The growth and influence of optical and photonics engineering as a discipline warrants increased recognition within both academia and industry. In 2006, SPIE leadership made a strategic decision to pursue membership in ABET, Inc. to lead the profession in the establishment of ABET program criteria for optical and photonics engineering. In 2010, SPIE became a member society of ABET and in 2011 SPIE, in collaboration with our co-lead society IEEE, developed the program criteria for optical and photonics engineering. In this invited presentation we will review the rationale for pursuing ABET accreditation and the benefits of ABET accreditation, discuss the historical context leading to the current state, provide an overview of the process of developing the program specific criteria, and finally describe the way ahead.

Date Published: 15 October 2012
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 8481, Optics Education and Outreach II, 848107 (15 October 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.931263

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8481:
Optics Education and Outreach II
G. Groot Gregory, Editor(s)