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Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools

2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

89 Colleges
$5,690 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$41,027 Avg Salary

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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Trade College Search has created the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 89 schools in the United States to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for design engineering tech students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value 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 value for your educational dollar.

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

#1

Lee College

Baytown, TX

Our 2023 rankings named Lee College the best value school in the United States for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Lee College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Baytown.

Lee College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,302 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Lee College is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Lee College Report

#2

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

Out of the 89 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Ridgewater College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the town of Willmar, Ridgewater College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ridgewater College are $6,114 a year. 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.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Ridgewater College also is in the top 15% of our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools ranking.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Ridgewater College Report

#3

Tyler Junior College

Tyler, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Tyler Junior College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list. Tyler Junior College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Tyler.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Tyler Junior College are $4,440 per year.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Tyler Junior College

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Northeast Community College is a great value for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Located in the remote town of Norfolk, Northeast is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Northeast undergraduate students pay an average of $5,130 in tuition and fees each year.

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

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Western Iowa Tech Community College is a great value for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Sioux City, Western Iowa Tech Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,946 a year.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Western Iowa Tech Community College Report

Southeast Community College Area ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list. Southeast Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Lincoln.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Southeast Community College are $3,864 a year. The average amount in student loans that design engineering tech majors at Southeast Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $16,668.

Southeast Community College also claimed a spot on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

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

With a ranking of #7, Waukesha County Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. WCTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Pewaukee.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WCTC are $6,722 per year. On average, design engineering tech graduates from WCTC take out $19,578 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, WCTC also did well on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Waukesha County Technical College

Fletcher Technical Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list. Fletcher Technical Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Schriever.

Fletcher Technical Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,119 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Fletcher Technical Community College Report

SOWELA Technical Community College 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 #9 on the list. Located in the city of Lake Charles, SOWELA is a public college with a small student population.

SOWELA undergraduate students pay an average of $4,325 in tuition and fees each year.

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

Madison Area Technical College 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 #10 on the list. Madison College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Madison.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Madison College are $6,812 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Madison College also is in the top 10% of our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools ranking.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Madison Area Technical College Report

#11

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

Hennepin Technical College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

Hennepin Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,881 in tuition and fees each year. Design Engineering Tech majors at Hennepin Technical College take out an average of $15,852 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Hennepin Technical College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Hennepin Technical College

Alexandria Technical & Community College 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 #12 on the list. Located in the town of Alexandria, ATCC is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ATCC are $6,107 a year. The average amount in student loans that design engineering tech majors at ATCC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $13,354.

ATCC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools list.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Alexandria Technical & Community College Report

St Cloud Technical and Community College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree drafting & design engineering technology programs. Located in the city of Saint Cloud, St Cloud Technical and Community College is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at St Cloud Technical and Community College are $6,075 per year. On average, design engineering tech graduates from St Cloud Technical and Community College take out $11,155 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, St Cloud Technical and Community College also is in the top 15% of our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools ranking.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at St Cloud Technical and Community College Report

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 Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
14 South Louisiana Community College Lafayette, LA
15 Chippewa Valley Technical College Eau Claire, WI
16 Amarillo College Amarillo, TX
17 Alpena Community College Alpena, MI

Drafting & Design Engineering Technology by Region

View the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree 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.

  • 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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