In the United States, there is no formal accreditation for physics or astronomy degree programs comparable to ABET accreditation for engineering. While chemistry programs can pursue optional ACS accreditation, physics lacks a similar framework through the American Physical Society (APS). The absence of accreditation is attributed to the lack of a defined professional pathway for bachelor's degree holders in physics, unlike their counterparts in engineering and chemistry. In the UK, undergraduate physics programs are accredited by the Institute of Physics (IoP), but no equivalent exists in the US. Academic credentials, particularly the reputation of the institution where one earns a PhD, are often the primary indicators of program quality in physics.
