The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the sole agency responsible for accreditation of educational programs leading to degrees in engineering, engineering technology, and related engineering areas. In the late 1990s, engineering programs began transitioning to a new Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC2000). By 2001, all engineering programs were required to be accredited under the new criteria. The philosophy of Engineering Criteria 2000 is to allow institutions and programs to define their mission and objectives to meet the needs of their constituents and enable program differentiation. Emphasis is placed on continuous improvement of programs based on the input of constituents and a process that links outcomes and assessment to program objectives. This current paper is a follow-up study to a preliminary study conducted by the author in 2000 that looked at the initial effects of ABET EC2000. The earlier study examined selected mechanical engineering programs to discern the impact of EC2000 on curriculum development during the initial implementation phase of the new criteria. Data on the layout and composition of mechanical engineering curricula for nine schools in the United States with Ph.D. programs and nine schools without Ph.D. programs was presented and is updated in this current work. Current results are also compared to a study by Robert E. Mates from the State University of New York at Buffalo entitled a Survey of Undergraduate ME Programs, conducted in 1987. The conclusions identify changes that have occurred in mechanical engineering curricula as the EC2000 assessment process has matured.
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