How Does Accreditation Work?

Accreditation is the process whereby the academic standard of a university is evaluated and subsequently granted the authority to operate and grant degrees. There are hundreds of so-called accreditation. This can be very confusing to a student shopping for a legitimate university.

Choosing an accredited university, however, is actually very simple consider only those universities with full accreditation. Different countries have different requirements for full accreditation so you should be clear on what full accreditation means in the country of the university you are interested in.

While accreditation is usually granted to a university or institution as a whole, remember that specific programs and departments within a university may have also obtained additional accreditation from a relevant professional association. For example, many university psychology programs in the US, and some in Canada, are evaluated separately by the American Psychological Association. While additional program accreditation is optional, accreditation by a recognized professional association can be a good indication that a specific program is of a high quality and is recognized professional association can be a good indication that a specific program is of a high quality and is recognized within its profession.