Whitworth’s Engineering Program Earns ABET Accreditation
ABET accreditation assures that programs meet standards to produce graduates 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.
“We are thrilled that our engineering program is formally recognized by ABET,” says John Pell, dean of Whitworth’s College of Arts & Sciences. “To be accredited formalizes what many of us already knew about Whitworth’s engineering program: We have a world-class faculty delivering an innovative curriculum to some of the best students in the country. I am confident that our program will continue to grow as more and more prospective students and their families learn about our student-centered program, where students work alongside faculty on groundbreaking research.”
Launched in 2017, the Whitworth engineering major prepares graduates to create engineering solutions for humanity. Whitworth’s graduates are working for some of the industry’s most prestigious companies, and many go on to further their studies in top programs at the most highly respected institutions in the country.
“Even before we started the engineering major, our department had an outstanding track record of alumni who obtained graduate degrees in engineering at elite institutions like Carnegie Mellon, Princeton and Stanford,” says Kamesh Sankaran, professor of engineering & physics. “They are pioneering new technologies like quantum computing, safe scalable nuclear power, and autonomous navigation; they have also become leaders of engineering innovations at institutions like Apple, Amazon and Boeing. It is the success of those alumni that motivated us to create the engineering major. Now, this ABET accreditation allows us to build on that tradition of excellence and prepare future graduates who will honor God, follow Christ and serve humanity as engineers.”
Sought worldwide, ABET’s voluntary peer-review process is highly respected because it adds critical value to academic programs in the technical disciplines, where quality, precision and safety are of the utmost importance.
ABET accreditation reviews look at 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 ABET disciplines. ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization. It currently accredits more than 4,000 programs at 850 colleges and universities in 41 countries and areas.
Whitworth’s interdisciplinary engineering program provides students with a strong grounding in physics, math and the computational skills necessary for engineering analysis. It also equips students with the foundational knowledge in the electrical, mechanical and materials aspects of engineering on which all emerging technologies are built. Students learn to consider the impacts of these solutions in global, economic, environmental and societal contexts as informed by a Christian perspective.
Fundraising is now underway for a new 20,000-square-foot engineering & physics building that will provide much-needed space for this growing program. It will include classrooms, metal and wood shops, an engineering design lab, and optical, computational and electronics labs. For information on how to donate, click here.
About Whitworth University:
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Trisha Coder, media relations manager, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or tcoder@whitworth.edu
