Engineering Council

The revised fourth edition of AHEP was published on 31 August 2020 and implemented by 31 December 2021, with learning outcomes implemented by 31 August 2024.

The Engineering Council sets the overall requirements for the Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes (AHEP) in engineering, in line with the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC).

AHEP sets out the standard for degree accreditation. It also outlines the purpose and application process for universities that wish to secure or maintain accreditation of their programmes. The standard for engineering degrees has been developed through consultation with the engineering profession and includes input from employers and academics.

Degree accreditation is undertaken by sector specific professional engineering institutions under licence from the Engineering Council. These institutions interpret the standards as appropriate for their own sector of the profession and use them when deciding whether degree programmes meet the requirements to be awarded ‘Engineering Council accredited degree' status.

Download the fourth edition of AHEP

• The summary of key changes below highlights the main differences between this fourth edition and the previous edition of AHEP. 
• The ‘Defining characteristics and learning outcomes’ table is contained in AHEP and sets out the characteristics that define accredited programmes and the generic learning outcomes (common to those presented in AAQA)
• ‘Mapping Learning Outcomes AHEP4 against AHEP3’ compares the learning outcomes in this fourth edition to the previous edition of AHEP.