Accreditation of engineering and computing programs ensures that the programs produce graduates who are prepared to meet the expectations of employers, the public or pursue further study in engineering or other fields.

Computing, Engineering, Applied and Natural Science, and Engineering Technology programs are accredited by ABET, www.abet.org, in conjunction with the various professional societies develop the criteria for accrediting the programs.

Currently, the undergraduate programs in Biosystems Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. The undergraduate program in Computer Science is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET. For more information about ABET, visit www.abet.org.

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 skills, knowledge, 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. The information for the programs offered by the University of Kentucky College of Engineering are published at the following locations:

Program-specific Information

In addition, the University of Kentucky is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and therefore all degree programs and certificates including those in the College of Engineering are governed by the rules associated with that accrediting body. All programs are assessed periodically based on the achievement of their self-proclaimed student learning outcomes and the results are used in the improvement of those programs and certificates