Design versus research; ABET requirements for design and why research cannot substitute for design

Abstract

The ABET Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs specifically requires design in criterion three and criterion four. These requirements stem from a fundamental need for engineers to understand and carry out the design process and the requirements are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. ABET criteria do not allow substitution of research for design in an engineering program. What is the difference between research projects and design projects and why doesn't ABET allow the substitution? The objective of this paper is to review the rationale for the design requirement in the ABET criteria; review the differences between design and research; and to propose questions that can be used to differentiate between a research project and a design project in an engineering curriculum. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2006.