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Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

17 Colleges
$7,714 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.

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 the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 17 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for design engineering tech students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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

#1

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

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

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ridgewater College are $6,114 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, design engineering tech majors at Ridgewater College accumulate an average of around $11,004 in student debt.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Ridgewater College also is in the top 20% of our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

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A rank of #2 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 town of Norfolk, Northeast is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northeast are $5,130 per year.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Northeast Community College Report

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A rank of #3 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 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.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southeast Community College Area. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Southeast Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Lincoln.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeast Community College are $3,864 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, design engineering tech majors at Southeast Community College accumulate an average of around $16,668 in student debt.

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#5

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Hennepin Technical College is a great value for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Hennepin Technical College are $5,881 per year. The average amount in student loans that design engineering tech majors at Hennepin Technical College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $15,852.

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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 #6 on the list. Located in the town of Alexandria, ATCC is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ATCC are $6,107 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, design engineering tech majors at ATCC accumulate an average of around $13,354 in student debt.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, ATCC is ranked #5 for overall quality for design engineering tech in the Plains States Region .

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With a ranking of #7, St Cloud Technical and Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Saint Cloud, St Cloud Technical and Community College is a public school with a small student population.

St Cloud Technical and Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,075 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, design engineering tech graduates from St Cloud Technical and Community College carry an average student debtload of $11,155.

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

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With a ranking of #8, Anoka Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Anoka, Anoka Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Anoka Technical College are $6,075 a year. On average, design engineering tech graduates from Anoka Technical College take out $15,210 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Anoka Technical College Report

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Dakota County Technical College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. DCTC is a small public school located in the rural area of Rosemount.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DCTC are $6,419 per year. The average amount in student loans that design engineering tech majors at DCTC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $14,341.

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#10

Southeast Technical College

Sioux Falls, SD

Southeast Technical College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree drafting & design engineering technology programs. Southeast Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Sioux Falls.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeast Tech are $7,650 per year.

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

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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 17 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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