Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs, 2019 – 2020

Lead Society: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “aerospace,” “aeronautical,” “astronautical,” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
Aeronautical engineering programs must prepare graduates to have a knowledge of aerodynamics, aerospace materials, structures, propulsion, flight mechanics, and stability and control. Astronautical engineering programs must prepare graduates to have a knowledge of orbital mechanics, space environment, attitude determination and control, telecommunications, space structures, and rocket propulsion. Aerospace engineering programs or other engineering programs combining aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering, must prepare graduates to have knowledge covering one of the areas — aeronautical engineering or astronautical engineering as described above — and, in addition, knowledge of some topics from the area not emphasized. Programs must also prepare graduates to have design competence that includes integration of aeronautical or astronautical topics.

2. Faculty
Program faculty must have responsibility and sufficient authority to define, revise, implement, and achieve program objectives. The program must demonstrate that faculty teaching upper-division courses have an understanding of current professional practice in the aerospace industry.

Lead Society: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “agricultural,” “forest,” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must include mathematics through differential equations and biological and engineering sciences consistent with the program educational objectives. The curriculum must prepare graduates to apply engineering to agriculture, aquaculture, forestry, human, or natural resources.

2. Faculty
The program shall demonstrate that those faculty members teaching courses that are primarily design in content are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of education and experience or professional licensure.

Lead Society: American Society of Civil Engineers Cooperating Society: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “architectural” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The program must demonstrate that graduates can apply mathematics through differential equations, calculus-based physics, and chemistry. The four basic architectural engineering curriculum areas are building structures, building mechanical systems, building electrical systems, and construction/construction management. Graduates are expected to reach the synthesis (design) level in one of these areas, the application level in a second area, and the comprehension level in the remaining two areas. The engineering topics required by the general criteria shall support the engineering fundamentals of each of these four areas at the specified level. Graduates are expected to discuss the basic concepts of architecture in a context of architectural design and history.

The design level must be in a context that:
(a) Considers the systems or processes from other architectural engineering curricular areas,
(b) Works within the overall architectural design,
(c) Includes communication and collaboration with other design or construction team members,
(d) Includes computer-based technology and considers applicable codes and standards, and
(e) Considers fundamental attributes of building performance and sustainability.

2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that faculty teaching courses that are primarily engineering design in content are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, or by education and design experience. It must also demonstrate that the majority of the faculty members teaching architectural design courses are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, or by education and design experience.

Lead Society: Biomedical Engineering Society Cooperating Societies: American Ceramic Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “bioengineering,” “biomedical,” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The structure of the curriculum must provide both breadth and depth across the range of engineering and science topics consistent with the program educational objectives and student outcomes. The curriculum must prepare graduates with experience in:
(a) Applying principles of engineering, biology, human physiology, chemistry, calculus-based physics, mathematics (through differential equations) and statistics;
(b) Solving bio/biomedical engineering problems, including those associated with the interaction between living and non-living systems;
(c) Analyzing, modeling, designing, and realizing bio/biomedical engineering devices, systems, components, or processes; and
(d) Making measurements on and interpreting data from living systems.

Lead Society: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Cooperating Societies: American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, American Ceramic Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Biomedical Engineering Society, CSAB, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, and Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “biological,” “biological systems,” “food,” or similar modifiers in their titles with the exception of bioengineering and biomedical engineering programs.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must include mathematics through differential equations, a thorough grounding in chemistry and biology and a working knowledge of advanced biological sciences consistent with the program educational objectives. The curriculum must prepare graduates to apply engineering to biological systems.

2. Faculty
The program shall demonstrate that those faculty members teaching courses that are primarily design in content are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of education and experience or professional licensure.

Lead Society: American Institute of Chemical Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “chemical,” “biochemical,” “biomolecular,” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must provide a thorough grounding in the basic sciences including chemistry, physics, and/or biology, with some content at an advanced level, as appropriate to the objectives of the program. The curriculum must include the engineering application of these basic sciences to the design, analysis, and control of chemical, physical, and/or biological processes, including the hazards associated with these processes.

Lead Society: American Society of Civil Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “civil” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to apply knowledge of mathematics through differential equations, calculus-based physics, chemistry, and at least one additional area of basic science; apply probability and statistics to address uncertainty; analyze and solve problems in at least four technical areas appropriate to civil engineering; conduct experiments in at least two technical areas of civil engineering and analyze and interpret the resulting data; design a system, component, or process in at least two civil engineering contexts; include principles of sustainability in design; explain basic concepts in project management, business, public policy, and leadership; analyze issues in professional ethics; and explain the importance of professional licensure.

2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that faculty teaching courses that are primarily design in content are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, or by education and design experience. The program must demonstrate that it is not critically dependent on one individual.

