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Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools

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 analysis found Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College to be the best value school for engineering technologies students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the United States. Located in the rural area of Minden, NLTCC is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NLTCC are $4,109 per year.

Full Engineering Technologies at Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College Report

#2

Panola College

Carthage, TX

The excellent basic certificate programs at Panola College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value engineering technologies schools in the United States. Located in the distant town of Carthage, Panola College is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Panola College are $4,896 per 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.

Read full report on Engineering Technologies at Panola College

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means SOWELA Technical Community College is a great value for engineering technologies students working on their basic certificate. SOWELA is a small public school located in the small city of Lake Charles.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SOWELA are $4,325 a year.

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#4

Columbia Southern University

Orange Beach, AL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Columbia Southern University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the fringe town of Orange Beach, Columbia Southern University is a private for-profit school with a large student population.

Columbia Southern University undergraduate students pay an average of $6,015 in tuition and fees each year.

Columbia Southern University also made our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list, coming in at #3.

Read full report on Engineering Technologies at Columbia Southern University

#5

Lee College

Baytown, TX

The excellent basic certificate programs at Lee College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value engineering technologies schools in the United States. Located in the small city of Baytown, Lee College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Lee College are $4,302 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Lee College also is in the top 20% of our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking.

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Bellingham Technical College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate engineering technologies programs. Located in the 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 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 #7 on the list. BSC is a small public school located in the city of Bismarck.

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

BSC also made our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list, coming in at #4.

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Northeast Community College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate engineering technologies programs. Northeast is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Norfolk.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Northeast are $5,130 a year.

Northeast excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list.

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With a ranking of #9, Western Iowa Tech Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering technologies students working on their basic certificate. Western Iowa Tech Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Sioux City.

Western Iowa Tech Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,946 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Engineering Technologies at Western Iowa Tech Community College Report

#10

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

Ridgewater College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Ridgewater College is a small public school located in the town of Willmar.

Ridgewater College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,114 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Engineering Technologies at Ridgewater College

With a ranking of #11, Fletcher Technical Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering technologies students working on their basic certificate. Located in the rural area of Schriever, Fletcher Technical Community College is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Fletcher Technical Community College are $4,119 a year.

Full Engineering Technologies at Fletcher Technical Community College Report

#12

Victoria College

Victoria, TX

With a ranking of #12, Victoria College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering technologies students working on their basic certificate. Victoria College is a small public school located in the small city of Victoria.

Victoria College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,112 in tuition and fees each year.

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Georgia Northwestern Technical College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate engineering technologies programs. 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.

In addition to its great value ranking, Georgia Northwestern Technical College is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list.

Full Engineering Technologies at Georgia Northwestern Technical College Report

#14

Tyler Junior College

Tyler, TX

Tyler Junior College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate engineering technologies programs. Located in the city of Tyler, Tyler Junior College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

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Chippewa 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 #15 on the list. Located in the small city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

CVTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,793 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, CVTC is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list.

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.

Hennepin Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,881 in tuition and fees each year.

Hennepin Technical College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list.

Read More…

#17

Amarillo College

Amarillo, TX

Amarillo College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools list. Amarillo College is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Amarillo.

Amarillo College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,704 in tuition and fees each year.

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Southwest Wisconsin Technical College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Southwest Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Fennimore.

Southwest Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $6,731 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Engineering Technologies at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Report

Fox Valley Technical College landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate engineering technologies programs. FVTC is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Appleton.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at FVTC are $6,977 per year.

FVTC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Engineering Technologies Basic Certificate Trade Schools list.

Read More…

#20

Piedmont Technical College

Greenwood, SC

Piedmont Technical College landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate engineering technologies programs. Piedmont Technical College is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Greenwood.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Piedmont Technical College are $6,593 per year.

Full Engineering Technologies at Piedmont Technical College Report

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.

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