Higher education: Information for providers

The Engineering Council supports the development of engineering degrees that will equip students to become professional engineers.

Engineering Council activities include:

• Setting the standards for Accredited Higher Education Programmes (AHEP)
• Maintaining a searchable database of recognised qualifications, apprenticeships and degrees
• Accrediting Licensed Professional Engineering Institutions (PEIs) degree programmes;
• Collaborating with QAA, which has adopted our standard as the engineering subject benchmark statement
• Responding to consultations about education matters, especially where these impact on standards and quality
• Producing a range of resources related to professional registration, to support students, graduates and academics
• Working with partners in other countries to ensure international recognition of accredited programmes

Resources available to support you include:

• The AHEP Handbook, which sets out learning outcomes and other requirements for achieving accredited programme status
• An ‘Engineering Council Accredited Degree' Logo available in English and Welsh to highlight the accredited status of your degree programmes
• Statements for you to use as part of the Unistats statements and in other marketing materials for each type of accredited degree
• A leaflet explaining the value of accredited status
• A Guide for Professional Registration for your students about achieving professional engineer status
• A leaflet about professional registration for teachers and lecturers
• In collaboration with Vitae, the Researcher Development Framework, material to help researchers make the links between their development as a researcher and achieving CEng status
• In collaboration with the HEA, material to help teachers in HE make the links between achieving professional teaching and professional engineer status
• Guidance on compensation and condonement
• Information about European accreditation, including applying for the EUR-ACE® label

How to get your degree programme accredited

If you are new to accreditation please contact your relevant Licensed PEI to your subject for advice before completing any submission documentation.

Once you have all the information you need, your accreditation application should be sent to one or more of the professional engineering institutions that have been licensed by the Engineering Council to accredit degree programmes. The Licensed PEIs you choose should be relevant to the area(s) of engineering covered by the course. You can apply for accredited status for Bachelors, Honours, Integrated Masters (MEng) and other Masters degrees such as MScs. Professional engineering institutions may also consider requests to accredit Foundation Degrees and Engineering Doctorates.

Once they have processed your request, the Licensed PEI will carry out an accreditation visit. Here they will determine whether the course learning outcomes are aligned with the standards for accredited status, as set out in the AHEP.

If your programme is awarded accredited status, the period of accreditation is typically five years, counted from the first-year student intake date of the programme. You must reapply for re-accreditation in good time, ideally at least twelve months before accreditation expires.