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Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools

2023 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools

89 Colleges
$41,027 Avg Salary
$12,811 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Associate Degree School for You

Drafting & Design Engineering Technology is the #20 most popular major in the country with 8,822 degrees and certificates awarded in 2021-2022.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which trade school program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools ranking. This report analyzed 89 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for trade school students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Associate Degree Schools in the United States

Check out the design engineering tech associate degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 15% Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Associate Degree Schools

#1

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

Our 2023 rankings named Ridgewater College the best school in the United States for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Located in the remote town of Willmar, Ridgewater College is a public school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that design engineering tech majors at Ridgewater College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $11,004.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Dunwoody College of Technology. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list. Dunwoody College of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

The average amount in student loans that design engineering tech majors at Dunwoody College of Technology take out while working on their Associate Degree is $15,813.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Waukesha County Technical College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list. WCTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Pewaukee.

On average, design engineering tech graduates from WCTC take out $19,578 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Waukesha County Technical College Report

Out of the 89 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Alpena Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Alpena Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Alpena.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Alpena Community College

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Madison Area Technical College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list. Madison College is a large public school located in the city of Madison.

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Utah Valley University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list. UVU is a fairly large public school located in the city of Orem.

On average, design engineering tech graduates from UVU take out $10,353 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Utah Valley University Report

Lamar Institute of Technology did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for drafting & design engineering technology students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Lamar Institute of Technology is a small public school located in the midsize city of Beaumont.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Lamar Institute of Technology Report

Chippewa Valley Technical College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list. CVTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Eau Claire.

While working on their Associate Degree, design engineering tech majors at CVTC accumulate an average of around $17,154 in student debt.

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Rochester Institute of Technology ranked #9 on this year’s Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list. Located in the suburb of Rochester, RIT is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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#10

Portland Community College

Portland, OR

Portland Community College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools ranking. Portland Community College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Portland.

The average amount in student loans that design engineering tech majors at Portland Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $21,003.

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#11

Lee College

Baytown, TX

Lee College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree drafting & design engineering technology programs. Lee College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Baytown.

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#12

Ferris State University

Big Rapids, MI

Ferris State University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list. Ferris is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Big Rapids.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Ferris State University

With a ranking of #13, Northeast Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Located in the remote town of Norfolk, Northeast is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

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Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools award.

Rank College Location
14 Valencia College Orlando, FL
15 Fox Valley Technical College Appleton, WI
16 Southeast Technical College Sioux Falls, SD
17 Owens Community College Perrysburg, OH

Drafting & Design Engineering Technology by Region

View the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

Drafting & Design Engineering Technology is one of 18 different types of trade school programs to choose from.

Design Engineering Tech Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Drafting & Design Technology 4,028
CAD/CADD Drafting &/or Design Technology 2,179
Architectural Drafting & Architectural CAD/CADD 1,318
Mechanical Drafting & Mechanical Drafting CAD/CADD 1,058
Civil Drafting & Civil Engineering CAD/CADD 104
Other Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies 72
Electrical/Electronics Drafting & Electrical/Electronics CAD/CADD 47

Majors Similar to Design Engineering Tech

Related Major Annual Graduates
Industrial Production Technology 11,288
Electromechanical Engineering Technology 10,780
Environmental Control Technology 9,376
Electronics Engineering Technology 8,347
Engineering-Related Fields 6,553

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Pixabay.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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