The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), a professional accrediting organization, reviews educational programs. The ABET accreditation process, a voluntary, non-governmental process of peer review, helps assure quality in educational programs. ABET-accredited educational programs must meet certain defined standards.

Accreditation serves to notify ...

• parents and prospective students that a program has met minimum standards;
• faculty, deans, and administrators of a program's strengths and weaknesses and of ways to improve the program;
• employers that graduates are prepared to begin professional practice;
• taxpayers that their funds are spent well;
• the public that graduates are aware of public health and safety considerations.

The present accreditation process requires each educational program to participate in a loop of self-examination and improvement:

1. Definition of desired program objectives and outcomes.
2. Collection and evaluation of data regarding how well objectives and outcomes are being reached.
3. Formulation and pursuit of appropriate means of better accomplishing objectives and outcomes.
4. Repetition of the process beginning with re-evaluation of objectives and outcomes.

Educational Objectives of the Mechanical Engineering Program

The Mechanical Engineering program seeks to prepare its graduates for the following early career and professional accomplishments in their employment by industry, government agencies, academia, or private practice:

• Demonstrated engineering competence, successfully contributing within their career fields with increasing levels of responsibility and influence.
  
• Continuous growth in knowledge and capability, within the Mechanical Engineering field as well as across interdisciplinary boundaries.

It is the goal of the program that graduates will be satisfied with how their education from Missouri S&T prepared them for their career.


Mechanical Engineering Program Outcomes

Students graduating from this program should have:

(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
(c) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
(d) an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
(e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
(f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
(g) an ability to communicate effectively
(h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
(i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
(j) a knowledge of contemporary issues
(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.
(l) an ability to work professionally in both thermal and mechanical systems areas.


Educational Objectives of the Aerospace Engineering Program

The overall educational objective of the Aerospace Engineering program is to prepare graduates for careers in the aerospace engineering profession and related disciplines, and/or receive an advanced graduate degree within three to five years from their graduation. Specifically, the expected professional accomplishments of the program graduates within five years from their graduation are that:

• They are employed by industry, a government agency, or in academia, or are in private practice.
  
• They have demonstrated competence and are successfully contributing to the aerospace science, technology, or engineering workforce.

And,

They have found that their education at Missouri S&T was valuable preparation for their careers.


Aerospace Engineering Program Outcomes

Students graduating from the Missouri S&T Aerospace Engineering Program should have:

(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
(c) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
(d) an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
(e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
(f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
(g) an ability to communicate effectively
(h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
(i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
(j) a knowledge of contemporary issues
(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.