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Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Texas

2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Texas

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

10 Colleges
$4,455 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$41,027 Avg Salary

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

With 1,107 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022, drafting & design engineering technology is the #16 most popular major in Texas.

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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Texas ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in Texas 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.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

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

Top 10 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Associate Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Lamar Institute of Technology the best value school in Texas for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Lamar Institute of Technology is a small public school located in the medium-sized city of Beaumont.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lamar Institute of Technology are $2,844 per year.

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

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

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#2

Lee College

Baytown, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lee College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Texas list. Lee College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Baytown.

Lee College undergraduate students pay an average of $3,882 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Lee College also took the #4 spot in our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools in Texas rankings.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Lee College Report

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Out of the 10 schools in Texas that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jacinto Community College landed the # 3 spot on the list. San Jacinto College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Pasadena.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jacinto College are $3,240 per year.

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#4

Amarillo College

Amarillo, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Amarillo College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Texas list. Located in the midsize city of Amarillo, Amarillo College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Amarillo College undergraduate students pay an average of $3,168 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Amarillo College Report

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#5

Tyler Junior College

Tyler, TX

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Tyler Junior College is a great value for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Tyler Junior College is a large public school located in the midsize city of Tyler.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Tyler Junior College are $3,864 per year.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Tyler Junior College Report

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With a ranking of #6, Tarrant County College District did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Fort Worth, Tarrant County College is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Tarrant County College are $3,402 a year.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Tarrant County College District

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Houston Community College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree drafting & design engineering technology programs. Located in the large city of Houston, Houston Community College is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Houston Community College are $4,344 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, design engineering tech graduates from Houston Community College carry an average student debtload of $15,837.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Houston Community College Report

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#8

Laredo College

Laredo, TX

Laredo College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree drafting & design engineering technology programs. Located in the large city of Laredo, Laredo College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Laredo College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,500 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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Texas State Technical College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree drafting & design engineering technology programs. TSTC is a large public school located in the midsize city of Waco.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at TSTC are $6,969 per year. On average, design engineering tech graduates from TSTC take out $12,809 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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

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

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Austin Community College District 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. Austin Community College District is a fairly large public school located in the city of Austin.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Austin Community College District are $8,580 a year. On average, design engineering tech graduates from Austin Community College District take out $16,915 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Colleges in the Southwest Region

Explore all the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Colleges in the Southwest Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 150
Oklahoma 240
New Mexico 46

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 10 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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