Find Trade Colleges

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

138 Colleges
$5,518 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate School for You

Engineering Technologies is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 4th of all the majors we analyze. In 2021-2022, 84,036 degrees and certificates were awarded to students with this major.

Today's trade school students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools ranking. This report analyzed 138 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value basic certificate programs for engineering tech students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools in the United States

Check out the engineering tech basic certificate programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 15% Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College the best value school in the United States for engineering technologies students working on their basic certificate. Located in the rural area of Minden, NLTCC is a public college with a fairly small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NLTCC are $4,109 a year.

Full Engineering Technologies at Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College Report

#2

Panola College

Carthage, TX

Out of the 138 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Panola College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the distant town of Carthage, Panola College is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Panola College are $4,896 a year.

Panola College also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 1% of all schools in this category.

Full Engineering Technologies at Panola College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend SOWELA Technical Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools list. SOWELA is a small public school located in the small city of Lake Charles.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SOWELA are $4,325 per year.

Full Engineering Technologies at SOWELA Technical Community College Report

#4

Columbia Southern University

Orange Beach, AL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia Southern University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the fringe town of Orange Beach, Columbia Southern University is a private for-profit college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Columbia Southern University are $6,015 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Columbia Southern University is ranked #3 for overall quality for engineering tech in the United States.

Read More…

#5

Lee College

Baytown, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Lee College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the small city of Baytown, Lee College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lee College are $4,302 per year.

Lee College also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Engineering Technologies at Lee College

Bellingham Technical College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Bellingham, Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute are $5,357 per year.

Read full report on Engineering Technologies at Bellingham Technical College

#7

Bismarck State College

Bismarck, ND

Bismarck State College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools list. BSC is a small public school located in the small city of Bismarck.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at BSC are $7,227 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, BSC is ranked #4 for overall quality for engineering tech in the United States.

Read More…

Northeast Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Northeast is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Norfolk.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northeast are $5,130 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Northeast also did well on our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Engineering Technologies at Northeast Community College

Western Iowa Tech Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering technologies students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Western Iowa Tech Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Sioux City.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,946 per year.

Read More…

#10

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

Ridgewater College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools list. Ridgewater College is a small public school located in the town of Willmar.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ridgewater College are $6,114 a year.

Full Engineering Technologies at Ridgewater College Report

Fletcher Technical Community College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the rural area of Schriever, Fletcher Technical Community College is a public school with a small student population.

Fletcher Technical Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,119 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Engineering Technologies at Fletcher Technical Community College

#12

Victoria College

Victoria, TX

Victoria College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering technologies students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #12 on the list. Victoria College is a small public school located in the city of Victoria.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Victoria College are $5,112 a year.

Full Engineering Technologies at Victoria College Report

With a ranking of #13, Georgia Northwestern Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering technologies students working on their basic certificate. Georgia Northwestern Technical College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Rome.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Georgia Northwestern Technical College are $5,512 a year.

Georgia Northwestern Technical College also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

#14

Tyler Junior College

Tyler, TX

With a ranking of #14, Tyler Junior College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering technologies students working on their basic certificate. Located in the medium-sized city of Tyler, Tyler Junior College is a public college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Tyler Junior College are $4,440 per year.

Read More…

Chippewa Valley Technical College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CVTC are $6,793 per year.

CVTC also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

Full Engineering Technologies at Chippewa Valley Technical College Report

#16

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

Hennepin Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering technologies students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #16 on the list. Hennepin Technical College is a small public school located in the large suburb of Brooklyn Park.

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

Hennepin Technical College also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Engineering Technologies at Hennepin Technical College

#17

Amarillo College

Amarillo, TX

With a ranking of #17, Amarillo College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering technologies students working on their basic certificate. Amarillo College is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Amarillo.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Amarillo College are $4,704 a year.

Read full report on Engineering Technologies at Amarillo College

Southwest Wisconsin Technical College landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate engineering technologies programs. Southwest Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Fennimore.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Southwest Tech are $6,731 a year.

Read full report on Engineering Technologies at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College

Fox Valley Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering technologies students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #19 on the list. FVTC is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Appleton.

FVTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,977 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, FVTC also is in the top 5% of our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking.

Full Engineering Technologies at Fox Valley Technical College Report

#20

Piedmont Technical College

Greenwood, SC

Piedmont Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering technologies students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #20 on the list. Piedmont Technical College is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Greenwood.

Piedmont Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,593 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Engineering Technologies at Piedmont Technical College

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools award.

Rank College Location
21 Anoka Technical College Anoka, MN
22 South Louisiana Community College Lafayette, LA
23 Waukesha County Technical College Pewaukee, WI
24 San Jacinto Community College Pasadena, TX
24 South Central College North Mankato, MN
26 Danville Community College Danville, VA
27 Portland Community College Portland, OR

Engineering Technologies by Region

View the Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate 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

Engineering Tech Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Industrial Production Technology 11,288
Electromechanical Engineering Technology 10,780
Environmental Control Technology 9,376
Drafting & Design Engineering Technology 8,822
Electronics Engineering Technology 8,347
Engineering-Related Fields 6,553
Mechanical Engineering Technology 6,205
Construction Engineering Technology 4,299
General Engineering Technology 3,841
Quality Control Technology 3,720
Computer Engineering Technology 3,509
Engineering Technology (Other) 1,907
Energy Systems Technologies 1,277
Architectural Engineering Technology 1,239
Civil Engineering Technology 1,155
Engineering-Related Technologies 969
Mining & Petroleum Technology 410
Nuclear Engineering Technology 235
Nanotechnology 104

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 KUKA Systems GmbH.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Trade Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited trade schools across the U.S.