Find Trade Colleges

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

52 Colleges
$6,906 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Basic Certificate 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 Basic Certificate Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 52 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value basic certificate 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 Basic Certificate Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Basic Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Basic Certificate Schools

#1

Lee College

Baytown, TX

Our analysis found Lee College to be the best value school for drafting & design engineering technology students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the United States. Lee College is a medium-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.

Lee College also claimed a spot on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

#2

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

Out of the 52 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 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.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Ridgewater College Report

Out of the 52 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeast Community College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the remote town of Norfolk, Northeast is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

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

Northeast also claimed a spot on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Northeast Community College Report

#4

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Hennepin Technical College is a great value for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their basic certificate. 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.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Hennepin Technical College also is in the top 20% of our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking.

Read More…

#5

Tyler Junior College

Tyler, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Tyler Junior College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools list. Tyler Junior College is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Tyler.

Tyler Junior College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,440 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Georgia Northwestern Technical College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the city of Rome, Georgia Northwestern Technical College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Georgia Northwestern Technical College are $5,512 a year.

Georgia Northwestern Technical College also claimed a spot on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

Chippewa Valley Technical College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools list. CVTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Eau Claire.

CVTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,793 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, CVTC also did well on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

SOWELA Technical Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the small city of Lake Charles, SOWELA is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SOWELA are $4,325 per year.

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

#9

Amarillo College

Amarillo, TX

Amarillo College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Amarillo, Amarillo College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Amarillo College are $4,704 per year.

Read More…

Anoka Technical College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Anoka, Anoka Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Anoka Technical College are $6,075 per year.

Anoka Technical College also claimed a spot on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

Drafting & Design Engineering Technology by Region

View the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate 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.

Featured Schools

Find Trade Schools Near You

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