<p>Would enrolling in an engineering program that is not ABET accredited reduce my chances for grad school or a job? I'm not too knowledgeable about this topic but I read on wikipedia that a common prerequisite to become a professional engineer was to graduate from an ABET accredited program. I'm asking because I'd really like to go to this one school but some of its programs are not ABET accredited and I'm still not sure what type of engineering I want to do so I wanted to keep my options open.</p>
<p>It depends on what field you are talking about. For certain fields, like biomedical engineering, ABET is currently pretty useless. For others, such as civil engineering, you pretty much have to go to an ABET school.</p>
<p>This brings me to another question:</p>
<p>Do all universities offering ABET programs have very similar courses, as in same textbooks etc?</p>
<p>Similar but not necessarily the same. You will still see courses with slightly different syllabi, you just are guaranteed that they all cover the same main topics. Where you see the biggest differences is how deeply each topic is covered and what side topics are covered.</p>
<p>Oh, I see. Thanks for the advice! And how do I know for which engineering concentrations the ABET credit is more important?</p>
<p>It has less to do with the major and more to do with what kind of job you get. ABET degrees are essentially a requirement to become a professional engineer (some exceptions). Becoming a professional engineer is only important in fields that deal with infrastructure and public safety. That includes civil engineers who design buildings, bridges, etc., mechanical engineers in HVAC and plumbing design for buildings, and electrical engineers involved with power systems.</p>
<p>For computer science…no.</p>
<p>Remember, computer science is part of many schools’ math department. Like someone said, with other engineering areas, you need ABET accreditation for licensing. For CS/I.T. work, you need Border’s book stores, niche user groups and certifications to stay on edge.</p>
<p>I think that most ABET accredited programs are going to have pretty similar early (freshman/sophomore especially) classes, but with the later more advanced classes not so much.</p>