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Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

8 Colleges
$6,303 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.

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.

The Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 8 schools in the Plains States Region to see which basic certificate programs offered the best value experiences for design engineering tech students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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 Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States 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.

Best Plains States Region Schools for Affordable Quality for an Award Taking Less Than 1 Year in Drafting & Design Engineering

#1

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

Our analysis found Ridgewater College to be the best value school for drafting & design engineering technology students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the Plains States Region . Located in the remote town of Willmar, Ridgewater College is a public school 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.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northeast Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the town of Norfolk, Northeast is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Northeast undergraduate students pay an average of $5,130 in tuition and fees each year.

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

#3

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

The excellent basic certificate programs at Hennepin Technical College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value drafting & design engineering technology schools in the Plains States Region . Located in the large suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Hennepin Technical College are $5,881 a year.

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

Out of the 8 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Anoka Technical College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Anoka, Anoka Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

Anoka Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,075 in tuition and fees each year.

Anoka Technical College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Anoka Technical College Report

#5

Central Community College

Grand Island, NE

Out of the 8 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Community College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Grand Island, Central Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Central Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,710 in tuition and fees each year.

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#6

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, IA

Kirkwood Community 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. Kirkwood Community College is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Cedar Rapids.

Kirkwood Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,604 in tuition and fees each year.

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Western Dakota Technical Institute ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Western Dakota Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Rapid City.

Western Dakota Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $8,333 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Western Dakota Technical Institute Report

Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology 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 #8 on the list. WSU Tech is a medium-sized public school located in the rural area of Wichita.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WSU Tech are $6,578 per year.

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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 8 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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