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Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools

2023 Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools

623 Colleges
$43,409 Avg Salary
$18,123 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology 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 Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 623 schools in the United States to see which programs were the most popular for trade school students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Drafting & Design Engineering Technology program at each school on the list.

Check out the design engineering tech programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.

#1

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

Our 2023 rankings named Ivy Tech Community College the most popular school in the United States for drafting & design engineering technology students. Located in the city of Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Community College is a public school with a very large student population.

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#2

Olympic College

Bremerton, WA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Olympic College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools list. Located in the small city of Bremerton, OC is a public college with a small student population.

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The excellent programs at San Jacinto Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best drafting & design engineering technology schools in the United States. San Jacinto College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Pasadena.

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#4

Front Range Community College

Westminster, CO

The excellent programs at Front Range Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best drafting & design engineering technology schools in the United States. Located in the large suburb of Westminster, FRCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Austin Community College District. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools list. Austin Community College District is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Austin.

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#6

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, CA

Academy of Art University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular drafting & design engineering technology programs. Academy of Art University is a moderately-sized private for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

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Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools list. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Perkinston.

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#8

Valencia College

Orlando, FL

Valencia College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular drafting & design engineering technology programs. Valencia College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Orlando.

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#9

Lee College

Baytown, TX

With a ranking of #9, Lee College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for drafting & design engineering technology students. Lee College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Baytown.

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#10

El Centro College

Dallas, TX

With a ranking of #10, El Centro College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for drafting & design engineering technology students. El Centro College is a very large public school located in the large city of Dallas.

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#11

Portland Community College

Portland, OR

Portland Community College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular drafting & design engineering technology programs. Portland Community College is a large public school located in the large city of Portland.

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#12

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

Hennepin Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for drafting & design engineering technology students. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

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Chattahoochee Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for drafting & design engineering technology students. It came in at #13 on the list. Chattahoochee Technical College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Marietta.

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Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular drafting & design engineering technology programs. WSU Tech is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Wichita.

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#15

Pikes Peak Community College

Colorado Springs, CO

Pikes Peak Community College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Colorado Springs, PPCC is a public school with a large student population.

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Southern Union State Community College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools ranking. Southern Union State Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Wadley.

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West Kentucky Community and Technical College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools ranking. Located in the town of Paducah, West Kentucky Community and Technical College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

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#18

South Texas College

McAllen, TX

South Texas College ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools list. South Texas College is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of McAllen.

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#19

Central Community College

Grand Island, NE

Central Community College landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular drafting & design engineering technology programs. Located in the city of Grand Island, Central Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

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Eastern Florida State College landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular drafting & design engineering technology programs. EFSC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Melbourne.

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Bluegrass Community and Technical College ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools list. Bluegrass Community and Technical College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Lexington.

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Hazard Community and Technical College landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular drafting & design engineering technology programs. Located in the town of Hazard, Hazard Community and Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

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#23

Del Mar College

Corpus Christi, TX

Del Mar College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for drafting & design engineering technology students. It came in at #23 on the list. DMC is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Corpus Christi.

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New York City College of Technology ranked #24 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools list. Located in the large city of Brooklyn, City Tech is a public school with a large student population.

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#25

Pima Community College

Tucson, AZ

With a ranking of #25, Pima Community College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for drafting & design engineering technology students. Located in the city of Tucson, Pima County Community College District is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#28

Oakland Community College

Auburn Hills, MI
#29

Miami Dade College

Miami, FL
#31

Trine University

Angola, IN
#31

Glendale Community College

Glendale, AZ
#31

Trident Technical College

Charleston, SC
#50

North Seattle College

Seattle, WA

Remaining Award Winners

This section shows the remainder of the schools awarded a Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 623 different United States drafting & design engineering technology schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
50 Elgin Community College Elgin, IL
50 Southern Regional Technical College Thomasville, GA
50 Delgado Community College New Orleans, LA
55 Fox Valley Technical College Appleton, WI
55 Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City Kansas City, MO
57 Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids, MI
57 Indian Capital Technology Center, Muskogee Muskogee, OK
57 The Fab School Rancho Cucamonga, CA
60 Butte College Oroville, CA
60 Montgomery College Rockville, MD
62 University of Arkansas Community College - Morrilton Morrilton, AR
62 Ventura College Ventura, CA
64 Renton Technical College Renton, WA
65 Sacramento City College Sacramento, CA
65 Chemeketa Community College Salem, OR
67 SOWELA Technical Community College Lake Charles, LA
68 Santa Ana College Santa Ana, CA
68 Hinds Community College Raymond, MS
68 Mt. San Antonio College Walnut, CA
71 Queensborough Community College Bayside, NY
71 Liceo de Arte y Tecnologia San Juan, PR
71 College of the Mainland Texas City, TX
71 Porter and Chester Institute of Stratford Bridgeport, CT
71 Chippewa Valley Technical College Eau Claire, WI
71 Sierra College Rocklin, CA
77 Macomb Community College Warren, MI
77 Minnesota State College Southeast Winona, MN
77 Metropolitan Community College Omaha, NE
77 William Rainey Harper College Palatine, IL
77 Northland Community and Technical College Thief River Falls, MN
77 Bakersfield College Bakersfield, CA
83 Columbus State Community College Columbus, OH
83 Lanier Technical College Gainesville, GA
83 Des Moines Area Community College Ankeny, IA
83 Ashland Community and Technical College Ashland, KY
83 Spokane Community College Spokane, WA
88 William T McFatter Technical College Davie, FL
88 Palomar College San Marcos, CA
88 Brazosport College Lake Jackson, TX
88 Waukesha County Technical College Pewaukee, WI
92 Paris Junior College Paris, TX
92 St Cloud Technical and Community College Saint Cloud, MN
92 MiraCosta College Oceanside, CA

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional popular schools for Drafting & Design Engineering students that almost earned our Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools award.

Rank College Location
95 SUNY Delhi Delhi, NY
95 Island Drafting and Technical Institute Amityville, NY
97 Big Sandy Community and Technical College Prestonsburg, KY
97 Ozarks Technical Community College Springfield, MO
97 Honolulu Community College Honolulu, HI
97 Everett Community College Everett, WA
97 South Georgia Technical College Americus, GA
102 Dunwoody College of Technology Minneapolis, MN
102 New Mexico State University - Dona Ana Las Cruces, NM
102 East Carolina University Greenville, NC
102 Lakeshore Technical College Cleveland, WI
102 Alamance Community College Graham, NC
102 Collin County Community College District McKinney, TX
108 College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL
108 Illinois Valley Community College Oglesby, IL
108 Century College White Bear Lake, MN
108 Technical College of the Rockies Delta, CO
108 Lamar Institute of Technology Beaumont, TX
113 South Puget Sound Community College Olympia, WA
113 Community College of Baltimore County Baltimore, MD
113 Eastern Arizona College Thatcher, AZ
113 Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN
113 St Charles Community College Cottleville, MO
113 Davis Technical College Kaysville, UT
113 Canadian Valley Technology Center El Reno, OK
113 Thomas Nelson Community College Hampton, VA
113 Moraine Park Technical College Fond du Lac, WI
113 Alvin Community College Alvin, TX
113 Henry Ford College Dearborn, MI
113 Lane Community College Eugene, OR
113 Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College Orangeburg, SC

Drafting & Design Engineering Technology by Region

View the Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade 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 26 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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