R0021/2026-03-25/Q001/SRC02
ECPD (Engineers Council for Professional Development) Definition of Engineering
Source
| Field |
Value |
| Title |
ECPD Definition of Engineering |
| Publisher |
Engineers Council for Professional Development (now ABET) |
| Author(s) |
ECPD |
| Date |
1947 (original); organization renamed to ABET in 1980 |
| URL |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Engineers%27_Council_for_Professional_Development |
| Type |
Professional body definition |
Summary
| Dimension |
Rating |
| Reliability |
High |
| Relevance |
High |
| Bias: Missing data |
Low risk |
| Bias: Measurement |
N/A |
| Bias: Selective reporting |
Low risk |
| Bias: Randomization |
N/A — not an RCT |
| Bias: Protocol deviation |
N/A — not an RCT |
| Bias: COI/Funding |
Low risk |
Rationale
| Dimension |
Rationale |
| Reliability |
ECPD was founded by seven major US engineering societies and served as the primary accreditation body. The definition has been widely cited for decades. |
| Relevance |
This is the most widely cited formal definition of engineering from a professional body. It is the canonical reference used by IEEE and others. |
| Bias flags |
The definition was created by engineering professionals for engineering professionals, but this is appropriate for a definitional query. |
| Evidence ID |
Summary |
| SRC02-E01 |
The canonical ECPD definition of engineering |