Lead Society: American Society of Civil Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “construction” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to apply knowledge of mathematics through differential and integral calculus, probability and statistics, general chemistry, and calculus-based physics; to analyze and design construction processes and systems in a construction engineering specialty field, applying knowledge of methods, materials, equipment, planning, scheduling, safety, and cost analysis; to explain basic legal and ethical concepts and the importance of professional engineering licensure in the construction industry; to explain basic concepts of management topics such as economics, business, accounting, communications, leadership, decision and optimization methods, engineering economics, engineering management, and cost control.

2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that the majority of faculty teaching courses that are primarily design in content are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, or by education and design experience. The faculty must include at least one member who has had full-time experience and decision-making responsibilities in the construction industry.

Co-Lead Societies: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, CSAB, International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE)

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “cybersecurity”, “computer security”, “cyber operations”, “information assurance”, “information security”, or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The structure of the curriculum must provide both breadth and depth across the range of engineering topics implied by the title of the program.
The curriculum must include:

• Probability, statistics, and cryptographic topics including applications appropriate to the program.
• Discrete mathematics and specialized mathematics appropriate to the program, such as, abstract algebra, information theory, number theory, complexity theory and finite fields.
• Engineering topics necessary to determine cybersecurity requirements and to analyze, design, test and protect complex devices and systems that incorporate hardware, software, and human components.
• Application of protective technologies and forensic techniques
• Analysis and evaluation of components and systems with respect to security and to maintaining operations in the presence of risks and threats
• Consideration of legal, regulatory, privacy, ethics, and human behavior topics as appropriate to the program.

The curriculum must provide both breadth and depth across the range of engineering and computing topics necessary for the application of computer security principles and practices to the design, implementation and operation of the physical, software, and human components of a system, as appropriate to the program.

2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that faculty members teaching core engineering topics understand methods of engineering design, engineering problem solving, and engineering practice with specific relevance to security.

Lead Society: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Cooperating Society for Computer Engineering Programs: CSAB

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “electrical,” “electronic(s),” “computer,” “communication(s),” telecommunication(s), or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The structure of the curriculum must provide both breadth and depth across the range of engineering topics implied by the title of the program.

The curriculum must include probability and statistics, including applications appropriate to the program name; mathematics through differential and integral calculus; sciences (defined as biological, chemical, or physical science); and engineering topics (including computing science) necessary to analyze and design complex electrical and electronic devices, software, and systems containing hardware and software components.

The curriculum for programs containing the modifier “electrical,” “electronic(s),” “communication(s),” or “telecommunication(s)” in the title must include advanced mathematics, such as differential equations, linear algebra, complex variables, and discrete mathematics.

The curriculum for programs containing the modifier “computer” in the title must include discrete mathematics.

The curriculum for programs containing the modifier “communication(s)” or “telecommunication(s)” in the title must include topics in communication theory and systems.

The curriculum for programs containing the modifier “telecommunication(s)” must include design and operation of telecommunication networks for services such as voice, data, image, and video transport.

Lead Society: American Society for Engineering Education

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “engineering (without modifiers),” “general engineering,” “engineering physics,” or “engineering science(s),” in their titles.

There are no program-specific criteria beyond the General Criteria.

Lead Society: Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Cooperating Societies: American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and Society of Petroleum Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “management” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to understand the engineering relationships between the management tasks of planning, organization, leadership, control, and the human element in production, research, and service organizations; to understand and deal with the stochastic nature of management systems. The curriculum must also prepare graduates to integrate management systems into a series of different technological environments.

2. Faculty
The major professional competence of the faculty must be in engineering, and the faculty should be experienced in the management of engineering and/or technical activities.

Lead Society: American Society of Mechanical Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “mechanics” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The program curriculum must require students to use mathematical and computational techniques to analyze, model, and design physical systems consisting of solid and fluid components under steady state and transient conditions.

2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that faculty members responsible for the upper-level professional program are maintaining currency in their specialty area.

Lead Society: American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists Cooperating Societies: American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, SAE International, and Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “environmental,” “sanitary,” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to apply knowledge of mathematics through differential equations, probability and statistics, calculus-based physics, chemistry (including stoichiometry, equilibrium, and kinetics), an earth science, a biological science, and fluid mechanics. The curriculum must prepare graduates to formulate material and energy balances, and analyze the fate and transport of substances in and between air, water, and soil phases; conduct laboratory experiments, and analyze and interpret the resulting data in more than one major environmental engineering focus area, e.g., air, water, land, environmental health; design environmental engineering systems that include considerations of risk, uncertainty, sustainability, life-cycle principles, and environmental impacts; and apply advanced principles and practice relevant to the program objectives. The curriculum must prepare graduates to understand concepts of professional practice, project management, and the roles and responsibilities of public institutions and private organizations pertaining to environmental policy and regulations.

