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Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools in California

63 Colleges
$51,250 Avg Salary
$62,483 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology School for You

In 2021-2022, 760 degrees and certificates were awarded to drafting & design engineering technology students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #20 most popular major in the state.

It's not easy to decide which trade school program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.

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 in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 63 schools in California 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.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for design engineering tech majors pursuing a .

#1

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Academy of Art University the most popular school in California for drafting & design engineering technology students. Located in the large city of San Francisco, Academy of Art University is a private for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Academy of Art University Report

#2

The Fab School

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend The Fab School. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Rancho Cucamonga, The Fab School is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

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

#3

Butte College

Oroville, CA

The excellent programs at Butte College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best drafting & design engineering technology schools in California. Located in the rural area of Oroville, Butte College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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

#4

Ventura College

Ventura, CA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Ventura College is a great place for drafting & design engineering technology students. Ventura College is a large public school located in the midsize city of Ventura.

Read More…

#5

Sacramento City College

Sacramento, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Sacramento City College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sacramento City is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Sacramento City College

#6

Santa Ana College

Santa Ana, CA

Santa Ana College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools in California ranking. SAC is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Santa Ana.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Santa Ana College Report

Mt. San Antonio College ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools in California list. Mt. SAC is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Walnut.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Mt. San Antonio College Report

#8

Sierra College

Rocklin, CA

Sierra College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for drafting & design engineering technology students. It came in at #8 on the list. Sierra College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Rocklin.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Sierra College Report

#9

Bakersfield College

Bakersfield, CA

Bakersfield College ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Trade Schools in California list. Bakersfield College is a very large public school located in the city of Bakersfield.

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

#10

Palomar College

San Marcos, CA

Palomar College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for drafting & design engineering technology students. It came in at #10 on the list. Palomar College is a large public school located in the large suburb of San Marcos.

Read More…

Honorable Mentions

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 Trade Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
11 MiraCosta College Oceanside, CA
12 East Los Angeles College Monterey Park, CA
12 Merced College Merced, CA

Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 451
Oregon 182
Nevada 15
Alaska 6
Hawaii 38

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 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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