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Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

11 Colleges
$10,722 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Basic Certificate School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, drafting & design engineering technology was ranked #20 in the country. In fact 8,822 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2021-2022.

There are so many trade school programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent.

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 in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 11 schools in the Great Lakes Region 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.

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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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

Top 10 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Basic Certificate Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Chippewa Valley Technical College the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their basic certificate. Located in the small city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CVTC are $6,793 a year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, CVTC also did well on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Chippewa Valley Technical College Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Fox Valley Technical College is a great value for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their basic certificate. FVTC is a large public school located in the suburb of Appleton.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at FVTC are $6,977 per year.

FVTC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Cincinnati State is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Cincinnati.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cincinnati State are $9,558 per year.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Report

#4

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ivy Tech Community College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Ivy Tech Community College is a very large public school located in the large city of Indianapolis.

Ivy Tech Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,927 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Ivy Tech Community College also is in the top 10% of our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Ivy Tech Community College Report

#5

Owens Community College

Perrysburg, OH

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Owens Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Perrysburg, Owens State Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Owens State Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $10,022 in tuition and fees each year.

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

#6

Stark State College

North Canton, OH

Stark State College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for drafting & design engineering technology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. Stark State College is a large public school located in the suburb of North Canton.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Stark State College are $7,644 a year.

Read More…

Lewis and Clark Community College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate drafting & design engineering technology programs. Lewis and Clark Community College is a small public school located in the suburb of Godfrey.

Lewis and Clark Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $12,552 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Lewis and Clark Community College

University of Akron Main Campus landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate drafting & design engineering technology programs. University of Akron Main Campus is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Akron.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at University of Akron Main Campus are $15,500 a year.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at University of Akron Main Campus Report

Sinclair Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate drafting & design engineering technology programs. Sinclair Community College is a large public school located in the midsize city of Dayton.

Sinclair Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,316 in tuition and fees each year.

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

#10

Kent State University at Tuscarawas

New Philadelphia, OH

With a ranking of #10, Kent State University at Tuscarawas did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their basic certificate. Located in the town of New Philadelphia, Kent State University at Tuscarawas is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kent State University at Tuscarawas are $15,910 per year.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Kent State University at Tuscarawas

Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Colleges by State

Explore the best drafting & design engineering technology schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 255
Indiana 315
Wisconsin 246
Ohio 148
Illinois 339

One of 18 majors within the trade school area of study, drafting & design engineering technology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Design Engineering Tech Focus Areas

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 11 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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