2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that a majority of those faculty teaching courses that are primarily design in content are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, board certification in environmental engineering, or by education and equivalent design experience.

Lead Society: Society for Fire Protection Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “fire protection” or similar modifiers in their title.

1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to have proficiency in the application of science and engineering to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public from the impacts of fire. This includes the ability to apply and incorporate an understanding of the fire dynamics that affect the life safety of occupants and emergency responders and the protection of property; the hazards associated with processes and building designs; the design of fire protection products, systems, and equipment; the human response and behavior in fire emergencies; and the prevention, control, and extinguishment of fire.

2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that faculty members maintain currency in fire protection engineering practice.

Lead Society: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “geological” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to have:
1. the ability to apply mathematics including differential equations, calculus-based physics, and chemistry, to geological engineering problems;
2. proficiency in geological science topics that emphasize geologic processes and the identification of minerals and rocks;
3. the ability to visualize and solve geological problems in three and four dimensions;
4. proficiency in the engineering sciences including statics, properties/strength of materials, and geomechanics;
5. the ability to apply principles of geology, elements of geophysics, geological and engineering field methods; and
6. engineering knowledge to design solutions to geological engineering problems, which will include one or more of the following considerations: the distribution of physical and chemical properties of earth materials, including surface water, ground water (hydrogeology), and fluid hydrocarbons; the effects of surface and near-surface natural processes; the impacts of construction projects; the impacts of exploration, development, and extraction of natural resources, and consequent remediation; disposal of wastes; and other activities of society on these materials and processes, as appropriate to the program objectives.

2. Faculty
Evidence must be provided that the program’s faculty members understand professional engineering practice and maintain currency in their respective professional areas. The program’s faculty must have responsibility and authority to define, revise, implement, and achieve program objectives.

Lead Society: Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “industrial” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to design, develop, implement, and improve integrated systems that include people, materials, information, equipment and energy. The curriculum must include in-depth instruction to accomplish the integration of systems using appropriate analytical, computational, and experimental practices.

2. Faculty
Evidence must be provided that the program faculty understand professional practice and maintain currency in their respective professional areas. Program faculty must have responsibility and sufficient authority to define, revise, implement, and achieve program objectives.

Lead Society: Society of Manufacturing Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “manufacturing” and similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to have proficiency in (a) materials and manufacturing processes: ability to design manufacturing processes that result in products that meet specific material and other requirements; (b) process, assembly and product engineering: ability to design products and the equipment, tooling, and environment necessary for their manufacture; (c) manufacturing competitiveness: ability to create competitive advantage through manufacturing planning, strategy, quality, and control; (d) manufacturing systems design: ability to analyze, synthesize, and control manufacturing operations using statistical methods; and (e) manufacturing laboratory or facility experience: ability to measure manufacturing process variables and develop technical inferences about the process.

2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that faculty members maintain currency in manufacturing engineering practice.

(1,2) Lead Society for Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Programs: The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (3) Lead Society for Ceramics Engineering Programs: American Ceramic Society (1) Cooperating Societies for Materials Engineering Programs: American Ceramic Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2) Cooperating Society for Metallurgical Engineering Programs: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (3) Cooperating Society for Ceramics Engineering Programs: The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

These program criteria apply to engineering programs including “materials,” “metallurgical,” “ceramics,” “glass”, “polymer,” “biomaterials,” and similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to apply advanced science (such as chemistry, biology and physics), computational techniques and engineering principles to materials systems implied by the program modifier, e.g., ceramics, metals, polymers, biomaterials, composite materials; to integrate the understanding of the scientific and engineering principles underlying the four major elements of the field: structure, properties, processing, and performance related to material systems appropriate to the field; to apply and integrate knowledge from each of the above four elements of the field using experimental, computational and statistical methods to solve materials problems including selection and design consistent with the program educational objectives.

2. Faculty
The faculty expertise for the professional area must encompass the four major elements of the field.

Lead Society: American Society of Mechanical Engineers

These program criteria will apply to all engineering programs that include “mechanical” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must require students to apply principles of engineering, basic science, and mathematics (including multivariate calculus and differential equations); to model, analyze, design, and realize physical systems, components or processes; and prepare students to work professionally in either thermal or mechanical systems while requiring topics in each area.

2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that faculty members responsible for the upper-level professional program are maintaining currency in their specialty area.

