Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools

123 Colleges
$43,263 Avg Salary
$17,275 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology School for You

In 2020-2021, 8,964 people earned a degree or certificate in drafting and design engineering technology, making the major the #154 most popular in the United States.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 123 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Schools in the United States

Check out the design engineering tech programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 15% Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Porter and Chester Institute of Stratford the best school in the United States for drafting and design engineering technology students. Located in the city of Stratford, Porter and Chester Institute is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

While working on their degree, design engineering tech majors at Porter and Chester Institute accumulate an average of around $13,750 in student debt.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Porter and Chester Institute of Stratford

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses is a great place for drafting and design engineering technology students. Trine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Fort Wayne.

The average amount in student loans that design engineering tech majors at Trine take out is $27,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $482.

Read More…

#3

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Central Michigan University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools list. Central Michigan is a large public school located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant.

The average amount in student loans that design engineering tech majors at Central Michigan take out is $31,000.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Central Michigan University Report

#4

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ridgewater College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools list. Located in the remote town of Willmar, Ridgewater College is a public college with a small student population.

Read More…

Out of the 123 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Dunwoody College of Technology landed the # 5 spot on the list. Dunwoody College of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

After completing their degree, design engineering tech graduates from Dunwoody College of Technology carry an average student debtload of $20,000.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Dunwoody College of Technology

Waukesha County Technical College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best drafting and design engineering technology programs. WCTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Pewaukee.

On average, design engineering tech graduates from WCTC take out $14,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Waukesha County Technical College Report

Western Michigan University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for drafting and design engineering technology students. It came in at #7 on the list. WMU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Kalamazoo.

After completing their degree, design engineering tech graduates from WMU carry an average student debtload of $31,000.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Western Michigan University

Alpena Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools list. Alpena Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Alpena.

Read More…

#9

Trine University

Angola, IN

Trine University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools list. Trine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Angola.

The average amount in student loans that design engineering tech majors at Trine take out is $27,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $482.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Trine University Report

#10

Portland Community College

Portland, OR

Portland Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best drafting and design engineering technology programs. Located in the city of Portland, Portland Community College is a public college with a very large student population.

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

#11

Lee College

Baytown, TX

With a ranking of #11, Lee College did quite well on this year’s best schools for drafting and design engineering technology students. Lee College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Baytown.

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

Madison Area Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for drafting and design engineering technology students. It came in at #12 on the list. Madison College is a large public school located in the large city of Madison.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Madison Area Technical College Report

#13

Valencia College

Orlando, FL

Valencia College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools list. Valencia College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Orlando.

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

#14

Olympic College

Bremerton, WA

Olympic College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for drafting and design engineering technology students. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the small city of Bremerton, OC is a public college with a small student population.

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

Lamar Institute of Technology landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best drafting and design engineering technology programs. Lamar Institute of Technology is a small public school located in the midsize city of Beaumont.

Read More…

Rochester Institute of Technology came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Rochester, RIT is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read More…

Chippewa Valley Technical College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools ranking. CVTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Eau Claire.

Read More…

Utah Valley University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for drafting and design engineering technology students. It came in at #18 on the list. UVU is a very large public school located in the city of Orem.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Utah Valley University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Drafting & Design Engineering students that almost earned our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools award.

Rank College Location
19 Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI
20 Baton Rouge Community College Baton Rouge, LA
21 Northeast Community College Norfolk, NE
22 Western Iowa Tech Community College Sioux City, IA
23 Southeast Technical College Sioux Falls, SD
24 Alexandria Technical & Community College Alexandria, MN

Drafting & Design Engineering Technology by Region

View the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

One of 18 majors within the area of study, drafting and design engineering technology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Industrial Production Technology 11,906
Electromechanical Engineering Technology 10,593
Environmental Control Technology 8,690
Electronics Engineering Technology 8,592
Engineering-Related Fields 6,736

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • 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 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

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