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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.

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

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for design engineering tech majors pursuing a associate degree.

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 remote town of Willmar, Ridgewater College is a public college 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. 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 moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Northeast are $5,130 a year.

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Out of the 17 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Iowa Tech Community College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Sioux City, Western Iowa Tech Community College is a public college 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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Out of the 17 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Southeast Community College Area landed the # 4 spot on the list. Southeast Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Lincoln.

Southeast Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $3,864 in tuition and fees each 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.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Southeast Community College Area Report

#5

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

The excellent associate degree programs at Hennepin Technical College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value drafting & design engineering technology schools in the Plains States Region . 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.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Hennepin Technical College Report

With a ranking of #6, Alexandria Technical & 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 town of Alexandria, ATCC is a public college with a small student population.

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

ATCC did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list.

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

St Cloud Technical and Community College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree drafting & design engineering technology programs. Located in the small city of Saint Cloud, St Cloud Technical and Community College is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at St Cloud Technical and Community College are $6,075 a 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.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at St Cloud Technical and Community College

Anoka Technical College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large 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 excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list.

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

With a ranking of #9, Dakota County Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. DCTC is a small public school located in the rural area of Rosemount.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at DCTC are $6,419 a 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.

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

#10

Southeast Technical College

Sioux Falls, SD

Southeast Technical College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. 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.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Southeast Tech also did well 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 reviewed in this analysis.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Southeast Technical College Report

Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Colleges by State

Explore the best drafting & design engineering technology schools 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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