Accreditation Outside the U.S.

ABET’S Role in Global Accreditation

ABET is engaged globally through four primary means: 1) accreditation of academic programs; 2) mutual recognition of accreditation organizations; 3) Memoranda of Understanding with accreditation/quality assurance organizations; and 4) engagement in global STEM education organizations.

We take an active role in the global quality assurance process for technical education programs through numerous agreements with organizations worldwide. These include Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) and Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs). A list of our MRA global partners can be found here and here. A list of our MOU global partners can be found here.

We respect the autonomy of each nation’s higher education quality assurance organization. While ABET accredits programs outside of the US, we also encourage all academic programs located in these countries and regions to pursue accreditation by the appropriate MRA or MOU partner. We will conduct an accreditation review in the MRA/MOU country/region only if our partner does not object.

In addition, programs located outside of the U.S. must have each appropriate education authority, recognition or accreditation agency complete a Request for Acknowledgement form to be submitted with the formal Request for Evaluation. We will conduct an accreditation review outside the U.S. only in cases where there is no objection from all applicable education authorities or recognition/accreditation agencies in that program’s country or region.

The ABET accreditation process for programs located outside of the U.S. is identical to the accreditation process for programs within the U.S.

Accreditation Costs

For detail on accreditation costs, see the Fee Schedule for programs outside the U.S.

We encourage you to pay close attention to these fees in particular:

  • Reimbursement of the ABET team’s actual travel expenses – Travel expenses include but are not limited to roundtrip airfare, lodging, transportation, meals, international calls, visa costs and travel insurance (both medical and security). Please note that ABET permits its volunteers to travel business class when international flights are greater than eight hours in total (layovers included), or if one leg alone is six (6) hours or more.
  • Additional support for ensuring safety and security of the ABET team – This may include but is not limited to airport pick-up, escort and daily ground transportation between each of the visit locations (i.e. campuses, hotel and airport).

Expect to be invoiced for reimbursement of actual travel expenses generated by the ABET team after conclusion of the scheduled on-site visit.

Institutions that submit official Requests for Evaluation (RFEs) are responsible for complying with the ABET payment requirements.

Language Requirements

  • A program seeking accreditation in a country where English is not the native language must provide its program name both in English and in the native language. English translation of a program name should be based on the technical content, not the literal translation of the program name, so that ABET can designate the appropriate accreditation commission(s) and determine the applicable criteria.
  • Official transcripts must be provided in English or come with a certified/official English translation.
  • The self-study report and other documents provided to the review team must be in English.
  • Programs must be able to prepare for and receive a visiting review team conducting activities in English. All visit activities will be conducted in English.

Learn More

If you have questions about accreditation for programs outside the U.S., please contact our Accreditation Department.