ABET Accreditation
Accreditation provides assurance that a college or university program meets the quality standards of the profession for which that program prepares graduates. Accreditation of engineering and computing programs ensures programs meet standards to produce graduates ready to enter technical fields that are leading the way in innovation and emerging technologies.
The Washington State University Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering programs were initially accredited in 1936, at the same time as were programs at many well-known public institutions such as Iowa State, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia Tech, as well as private institutions such as Caltech, MIT, and Stanford.
Programs are accredited by the Computing, Engineering, Applied and Natural Science, and Engineering Technology Accreditation Commissions of ABET, www.abet.org. Accreditation criteria are developed by the accreditation commissions of ABET, in conjunction with the various professional societies.
Currently, the Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Software Engineering undergraduate programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org. The BA and BS Computer Science programs are accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.
The Cybersecurity undergraduate program is not currently accredited.
Program Information
One component of the accreditation criteria requires each program pursuing accreditation to formulate Program Educational Objectives in consultation with their program-defined constituents. ABET defines Program Educational Objectives as “broad statements that describe what graduates are expected to attain within a few years after graduation.”
Another component of ABET accreditation requires programs specify Student Outcomes, which “describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. These relate to the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that students acquire as they progress through the program.”
ABET is committed to Continuous Improvement and all programs must assess and evaluate the extent to which their Student Outcomes are being attained and use the results of these evaluations for the continuous improvement of the program.
ABET requires that each program make available to the public certain information, namely their Program Educational Objectives, their Student Outcomes, their accreditation status, and data on their student enrollments and degrees granted.
Accredited Programs
Program information for the accredited programs offered by the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture can be found on the pages below.
Non-Accredited Programs
Program information for programs that are not accredited can be found on the pages below.