The programs of computer science, electrical engineering and software engineering recently learned that they have been accredited by ABET, which originally stood for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology but has used just the acronym since 2005.

ABET, based in Baltimore, accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree levels. It has accredited more than 4,500 programs at 920 colleges and universities in 42 countries.

“This validation that we have built programs worthy of ABET accreditation reinforces our commitment to student success and to preparing our students for high-demand fulfilling careers in our region,” said Jackie Trischman, dean of CSTEM. 

The accreditation is retroactive to CSUSM’s first graduating classes for software engineering and electrical engineering, and to the class of 2021 for computer science. 

Trischman said the application process took years, and included hiring of a consultant for one of the programs and hosting ABET officials for a three-day campus visit last fall.

ABET accreditation assures that programs meet standards to produce graduates who are 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. ABET reviews examine 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 appropriate disciplines.

Many jobs with government-sponsored agencies and certain types of companies only hire students who graduated from ABET-accredited programs.

“This will help us to show our community that we have high-quality programs,” Trischman said. “It will help with recruitment and with securing positions for internships and jobs for our graduates.”

The accreditation process for CSUSM was led by Dr. Simon Fan for B.S. in Computer Science and B.S. in Software Engineering, and Dr. Reza Kamali for B.S. in Electrical Engineering. Dr. Ali Ahmadinia, then the chair of the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems (where computer science and software engineering are offered), assisted in organizing the faculty for those programs and securing the necessary resources. Dr. Ricardo Fierro, former associate dean of CSTEM, did crucial coordination and administrative work along with Dana Edstrom, administrative coordinator; Courtney Dow, contract specialist in the College; and Jessica Faulkner, assistant to the dean.

Trischman emphasized, however, that it was a team effort involving students, staff, the faculty in each program, administration and industry partners.

This fall, CSUSM has almost 300 electrical engineering students, 170 software engineering students and more than 1,000 computer science students.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist
bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306