The Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering programs of NDSU have been professionally accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The Industrial Engineering and Management (IE&M) BS program has been professionally accredited since 1971.  The few thousand students graduated and employed in IE&M have had high success in the enterprise areas of information, manufacturing, logistics, transportation, service and healthcare management engineering.  In the early 80's, systems engineering, project management, logistics, integrated information, and Capstone courses were added.  In the last decade, the manufacturing emphasis has been expanded and was accredited as a manufacturing engineering BS in 2001.  About 10% of the content is new: nanotechnology, composite structures, plastics and electronics.  Software engineering, business, and logistics/transportation minors are offered to enhance the competencies based upon surveys of graduates and employers.

In the United States, accreditation is used to assure quality in educational institutions and programs. Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental process of peer review. It requires an educational institution or program to meet certain, defined standards or criteria.  More information on ABET and accreditation can be found on the ABET website at http://www.abet.org

State licensing boards and certification programs may require graduation from an ABET-accredited program as the first step in the registration or certification process for professional practice. In some instances, ABET accreditation may permit students to receive federal funds in the form of scholarships, loans and grants.