Program Eligibility Requirements

We accredit programs only—not degrees, departments, colleges, institutions, or individuals. We define a program as an integrated, organized experience that culminates in the awarding of a degree. The program will have program educational objectives, student outcomes, a curriculum, faculty, and facilities, as described in the accreditation criteria. We do not accredit certification, training, or doctoral programs.

We accept Requests for Evaluation (RFE) from post-secondary programs offered by degree-granting institutions with verifiable and recognized governmental, national, or regional authority to confer degrees. In some cases, an institution that does not meet this requirement may request an evaluation for a program if that program’s accreditation furthers ABET’s Mission.

Programs requesting an initial accreditation review must have at least one graduate prior to the academic year when the on-site review occurs.

The name of a program seeking accreditation must be descriptive of the program’s content and be stated exactly the same way on the graduate’s transcript and in the institution’s literature.

Programs outside the U.S. where English is not the native language, must provide the program’s name both in English and in the native language(s). An institution may not use the same program name to identify both an ABET-accredited program and a program that is not ABET-accredited.

Each program seeking accreditation will be assigned to a specific commission or commissions based upon the literal name of the program:

Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission (ANSAC)
Programs accredited by ANSAC are those leading to professional practice utilizing science, mathematics, and engineering concepts as a foundation for discipline-specific practice. ANSAC accredits programs at the following degree levels: associate, bachelor, and master.

Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC)
Programs accredited by CAC are those leading to professional practice across the broad spectrum of computing, computational, information, and informatics disciplines. CAC accredits programs at the following degree level: bachelor.

Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC)
Programs accredited by EAC are those leading to the professional practice of engineering. All engineering programs requesting ABET review must include the word “engineering” in the program name. EAC accredits programs at the following degree levels: bachelor and master.

Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC)
Programs accredited by ETAC prepare baccalaureate degree graduates for careers in sectors such as construction, manufacturing, product design, testing, or technical services and sales. Graduates of two-year engineering technology programs likely assume engineering technician positions in maintenance, production, or product development. The name of every ETAC-accredited program that includes the word “engineering” in the name of the program must also include the word “technology” directly after the word “engineering.” ETAC accredits programs at the following degree levels: associate and bachelor.

We require a preliminary Self-Study Report from all programs seeking initial accreditation, if the institution has no currently ABET-accredited programs in that same commission. After a review of this preliminary Self-Study Report, which is called the Readiness Review, we will determine whether or not an institution is ready to submit a formal Request for Evaluation (RFE) for that program.