<p>Hello,
I'm going to UCSD in the fall (yay!), but I realized their Computer Engineering BS program is not ABET accredited... However, Electrical Engineering is. Should I switch? I personally want to do CompE more, but I don't mind doing EE if it means better job and/or better grad school. :D</p>
<p>I go to UCSD. I lived with a guy for 3 years, including first year, and he graduated this past winter. He got a job at Cisco paying $75K a year. He did one internship last summer, at Cisco.</p>
<p>He was a Computer Science major. That major is not accredited.</p>
<p>WOW, congrats to your friend. :D</p>
<p>So the point is, if the major is good enough (UCSD is ranked 18th, I believe), it won't hurt, right? Also, would it be possible for the major to be accredited before I graduate (just in case, haha)?</p>
<p>Yes, that is the point. It is possible for the major to become accredited before you finish, but since you know that it won't matter either way, it will be icing if it does.</p>
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So the point is, if the major is good enough (UCSD is ranked 18th, I believe), it won't hurt, right?
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<p>I think the bigger factor is that if you're in a field where nobody cares about ABET accreditation (like CS), it won't hurt. As a rule of thumb, it seems like the fields that are covered on the PE exam care the most about ABET accreditation (if this statement is wrong, someone please correct me).</p>
<p>^ Sounds about right. Only Civils/ChemEs/MechEs (and maybe EEs who work on buildings/construction) care about getting a PE and thus care about ABET.</p>
<p>Most CS or EE who plan on working in the electronics/software industry could care less about ABET.</p>
<p>Fields like civil, chemical, mechanical, and electrical engineering are subject to state regulation and licensing laws. State engineering boards always prefer or require ABET degrees. So as a general rule, engineering departments in such fields get ABET accredited, even in cases (like electrical) where only a small fraction of graduates will be affected by licensure requirements.</p>
<p>Other fields, like biomedical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science, are completely unregulated. Since there is no such thing as a professional license in these fields, an ABET degree has no legal advantage over a non-ABET degree. So ABET accreditation is basically voluntary. Many top schools don't bother.</p>