Accredited and approved courses have been recognised by the professional engineering institutions as providing the educational requirement for professional registration – these include degrees, apprenticeships, and national qualifications. These courses are held on databases by the Engineering Council and can be found on a public search interface available for both prospective students (as well as their parents and careers advisors) looking for accredited courses to apply to and past students, checking the status of their qualifications.

The Engineering Council is developing a new database for accredited qualifications, which will merge and replace the existing Accredited Course Search (ACAD) and the Database of Technician Qualifications (TechDB). The new database will enable the public to check in one place for all programmes and qualifications that have been approved or accredited, and will use a modern, simplified search interface. It will also offer enhanced information on courses, compared to the current version.

The professional engineering institutions, who input information about accredited courses to the database, are aware of this planned 2019 launch. Once fully tested and launched, the qualifications database will be accessible at: https://www.engc.org.uk/education-skills/

It is important to apply for accreditation of engineering degree courses, which offers students, their parents and advisors, and employers an important mark of assurance that the programme meets the high standards set by the engineering profession. Universities and colleges are encouraged to use the ‘Engineering Council accredited degree’ logo alongside the name of all degree programmes that have been accredited. Find out more about resources for higher education providers.