2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

EAC-ABET Criterion 2 requires accredited civil engineering programs to publish program educational objectives. The Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET defines program educational objectives (PEOs) as “broad statements that describe what graduates are expected to attain within a few years after graduation” [1]. These statements should be consistent with the mission of the institution and the needs of the program’s constituencies. There is no required minimum or maximum number of PEOs. Accredited civil engineering programs are not required to assess PEOs, but they are required to develop their own PEOs and have a “documented, systematically utilized, and effective process, involving program constituencies, for the periodic review” of their PEOs.

A study was conducted to review PEOs from all 276 EAC-ABET accredited civil engineering programs in the United States (U.S.) in the 2025-26 academic year. The list includes multiple programs from every state and the District of Columbia. Three research questions framed the study. What are the common topics that appear in civil engineering program PEOs? What are the range, mean and median number of civil engineering program PEOs? To what extent do Engineering Fundamental Outcomes, Technical Outcomes, and Professional Outcomes from ASCE’s Body of Knowledge 3 (CEBOK3) appear in PEOs?

Although almost all accredited civil engineering programs have the same seven ABET Criterion 3 Student Outcomes, the study found that the number and content of PEOs vary considerably. No two programs have the same PEOs. The number of PEOs ranged from 1 to 8 with a mean and median of 3.77 and 4, respectively. The study categorized PEOs into 37 topics based on key words and statement context. The PEO topics that occurred most frequently were the Practice of Engineering” (91%), Graduate Education (66%), Professional Licensure (63%), and Leadership (63%). Notable topics that were not common include involvement in Professional Organizations (26.1%), Design and Engineering Solutions (25.7%), Sustainable and Resilient Solutions (25%), and Management or Business Skills (23.9%).

Fifteen of the twenty-one CEBOK3 outcomes were mapped to civil engineering program PEOs. The four Foundational CEBOK3 outcomes and the first two Engineering Fundamentals CEBOK3 outcomes are met by completing an accredited undergraduate degree program. These outcomes were not included in this study because they do not apply to PEOs. Only two CEBOK3 outcomes were found in most civil engineering program PEOs. The Depth in a Civil Engineering Area outcome is primarily fulfilled by graduate education which was found in 66% of civil engineering program PEOs. The Ethical Responsibilities outcome was found in 50% of civil engineering program PEOs. Six CEBOK3 outcomes were found in less than 10% of civil engineering program PEOs.