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It is expected that more than 41,000 students will attend UVU's main and satellite campuses this fall.

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UVU students find their way through the science building on campus Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

Courtesy Utah Valley University

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Utah Valley University has announced that five of its engineering programs and others have received accreditation. The announcement came as students continued returning to classes this week for the new 2021 fall semester.

UVU now offers five engineering programs — civil, computer, electrical, mechanical and software engineering — that received accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the nonprofit Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, or ABET.

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

The announcement of the accreditations comes at a time when there is a pronounced demand for more engineers, computer scientists and construction managers in Utah, according to a university statement.

“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,” the announcement said.

“One of UVU’s long-term strategies is to educate and prepare graduates to meet Utah’s workforce needs,” UVU president Astrid S. Tuminez stated in the announcement. “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,” Tuminez added.

According to a recent study by the Kem C. Gardner Institute, Utah County’s population is projected to reach 1.6 million people by 2065 and will almost mirror Salt Lake County’s population, with 28% of the state’s population expected to eventually reside 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,” Saeed Moaveni, dean of UVU’s College of Engineering and Technology, stated in the announcement.

“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,” Moaveni added.

For more information on UVU’s engineering programs, visit the school’s engineering page at UVU.edu/engineering.

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