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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

10 Colleges
$5,901 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$34,865 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Undergraduate 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 Undergraduate 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. This report analyzed 10 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best value undergraduate 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. 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 Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

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

Top 10 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Undergraduate Certificate Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Western Iowa Tech Community College the best value school in the Plains States Region for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their undergraduate certificate. Located in the small city of Sioux City, Western Iowa Tech Community College is a public school with a medium-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.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Western Iowa Tech Community College

Out of the 10 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeast Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the town of Norfolk, Northeast is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northeast are $5,130 per year. Design Engineering Tech majors at Northeast take out an average of $7,206 in student loans while working on their Undergraduate Certificate.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Northeast Community College Report

#3

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

The excellent undergraduate certificate programs at Ridgewater 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 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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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Anoka Technical College is a great value for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their undergraduate certificate. Located in the suburb of Anoka, Anoka Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

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

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

#5

Central Community College

Grand Island, NE

The excellent undergraduate certificate programs at Central Community 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 small city of Grand Island, Central Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Central Community College are $4,710 a year.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Central Community College Report

St Cloud Technical and Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for drafting & design engineering technology students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the small city of Saint Cloud, St Cloud Technical and Community College is a public school with a small student population.

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

St Cloud Technical and Community College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Undergraduate Certificate Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list.

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#7

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

Hennepin Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for drafting & design engineering technology students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. 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.

Hennepin Technical College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Undergraduate Certificate Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Hennepin Technical College Report

#8

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, IA

With a ranking of #8, Kirkwood Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their undergraduate certificate. 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.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Kirkwood Community College Report

Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate drafting & design engineering technology programs. 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.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology

With a ranking of #10, Des Moines Area Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their undergraduate certificate. DMACC is a very large public school located in the suburb of Ankeny.

DMACC undergraduate students pay an average of $10,680 in tuition and fees each year.

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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 10 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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