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2023 Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools

326 Colleges

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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 326 schools in the United States to see which basic certificate 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.

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

#1

Olympic College

Bremerton, WA

Our 2023 rankings named Olympic College the most popular school in the United States for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their basic certificate. Located in the small city of Bremerton, OC is a public school with a small student population.

Of the 208 students majoring in design engineering tech at OC, 79% are male and 21% are female.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Olympic College Report

#2

Front Range Community College

Westminster, CO

The in-demand basic certificate programs at Front Range Community College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular drafting & design engineering technology schools in the United States. Located in the suburb of Westminster, FRCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 107 students majoring in design engineering tech at FRCC, 75% are male and 25% are female.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Front Range Community College Report

#3

Valencia College

Orlando, FL

Out of the 326 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Valencia College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Valencia College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Orlando.

Of the 103 students majoring in design engineering tech at Valencia College, 71% are male and 29% are female.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Valencia College

#4

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ivy Tech Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Located in the city of Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Community College is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 92 students majoring in design engineering tech at Ivy Tech Community College, 74% are male and 26% are female.

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

#5

Lee College

Baytown, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lee College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Lee College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Baytown.

Women make up 25% of the design engineering tech majors at the school.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Lee College Report

Austin Community College District did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for drafting & design engineering technology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. Austin Community College District is a very large public school located in the city of Austin.

Of the 78 students majoring in design engineering tech at Austin Community College District, 62% are male and 38% are female.

Read More…

Portland Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Portland Community College is a large public school located in the large city of Portland.

About 32% of the students majoring in design engineering tech at the school are women while 68% are male.

Read More…

#8

Pikes Peak Community College

Colorado Springs, CO

Pikes Peak Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Colorado Springs, PPCC is a public school with a large student population.

Women make up 24% of the design engineering tech majors at the school.

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

Chattahoochee Technical College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Chattahoochee Technical College is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Marietta.

Of the 53 students majoring in design engineering tech at Chattahoochee Technical College, 64% are male and 36% are female.

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

West Kentucky Community and Technical College ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Located in the town of Paducah, West Kentucky Community and Technical College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

About 47% of the students majoring in design engineering tech at the school are women while 53% are male.

Read More…

#11

Del Mar College

Corpus Christi, TX

Del Mar College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for drafting & design engineering technology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. DMC is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Corpus Christi.

About 29% of the students majoring in design engineering tech at the school are women while 71% are male.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Del Mar College Report

Southern Union State Community College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate drafting & design engineering technology programs. Southern Union State Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Wadley.

Of the 34 students majoring in design engineering tech at Southern Union State Community College, 88% are male and 12% are female.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Southern Union State Community College Report

Hazard Community and Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for drafting & design engineering technology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the remote town of Hazard, Hazard Community and Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

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

#14

Miami Dade College

Miami, FL

Miami Dade College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate drafting & design engineering technology programs. MDC is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Miami.

Women make up 59% of the design engineering tech majors at the school.

Read More…

#15

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

With a ranking of #15, Hennepin Technical College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their basic certificate. Located in the large suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

Women make up 12% of the design engineering tech majors at the school.

Read More…

#16

Trident Technical College

Charleston, SC

Trident Technical College ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Charleston, Trident Technical College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 38% of the design engineering tech majors at the school.

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

#17

South Texas College

McAllen, TX

With a ranking of #17, South Texas College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for drafting & design engineering technology students working on their basic certificate. South Texas College is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of McAllen.

Women make up 28% of the design engineering tech majors at the school.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at South Texas College Report

#18

El Centro College

Dallas, TX

El Centro College landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate drafting & design engineering technology programs. El Centro College is a very large public school located in the city of Dallas.

Of the 35 students majoring in design engineering tech at El Centro College, 37% are male and 63% are female.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at El Centro College Report

City Colleges of Chicago - Harold Washington College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Located in the city of Chicago, Harold Washington College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Of the 57 students majoring in design engineering tech at Harold Washington College, 44% are male and 56% are female.

Read More…

Seminole State College of Florida ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Located in the city of Sanford, Seminole State is a public school with a large student population.

Women make up 22% of the design engineering tech majors at the school.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Seminole State College of Florida

Eastern Florida State College landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate drafting & design engineering technology programs. EFSC is a large public school located in the city of Melbourne.

Women make up 46% of the design engineering tech majors at the school.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Eastern Florida State College Report

#22

The Fab School

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

The Fab School landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate drafting & design engineering technology programs. The Fab School is a small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Rancho Cucamonga.

About 3% of the students majoring in design engineering tech at the school are women while 97% are male.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at The Fab School

Bluegrass Community and Technical College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Bluegrass Community and Technical College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Lexington.

About 11% of the students majoring in design engineering tech at the school are women while 89% are male.

Read More…

Red Rocks Community College landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate drafting & design engineering technology programs. Located in the midsize city of Lakewood, Red Rocks Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Women make up 24% of the design engineering tech majors at the school.

Read More…

#24

North Seattle College

Seattle, WA

North Seattle College ranked #24 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Located in the city of Seattle, North Seattle is a public school with a small student population.

Of the 3 students majoring in design engineering tech at North Seattle, 67% are male and 33% are female.

Read More…

#26

Glendale Community College

Glendale, AZ
#33

Butte College

Oroville, CA
#34

Delgado Community College

New Orleans, LA
#34

Gwinnett Technical College

Lawrenceville, GA
#38

Sierra College

Rocklin, CA
#38

Pima Community College

Tucson, AZ
#41

Central Community College

Grand Island, NE
#42

Santa Ana College

Santa Ana, CA
#45

Lanier Technical College

Gainesville, GA
#45

Ventura College

Ventura, CA

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate Trade Schools award.

Rank College Location
51 Lake Washington Institute of Technology Kirkland, WA
52 College of the Mainland Texas City, TX
53 Chippewa Valley Technical College Eau Claire, WI
53 South Georgia Technical College Americus, GA
53 Cleveland State Community College Cleveland, TN
56 Illinois Valley Community College Oglesby, IL
56 Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College Orangeburg, SC
56 Anoka Technical College Anoka, MN
56 Florida State College at Jacksonville Jacksonville, FL
60 Everett Community College Everett, WA
60 Mt. San Antonio College Walnut, CA
60 College of Lake County Grayslake, IL
60 Collin County Community College District McKinney, TX
60 Bakersfield College Bakersfield, CA
65 Northeast Community College Norfolk, NE
65 Atlanta Technical College Atlanta, GA
65 Triton College River Grove, IL
65 Big Sandy Community and Technical College Prestonsburg, KY
65 St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL
65 MiraCosta College Oceanside, CA

Drafting & Design Engineering Technology by Region

View the Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Basic Certificate 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 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.

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