Engineering education in the United States
Engineering education in the United States is primarily taught at public and private universities offering degrees in civil, electrical, mechanical, chemical, and a variety of other engineering branches.[1]
Historical development
[edit]Engineering education in the U.S. began in 1802 with the Military Peace Establishment Act that directed for the creation of the Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Military Academy to be set up and run their engineering program in West Point, New York. Civilian engineering programs followed at institutions such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in New York in 1824,[2] and MIT (founded 1861).[3] The Morrill Land-Grant Acts of 1862 founded the State university systems.
Admissions
[edit]Solid transcripts especially in math and science, Advanced Placement exams, ACT / SAT test scores help in the admissions process, and also letters of recommendation from teachers.[4]
Extracurricular activities
[edit]Participating in extracurricular activities such as olympiads, hackathons, mathethons, coding bootcamps, open-source contributions, after-school clubs, science fairs, or technical projects helps in the admissions process.
Degree structure
[edit]Engineering programs in the United States generally follow a tiered degree structure:[5][6]
- Bachelors of Engineering – typically a 4-year program accredited by ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology).
- Masters of Engineering – usually 1–2 years of advanced coursework or research, bachelors degree as a prerequisite.
- Doctorate of Engineering or PhD of Engineering – the doctorate focuses on applied engineering for licensing / employment and the PhD focuses more on R&D in academia.
Accreditation
[edit]ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) is the primary body responsible for accrediting U.S. undergraduate and some graduate engineering programs. Accreditation ensures consistent quality and adherence to industry standards. ABET accreditation is often required for licensure and employment.[7][8]
Professional licensure
[edit]Engineers who wish to become licensed Professional Engineers (PE) must meet several requirements. Licensure is overseen by state boards and is typically required for public-facing roles such as civil or structural engineering.[9]
- Earn a degree from an ABET-accredited program.
- Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam (FE) exam.[10]
- Gain 4 years of work experience under a licensed PE.
- Pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam (PE) exam.[11]
- Apply through your state's licensing board
Research and innovation
[edit]Universities are classified into categories based on research activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.[12][13]
- R1 universities - Very High Research Activity
- R2 universities - High Research Activity
- R3 universities - Moderate Research Activity
Fields of study
[edit]- Mechanical engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Civil engineering
- Chemical engineering
- Computer engineering
- Software engineering
- Aerospace engineering
- Biomedical engineering
- Environmental engineering
- Industrial engineering
- Nuclear engineering
- Material Engineering
- Design engineer
Engineering societies
[edit]- American Society for Engineering Education
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
- American Nuclear Society
- American Society for Engineering Management
- American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
- American Council of Engineering Companies
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
- National Institute of Ceramic Engineers
- National Society of Professional Engineers
See also
[edit]- Career and technical education (CTE)
- Computational engineering, computational mathematics, computational education
- Computer-based mathematics education
- DiscoverE - National Engineers Week
- List of open-source engineering software
- List of educational engineering software
- List of open-source software for mathematics
- List of online educational resources
- List of engineering schools in the United States
- Lists of engineers
- International Federation of Engineering Education Societies
- Journal of Engineering Education and IEEE Transactions on Education
- STEM education
- Polytechnic
References
[edit]- ^ https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/24878/chapter/4#10
- ^ https://www.asce.org/about-civil-engineering/history-and-heritage/historic-landmarks/rensselaer-polytechnic-institute#:~:text=Rensselaer%20Polytechnic%20Institute%2C%20founded%20in,purposes%20of%20life%22%20in%201824.
- ^ https://www.freaktakes.com/p/a-progress-studies-history-of-early
- ^ https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-into-engineering-school
- ^ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/masters-vs-phd-engineering?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- ^ https://blog.wordvice.com/masters-vs-phd-doctorate-degrees-key-differences/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- ^ https://www.abet.org/accreditation/
- ^ https://www.nspe.org/nspe-advocacy/explore-issues/professional-policies-and-position-statements/licensure-qualifications
- ^ https://www.schoolofpe.com/blog/2022/01/how-do-i-get-my-pe-civil-license.html
- ^ https://www.prepfe.com/resources/what-is-the-fe-exam-and-why
- ^ https://www.nspe.org/resources/licensure/resources/demonstrating-qualifying-engineering-experience-licensure
- ^ https://www.tuitionrewards.com/newsroom/articles/489/understanding-the-r1-r2-r3-research-classification-at-universities-an-in-depth-analysis
- ^ https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/carnegie-classification/classification-methodology/2025-research-activity-designations/research-designations-faqs/