ABET is a non-profit and non-governmental accrediting agency for academic programs in the disciplines of applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. ABET is a recognized accreditor in the United States (U.S.) by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
ABET accreditation provides assurance that a college or university program meets the quality standards established by the profession for which the program prepares its students. ABET accredits postsecondary programs housed in degree-granting institutions which have been recognized by national or regional institutional accreditation agencies or national education authorities worldwide.
In the U.S., there are two types of academic accreditation: (1) institutional and (2) specialized or programmatic.
- Institutional accreditation is provided by regional and national accreditors and evaluates overall institutional quality, but does not focus on a given academic program.
- Specialized or programmatic accreditation evaluates an individual program of study, rather than an institution as a whole. This type of accreditation is granted to a specific program at a variety of degree levels (associate's, bachelor's, and master's).
Of these two types of accreditation, ABET provides only specialized accreditation for programs; ABET does not accredit degrees, departments, colleges, institutions, or individuals.
ABET undertakes specialized accreditation for programs at various levels through its four accreditation commissions:
- Applied Science Accreditation Commission (ASAC), which accredits an applied science program at the associate's, bachelor's, or master's degree level.
- Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC), which accredits a computing program at the bachelor's degree level only.
- Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC), which accredits an engineering program at the bachelor's or master's degree level.
- Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC), which accredits an engineering technology program at the associate's or bachelor's degree levels.
To date, ABET has accredited over 3,100 applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology programs at more than 670 colleges and universities in 24 countries worldwide. Find an ABET-accredited program with our Accredited Program Search.