ABET guide

What is ABET accreditation?

ABET accreditation confirms that a college or university program meets the quality standards of its profession. This guide explains what ABET accredits, which programs are eligible, what the criteria ask for and how a review runs, based on ABET’s 2026–27 documents.

What ABET is

ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that accredits college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. Its accreditation process is ISO 9001:2015 certified. According to abet.org, ABET currently accredits 4,863 programs at 950 colleges and universities in 42 countries.

Reviews are carried out by volunteer experts from industry, academia and government, organized in four accreditation commissions. ABET does not accredit institutions or departments: it accredits individual programs, each leading to a degree.

Which programs ABET accredits

A program must be accreditable under one or more of ABET’s four commissions. The commission, and so the criteria that apply, is determined by the program’s name, curriculum, publications, objectives and graduate transcripts.

ABET commissions
Commission	Programs	Degree levels
EAC, Engineering	Programs leading to the professional practice of engineering. Every program name must include the word “engineering”.	Bachelor’s, master’s
ETAC, Engineering Technology	Bachelor’s programs leading to the professional practice of engineering technology; associate programs preparing engineering technicians. A name with “engineering” must also include “technology”.	Associate, bachelor’s
CAC, Computing	Programs across computing, computational, information and informatics disciplines, such as computer science, cybersecurity, information systems and information technology.	Associate, bachelor’s, master’s
ANSAC, Applied and Natural Science	Programs using mathematics and the sciences as the foundation for professional practice, such as environmental science, health physics, safety or surveying.	Associate, bachelor’s, master’s

If a program’s name implies a discipline for which Program Criteria exist, the program must meet those criteria too; if it invokes more than one commission, it is reviewed jointly by all of them.

Why accreditation matters

Recognition of graduates. Graduation from an ABET-accredited program is a prerequisite for many licensing and certifying bodies.
International mobility. ABET is signatory to mutual recognition agreements, including the Washington Accord (engineering), the Sydney Accord (engineering technology, bachelor’s level), the Dublin Accord (engineering technician, associate level) and the Seoul Accord (computing).
Employers and graduate schools. Accreditation is an external, peer-reviewed signal that a program’s graduates are prepared for professional practice.
A continuous-improvement discipline. The criteria require a program to set objectives, measure student outcomes and act on the results, cycle after cycle.

Eligibility for an ABET review

The eligibility rules are set out in section I.C of ABET’s Accreditation Policy and Procedure Manual (APPM), 2026–27. In summary:

The institution

It must be an institution of higher education with verifiable governmental, national or regional recognition to provide programs and confer degrees. Outside the United States, it must be recognized as degree-granting in its home jurisdiction; U.S. institutions must be accredited by a recognized institutional accreditor.
It must show control over the program, and be able to produce for each graduate an official record of academic work and a statement of graduation that names the program and the degree level.
The program name and degree on those documents must appear in English exactly as on the Request for Evaluation accepted by ABET.

The program

It must be an integrated, organized experience that leads to a degree, with program educational objectives, student outcomes, a curriculum, faculty and facilities.
Its name must describe its content and be shown consistently on transcripts, in publications and on the Request for Evaluation. In non-English-speaking countries, the name is given in English and in the official language.
For an initial review, the program must have had at least one graduate within the two academic years before the on-site review.
An institution with no ABET-accredited programs in a given commission must first complete a Readiness Review, a mandatory document screening that assesses whether it is prepared for a review.

The ABET criteria

Each commission publishes its criteria every year. They have two parts: the General Criteria, which every program under the commission must meet, and the Program Criteria for specific disciplines.

General Criteria

ABET General Criteria
Criterion	What the program must show
1. Students	How students are admitted, advised, monitored and evaluated, and that graduates meet all requirements.
2. Program Educational Objectives	Published objectives, consistent with the institution’s mission and reviewed with the program’s constituencies.
3. Student Outcomes	What graduates can do. EAC programs use seven outcomes; CAC and ETAC programs five, to which Program Criteria may add.
4. Continuous Improvement	Regular assessment of how far student outcomes are attained, and evidence that results are used to improve the program.
5. Curriculum	The subject areas and depth required by the commission, including a culminating experience where required.
6. Faculty	Enough faculty, with the competence and qualifications to cover the curriculum.
7. Facilities	Classrooms, laboratories, equipment and computing resources adequate for the outcomes.
8. Institutional Support	Leadership, financial resources and staff sufficient to assure the program’s quality and continuity.

Criteria 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8 are harmonized: identical across all four commissions for bachelor’s and associate programs. Master’s programs follow their own, shorter set of general criteria.

Program Criteria

Program Criteria add discipline-specific requirements, mainly on curriculum and faculty, and are written with ABET’s member societies. A software engineering program, for example, must meet both the EAC General Criteria and the Program Criteria for software engineering. See Program Criteria by commission.

How a review works, and when

01
Contact ABET and complete a Readiness Review
Required for an institution without ABET-accredited programs in the commission, before it requests a review.
02
Request for Evaluation by January 31
Signed by the institution’s chief executive, with an official transcript of a recent graduate for each program. Institutions outside the U.S. also provide acknowledgement from their national recognizing body.
03
Self-Study Report by July 1
Submitted in English through ABET’s Accreditation Management System, one per program.
04
On-site review, September to December
Usually three days, Sunday to Tuesday, by a team of volunteer experts.
05
Draft Statement and 30-day response
The institution receives the team’s findings and has 30 days to respond with corrective actions.
06
Final decision by August 31 of the following year
The commission takes its accreditation action, and the institution receives the Final Statement.

Findings are classed as Deficiencies (a criterion is not satisfied), Weaknesses (compliance lacks strength) and Concerns. A program with no deficiencies or weaknesses receives a Next General Review action, typically for six years; others may be asked for an interim report or visit.

Preparing with Academix

Most of the work of an ABET cycle is collecting evidence every term: outcome assessments, course reports, surveys and improvement actions. Academix organizes that work by role and generates the Self-Study Report from it, with a readiness view for each criterion along the way.

More ABET guides

Last reviewed: 2026-09-26. Academix is independent software and is not affiliated with or endorsed by ABET.