Accreditation: Participant perspectives, in triplicate
The number of baccalaureate programs accredited by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has grown steadily. By the end of 2019, just six years after the accreditation program began, the number of accredited programs likely will reach the century mark.
Despite the program’s progress, many potential participants still ask, “Why should our program become accredited?”

We have addressed this question in three ways. The first was via a survey of accreditation stakeholders recently published in the journal Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Education. The second was the recent publication of a letter describing details of the program in the journal CBE-Life Sciences Education. The third was by reaching out to representatives of three diverse accredited programs to learn how ASBMB accreditation has affected their programs:
Douglas McAbee of California State University Long Beach, a large (enrollment 37,000), public, master’s granting institution on the West Coast;
Michael Wolyniak of Hampden-Sydney College, a small (enrollment 1,100), private, primarily undergraduate institution in the mid-Atlantic region; and
Paul Black and Erin Sayer of the University of Nebraska, a large (enrollment 25,000), public, research-intensive university in the Midwest.
Overall, these programs reported the following benefits of accreditation:
• | the focus on concept-based education in the accreditation application helps them critique and improve their programs; |
• | guidelines from a national society help them strengthen the programs at their institution; and |
• | accreditation of the program and certification of students through a common exam help create assessments for internal and external use. |
On the facing page, in chart form, are their more detailed answers to our questions.
Want to learn more about the ASBMB accreditation program? Go to the ASBMB accreditation page.
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.
Learn moreFeatured jobs
from the ASBMB career center
Get the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in Careers
Careers highlights or most popular articles

Engineering the future with synthetic biology
Learn about the ASBMB 2025 symposium on synthetic biology, featuring applications to better human and environmental health.

Host vs. pathogen and the molecular arms race
Learn about the ASBMB 2025 symposium on host–pathogen interactions, to be held Sunday, April 13 at 1:50 p.m.

Richard Silverman to speak at ASBMB 2025
Richard Silverman and Melissa Moore are the featured speakers at the ASBMB annual meeting to be held April 12-15 in Chicago.

Women’s History Month: Educating and inspiring generations
Through early classroom experiences, undergraduate education and advanced research training, women leaders are shaping a more inclusive and supportive scientific community.

Upcoming opportunities
Register for the May 14 ASBMB Breakthroughs webinar on biosynthesis and regulation of plant phenolic compounds.

Upcoming opportunities
Save the date for ASBMB's virtual meeting on nucleophilic proteases. Reminder: Get your ticket for #ASBMB25's closing reception at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry before it sells out!