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Best Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools in the Plains States Region

2023 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools in the Plains States Region

18 Colleges
$41,264 Avg Salary
$14,032 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology 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.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for trade school students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

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 Trade Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 18 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best programs for trade school students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Schools in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Colleges.

Top 10 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Schools

#1

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

Our analysis found Ridgewater College to be the best school for drafting & design engineering technology students who want to pursue a degree in the Plains States Region . Located in the remote town of Willmar, Ridgewater College is a public college with a small student population.

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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 Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list. Dunwoody College of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Minneapolis.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeast Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the town of Norfolk, Northeast is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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Out of the 18 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Iowa Tech Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Sioux City, Western Iowa Tech Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

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#5

Southeast Technical College

Sioux Falls, SD

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Southeast Technical College is a great place for drafting & design engineering technology students. Southeast Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Sioux Falls.

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Alexandria Technical & Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for drafting & design engineering technology students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the town of Alexandria, ATCC is a public school with a small student population.

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#7

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

With a ranking of #7, Hennepin Technical College did quite well on this year’s best schools for drafting & design engineering technology students. Located in the large suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

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St Cloud Technical and Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the small city of Saint Cloud, St Cloud Technical and Community College is a public school with a small student population.

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University of Central Missouri did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for drafting & design engineering technology students. It came in at #9 on the list. UCM is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Warrensburg.

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Anoka Technical College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best drafting & design engineering technology programs. Located in the large suburb of Anoka, Anoka Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

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Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Colleges by State

Explore the best drafting & design engineering technology colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 130
Missouri 137
Minnesota 333
South Dakota 20
Iowa 103
Nebraska 152

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

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 18 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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