Find Trade Colleges
2023 Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Indiana
Today's trade school students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Indiana to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in Indiana to see which associate degree programs offered the best educational experiences for trade school students.
View our full ranking methodology.
Top Trade Associate Degree Schools in Indiana
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses to be the best school for trade school students who want to pursue a associate degree in Indiana. Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses is a small private not-for-profit school located in Angola, Indiana that handed out 15 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out Trine. Every undergraduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Full Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Purdue University - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Indiana list. Purdue University - Main Campus is a large public school located in West Lafayette, Indiana that handed out 51 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $9,992 in tuition and fees if they attend Purdue full time. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $28,794.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Purdue. During the 2020-2021 year, about 49% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Out of the 16 schools in Indiana that were part of this year’s ranking, Ivy Tech Community College landed the # 3 spot on the list. This large public school is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and it awarded 8,655 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $4,637 in tuition and fees if they attend Ivy Tech Community College full time. Out-of-state students pay an average of $8,927. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $11,835 in student loans.
Ivy Tech Community College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In 2020-2021 about 33% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Indianapolis is a great place for trade school students working on their associate degree. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 29 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees at UIndy is $34,972. In-state students do not receive a discount, however you may be able to reduce your price if you receive financial aid. Associate Degree recipients from UIndy accumulate an average of $25,711 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at UIndy. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 46% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis is a great place for trade school students working on their associate degree. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, the large public school handed out 87 associate degree awards in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from Indiana pay an average of $10,144 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend IUPUI. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $32,582. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $19,702 in student loans.
One thing to take note of is that IUPUI does offer online classes in some areas. In 2020-2021 about 62% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Indiana ranking.
With a ranking of #7, University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their associate degree. University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne is a small private not-for-profit school located in Fort Wayne, Indiana that handed out 142 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees at University of St. Francis Fort Wayne is $34,050. In-state students do not receive a discount, however you may be able to reduce your price if you receive financial aid. Associate Degree recipients from University of St. Francis Fort Wayne accumulate an average of $21,961 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since University of St. Francis Fort Wayne does offer online classes for certain majors. In fact, around 69% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Ball State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree trade school programs. Ball State is a fairly large public school situated in Muncie, Indiana. It awarded 64 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from Indiana pay an average of $10,440 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend Ball State. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $27,924. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $21,455 in student loans.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Ball State. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 50% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Purdue University Fort Wayne did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the medium-sized public school handed out 52 associate degree awards in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from Indiana pay an average of $8,985 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend PFW. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $21,573. On average, associate degree students take out $20,197 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Online courses are available at PFW, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2020-2021 about 43% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Vincennes University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree trade school programs. Vincennes University is a fairly large public school situated in Vincennes, Indiana. It awarded 1,481 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $6,654 in tuition and fees if they attend Vincennes University full time. Out-of-state students pay an average of $15,739. Associate Degree recipients from Vincennes University accumulate an average of $14,591 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Vincennes University does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 14% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
University of Southern Indiana did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in Evansville, Indiana, the medium-sized public school handed out 42 associate degree awards in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from Indiana pay an average of $9,695 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend USI. Out-of-state students pay an average of $21,740. On average, associate degree students take out $13,493 in loans while pursuing their degree.
One thing to take note of is that USI does offer online classes in some areas. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 55% took at least some of their classes online.
International Business College - Indianapolis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #12 on the list. This very small private for-profit school is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and it awarded 133 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $12,232 in student loans.
University of Evansville came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Indiana ranking.
If you want to attend UE, expect to pay an average of $41,336 in tuition and fees. Of course, this could be reduced if you receive financial aid.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at UE. In 2020-2021 about 30% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #14, Indiana University - South Bend did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their associate degree. Located in South Bend, Indiana, the small public school handed out 19 associate degree awards in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $7,941 in tuition and fees if they attend Indiana University - South Bend full time. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $21,301. Associate Degree recipients from Indiana University - South Bend accumulate an average of $16,759 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Online courses are available at Indiana University - South Bend, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 68% took at least some of their classes online.
Indiana University - Kokomo did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #15 on the list. IU Kokomo is a small public school situated in Kokomo, Indiana. It awarded 20 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at IU Kokomo is $7,941. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $21,301.
Online courses are available at IU Kokomo, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 58% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Indiana University - Northwest landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree trade school programs. This small public school is located in Gary, Indiana, and it awarded 42 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at IU Northwest is $7,941. Out-of-state students pay an average of $21,301. On average, associate degree students take out $17,923 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Online courses are available at IU Northwest, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 75% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
View Best Trade Associate Degree Schools Nationwide >
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 16 schools only.
References
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.