if they got accepted into both school?</p>
<p>I think they would choose UF.</p>