UH Cullen College of Engineering’s Bachelor of Science in petroleum engineering has received an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology accreditation for its applied science, computing, engineering and engineering technology.
ABET is the global accreditor honoring university programs that fully prepare students for the profession they wish to enter.
This petroleum engineering program accreditation marks a momentous feat, making all the engineering programs at the University of Houston ABET accredited.
“ABET accreditation is a milestone for any engineering program,” said Tom Holley, director of the petroleum engineering program. “UH Petroleum Engineering achieved ABET accreditation on our first attempt. This honor puts UH Petroleum Engineering ‘on the map.’”
To request an ABET accreditation, students must graduate from the program. However, what is unique about UH’s petroleum program is it was approved by the State of Texas in 2009. Therefore, its first batch of graduates was in 2013.
Immediately afterward, the program wrote a self-study which was carefully reviewed by the ABET organization. The program was then evaluated on site. This past summer, ABET honored the accreditation.
Holley said that the UH petroleum engineering program achieved this accreditation on their first attempt.
Along with the ABET accreditation, the petroleum program has received other prestigious accolades such as being a model partnership between industry and academia by the Business-Higher Education Forum.
Although this program is successful, it is still new. The Cullen College of Engineering had a successful master’s program but nothing pertaining undergraduates.
The bachelor’s degree option in petroleum engineering began in 2009 once a dire need to replenish the critical shortage of talent occurred. As the elder workforce retired from the field, new raw talent was needed.
Cullen College of Engineering’s chemical and bi-molecular engineering department and several major donors provided the funding to build the facilities and the program from scratch. The program started with 20 students and now has over 900.
The petroleum program continues to focus on developing the skills necessary to replenish new waves of retirements in the engineering sector – all while owning up to their ABET accreditation by having “a solid educational foundation” and ability “of leading the way in innovation, emerging technologies and in anticipating the welfare and safety needs of the public.”
