I’m hoping to study molecular engineering at UChicago as an undergrad but their program is not officially accredited by ABET. I’m planning on supplementing that degree with a minor in math or physics, and I plan on going to graduate school immediately after graduating. Is it going to negatively impact me in any way to pursue this degree even if I won’t be seeking a PE license or employment at an engineering firm straight out of college? I don’t know much about how ABET accreditation affects admission to engineering/STEM graduate programs.
Although engineering is in the title, and a physics and/or engineering background might be helpful, it’s more of an offshoot of molecular biology than engineering. As such, ABET doesn’t, at least as of yet, if ever, accredit molecular engineering. You should be fine at Chicago.
Glanced at the program website, and I agree with @eyemgh. While it does involve a good deal of math and physics, it’s not really an engineering degree. You also preempted the second point I was going to make by saying that you plan on going to graduate school, which is good, because this major seems geared very strongly toward grad school. I doubt you’d be able to get a decent job in industry with it. Grad school admission is based on your research experience and research interests, as well as your coursework. ABET accreditation doesn’t matter for grad school.
So actually in the Molecular Engineering Department, some of what you guys are discussing is not totally accurate. Yes, we are not ABET certified and as of right now don’t have any plans to be. Our program is more physics/chemistry and mathematics-based than molecular biology (if your not specializing in bio engineering). The goal is to provide a centralized core of engineering principles, and then allowing students to fast track into specializations that they want to pursue. And regarding graduate school versus industry, we are primed for job opportunities in all fields after our four years here. The students here may not come out with the traditional engineering degree but we come out highly specialized in our respective fields, which companies have responded to positively. The concerns that you have expressed are valid concerns, but ones that we have been thinking about and have been actively finding solutions for.
While I don’t doubt that graduates of the program find jobs in industry, I am highly skeptical of the claim that they find opportunities in “all fields.” A non-ABET accredited degree makes it difficult to find engineering jobs. Period. This is especially true of an undergraduate-level unaccredited “molecular engineering” degree. Quite frankly, I can’t imagine that this program lends itself to engineering jobs in industry, and I think it’s disingenuous to suggest otherwise without some sort of actual proof.