APU Engineering Program Receives ABET Accreditation

Azusa Pacific University’s Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering has received accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.

“ABET accreditation is nationally and internationally recognized as the gold standard in quality assurance in engineering education. Top industry organizations expect their engineers to be the products of ABET-accredited programs,” said James Yeh, PhD, chair and associate professor in the Department of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS). “This excellent outcome testifies to the high caliber of the APU Engineering program, the quality and commitment of its faculty, the superb record of job placements for its graduates, and the dynamic engagement of an active advisory board consisting of senior industry professionals.”

ABET accreditation assures that programs meet standards to produce graduates ready to enter critical technical fields that are leading the way in innovation and emerging technologies, and anticipating the welfare and safety needs of the public.

“Being accredited by ABET is extremely significant for a new engineering program like ours,” said Louise Ko Huang, PhD, acting dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). “The ABET accreditation signifies that APU’s hard work over the last several years to equip and position our students well is recognized and affirmed.”

Sought worldwide, ABET’s voluntary peer-review process is highly respected because it adds critical value to academic programs in the technical disciplines, where quality, precision, and safety are of the utmost importance. Developed by technical professionals from ABET’s member societies, ABET criteria focus on what students experience and learn. ABET accreditation reviews look at program curricula, faculty, facilities, and institutional support and are conducted by teams of highly skilled professionals from industry, academia, and government, with expertise in the ABET disciplines.

“Recent APU graduates have been accepted into several graduate schools and employed by top-rated companies such as Northrop Grumman, Lockheed-Martin, Raytheon, Aerospace Corp, Google, Amazon, Tesla, as well as by many nonprofit organizations,” said ECS professor and ABET coordinator George Thomas, PhD.

ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization with ISO 9001:2015 certification. It currently accredits 4,361 programs at 850 colleges and universities in 41 countries and areas. More information about ABET, its member societies and the accreditation criteria used to evaluate programs can be found at abet.org.

APU’s Bachelor of Science in Engineering equips students with a solid foundation in engineering principles for a variety of fields including aerospace, agriculture, automotive, business, defense, energy, health care, and telecommunications. Students learn fully integrated design and analytical solutions to complex technological challenges, as well as the processes and practices needed to coordinate the various tasks involved in the life cycle of a system, ensuring that performance, reliability, cost, and schedule requirements are met.