General Criteria
All ABET accredited engineering programs must satisfy the ABET General Criteria. These are described on the ABET website and can be found here EAC General Criteria 2019-2020.
Program Criteria
In addition to the ABET General Criteria each Optical or Photonics Engineering program must satisfy the applicable Program Criteria. Program Criteria provide the specificity needed for interpretation of the general criteria as applicable to a given discipline. Requirements stipulated in the Program Criteria are limited to the areas of curricular topics and faculty qualifications.
Criteria for: Optical, Photonic, and Similarly Named Engineering Programs
Co-Lead Societies: SPIE, International Society for Optical Engineering and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
These program criteria apply to all engineering programs that include "optical," "photonic," or similar modifiers in their titles.
- Curriculum
The structure of the curriculum must provide both breadth and depth across the range of engineering topics implied by the title of the program. The curriculum must include theoretical instruction and laboratory experience in geometrical optics, physical optics, optical materials, optical devices and systems, and photonics devices and systems. The curriculum must include chemical science, calculus-based physics, multivariable calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, complex variables, probability, and statistics, as well as their application in solving engineering problems. The curriculum must also include design experiences that incorporate the application of egnineering principles to model, analyze, design, and relaize optical and/or photonics devices and/or systems.
- Faculty
Faculty members who teach courses with significant design content must be qualified by virtue of design experience as well as subject matter knowledge.
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