One large step for One small school: Engineering Department’s accreditation

Dawsyn Wilson - Editor In Chief

Monmouth College’s engineering department recently received official accreditation from ABET, the global standard in engineering and technology education.

ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization. Evaluation and accreditation ensure programs meet the standards to prepare students around the globe for the workplace. Currently, ABET accredits 4,773 programs from 930 colleges and universities in 42 countries.

For Monmouth, ABET’s accreditation proves the impact of smaller programs. Students get lots of face-to-face time with their professors. “I really value being able to just come into a professor’s office, sit down, and have a non-rushed conversation,” said Gianna Maughan, a senior engineering and physics major.

From left to right: Brontë de Zwart, Lizzie Durfee, and Gianna Maughan, summer interns at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Photo provided by Gianna Maughan).

Elizabeth Durfee, a senior, chose to major in engineering at Monmouth after speaking with professors during a visit. “The passion and dedication that I see in my professors now help me confirm that I made the right decision,” she said.

The program launched in 2019 and had its first graduates in 2023. Maughan said, “Although the engineering program was basically brand new, I really liked that the classes were small, providing a chance to make connections with classmates and professors.”

Over the summer, three engineering students, Maughan, Durfee, and Brontë De Zwart, were picked to participate in the Mu2e research project at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

“Hundreds of people have contributed to the project, and they are all located at different places around the country and even internationally,” said Maughan. The project involved a team of physicists, including postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students from all over the world.

During the internship, Maughan, Durfee, and de Zwart attended undergraduate physics lectures. “I was very grateful for this opportunity as it really helped comfort me in knowing that I made the right decision not only coming to Monmouth but also studying engineering and physics,” said Durfee.

Workers at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory working on machinery (Photo by Gianna Maughan).