Lead Society: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “mining” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to apply mathematics through differential equations, calculus-based physics, general chemistry, and probability and statistics as applied to mining engineering problem applications; to have fundamental knowledge in the geological sciences including characterization of mineral deposits, physical geology, structural or engineering geology, and mineral and rock identification and properties; to be proficient in statics, dynamics, strength of materials, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and electrical circuits; to be proficient in engineering topics related to both surface and underground mining, including: mining methods, planning and design, ground control and rock mechanics, health and safety, environmental issues, and ventilation; to be proficient in additional engineering topics such as rock fragmentation, materials handling, mineral or coal processing, mine surveying, and valuation and resource/reserve estimation as appropriate to the program objectives. The laboratory experience must prepare graduates to be proficient in geologic concepts, rock mechanics, mine ventilation, and other topics appropriate to the program objectives.

2. Faculty
Evidence must be provided that the program faculty understand professional engineering practice and maintain currency in their respective professional areas. Program faculty must have responsibility and authority to define, revise, implement, and achieve program objectives.

Lead Society: Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “naval architecture” and/or “marine engineering” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to apply probability and statistical methods to naval architecture and marine engineering problems; to have basic knowledge of fluid mechanics, dynamics, structural mechanics, materials properties, hydrostatics, and energy/propulsion systems in the context of marine vehicles and; to have familiarity with instrumentation appropriate to naval architecture and/or marine engineering.

2. Faculty
Program faculty must have sufficient curricular and administrative control to accomplish the program objectives. Program faculty must have responsibility and sufficient authority to define, revise, implement and achieve the program objectives.

Lead Society: American Nuclear Society

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “nuclear,” “radiological,” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The program must prepare the students to apply advanced mathematics, science, and engineering science, including atomic and nuclear physics, and the transport and interaction of radiation with matter, to nuclear and radiological systems and processes; to perform nuclear engineering design; to measure nuclear and radiation processes; to work professionally in one or more of the nuclear or radiological fields of specialization identified by the program.

2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that faculty members primarily committed to the program have current knowledge of nuclear or radiological engineering by education or experience.

Lead Society: Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers Cooperating Societies: American Society of Civil Engineers and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “ocean” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to have the knowledge and the skills to apply the principles of fluid and solid mechanics, dynamics, hydrostatics, probability and applied statistics, oceanography, water waves, and underwater acoustics to engineering problems and to work in groups to perform engineering design at the system level, integrating multiple technical areas and addressing design optimization.

2. Faculty
Program faculty must have responsibility and sufficient authority to define, revise, implement, and achieve the program objectives.

Co-Lead Societies: SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering or Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

These program criteria apply to all engineering programs that include “optical,” “photonic,” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The structure of the curriculum must provide both breadth and depth across the range of engineering topics implied by the title of the program. The curriculum must prepare students to have knowledge of and appropriate laboratory experience in: geometrical optics, physical optics, optical materials, and optical and/or photonic devices and systems.
The curriculum must prepare students to apply principles of engineering, basic sciences, mathematics (such as multivariable calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, complex variables, and probability and statistics) to modeling, analyzing, designing, and realizing optical and/or photonic devices and systems.

2. Faculty
Faculty members who teach courses with significant design content must be qualified by virtue of design experience as well as subject matter knowledge.

Lead Society: Society of Petroleum Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “petroleum,” “natural gas,” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The program must prepare graduates to be proficient in mathematics through differential equations, probability and statistics, fluid mechanics, strength of materials, and thermodynamics; design and analysis of well systems and procedures for drilling and completing wells; characterization and evaluation of subsurface geological formations and their resources using geoscientific and engineering methods; design and analysis of systems for producing, injecting, and handling fluids; application of reservoir engineering principles and practices for optimizing resource development and management; the use of project economics and resource valuation methods for design and decision making under conditions of risk and uncertainty.

Lead Society: CSAB Cooperating Society: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “software” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must provide both breadth and depth across the range of engineering and computer science topics implied by the title and objectives of the program.
The curriculum must include computing fundamentals, software design and construction, requirements analysis, security, verification, and validation; software engineering processes and tools appropriate for the development of complex software systems; and discrete mathematics, probability, and statistics, with applications appropriate to software engineering.

2. Faculty
The program must demonstrate that faculty members teaching core software engineering topics have an understanding of professional practice in software engineering and maintain currency in their areas of professional or scholarly specialization.

Lead Society: National Society for Professional Surveyors Cooperating Society: American Society of Civil Engineers

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “surveying” or similar modifiers in their titles.

1. Curriculum
The curriculum must prepare graduates to work competently in one or more of the following areas: boundary and/or land surveying, geographic and/or land information systems, photogrammetry, mapping, geodesy, remote sensing, and other related areas.

2. Faculty
Programs must demonstrate that faculty members teaching courses that are primarily design in content are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure or by educational and design experience.

Co-Lead Societies: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, CSAB, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, ISA, International Council on Systems Engineering, or SAE International

These program criteria apply to engineering programs that include “systems (without other modifiers)” in their title.

There are no program- specific criteria beyond the General Criteria.