Utah Valley University now offers five engineering programs — civil, computer, electrical, mechanical, and software engineering — that are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET.

UVU’s construction management program also received accreditation by the Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission (ANSAC) of ABET, and the computer science, information systems, and information technology programs were re-accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC) of ABET. In total, UVU now offers nine ABET-accredited programs.

The announcement of the accreditations comes at a critical time when there is an acute demand for more engineers, computer scientists, and construction managers in Utah. Last year, Utah universities together produced more than 3,000 engineers and computer scientists, but there remained approximately 4,000 unfulfilled positions across Utah’s workforce. Construction companies are also struggling to find employees to keep up with the ever-increasing need for qualified managers to oversee Utah’s continued building expansion.

“One of UVU’s long-term strategies is to educate and prepare graduates to meet Utah’s workforce needs,” said Astrid S. Tuminez, president, Utah Valley University. “From now until 2028, experts project that Utah will need more than 3,600 new engineers per year. UVU’s new engineering and computer science programs were designed to help support that need. Since introducing our newest engineering programs (civil, mechanical, and electrical) in 2018, we’ve seen a 144.33% increase in engineering graduates at UVU.”

According to a recent study by the Kem C. Gardner Institute, Utah County’s population is projected to reach 1.6 million by 2065 and will almost mirror Salt Lake County’s population — 28% of the state’s population will live in Utah County.

The study projects 576,000 jobs will be added in Utah County and increase its share of total state employment from 17% to 24% of all state jobs. One-third of the state’s new jobs are projected to be in Utah County.

“To be job-ready, the engineering, computer science, and technology graduates of the future must possess not only a good grasp of fundamentals, but they must also be innovative, ethical, good team members, have good communication skills, and exhibit a good understanding of global issues,” said Saeed Moaveni, dean of UVU's College of Engineering and Technology. “What sets our programs apart from other engineering and technology programs is our hands-on, real-world approach to engineering and technology education, and encouraging our students to apply and test their practical knowledge against others in professional settings and competitions.”

For more information on UVU’s engineering programs, please visit the school’s engineering page.