Find Trade Colleges

Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Minnesota

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

7 Colleges
$8,755 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$41,027 Avg Salary

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

With 333 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022, drafting & design engineering technology is the #13 most popular major in Minnesota.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which trade school program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country.

The Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Minnesota ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 7 schools in Minnesota 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.

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 Minnesota

Check out the design engineering tech associate degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Best Minnesota Schools for Affordable Quality for an Associate in Drafting & Design Engineering

#1

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

Our 2023 rankings named Ridgewater College the best value school in Minnesota 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.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ridgewater College are $6,114 per year. On average, design engineering tech graduates from Ridgewater College take out $11,004 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Ridgewater College Report

#2

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hennepin Technical College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Minnesota list. Located in the large suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Hennepin Technical College are $5,881 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, design engineering tech majors at Hennepin Technical College accumulate an average of around $15,852 in student debt.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Alexandria Technical & Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Minnesota list. Located in the remote town of Alexandria, ATCC is a public school with a small student population.

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

ATCC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools in Minnesota list.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Cloud Technical and Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Minnesota list. Located in the small city of Saint Cloud, St Cloud Technical and Community College is a public college with a small student population.

St Cloud Technical and Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,075 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Design Engineering Tech majors at St Cloud Technical and Community College take out an average of $11,155 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Anoka Technical College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Minnesota list. Located in the suburb of Anoka, Anoka Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Anoka Technical College are $6,075 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, design engineering tech graduates from Anoka Technical College carry an average student debtload of $15,210.

Anoka Technical College also took the #5 spot in our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Trade Schools in Minnesota rankings.

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

Dakota County Technical College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools in Minnesota list. DCTC is a small public school located in the rural area of Rosemount.

DCTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,419 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, design engineering tech majors at DCTC accumulate an average of around $14,341 in student debt.

Read More…

Dunwoody College of Technology landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree drafting & design engineering technology programs. Dunwoody College of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Minneapolis.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Dunwoody College of Technology are $24,611 a year. On average, design engineering tech graduates from Dunwoody College of Technology take out $15,813 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Dunwoody College of Technology is ranked #2 for overall quality for design engineering tech in Minnesota.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Dunwoody College of Technology

Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 130
Missouri 137
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

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 7 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.

Featured Schools

Find Trade Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited trade schools across the U.S.