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Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools

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2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

89 Colleges
$5,589 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$40,874 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Associate Degree 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 Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 89 schools in the United States to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for design engineering tech students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Associate Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Drafting & Design Engineering Technology Associate Degree Schools

#1

Lee College

Baytown, TX

Our analysis found Lee College to be the best value school for drafting and design engineering technology students who want to pursue a associate degree in the United States. Lee College is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Baytown.

Lee College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,302 in tuition and fees each year.

Lee College also claimed a spot on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

#2

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN

The excellent associate degree programs at Ridgewater College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value drafting and design engineering technology schools in the United States. Located in the remote town of Willmar, Ridgewater College is a public college with a small student population.

Ridgewater College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,914 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Ridgewater College also did well on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Ridgewater College Report

#3

Tyler Junior College

Tyler, TX

Out of the 89 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Tyler Junior College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Tyler Junior College is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Tyler.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Tyler Junior College are $4,440 a year. On average, design engineering tech graduates from Tyler Junior College take out $15,433 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Tyler Junior College

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeast Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the remote town of Norfolk, Northeast is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Northeast are $5,010 a year. On average, design engineering tech graduates from Northeast take out $9,356 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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

The excellent associate degree programs at Western Iowa Tech Community College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value drafting and design engineering technology schools in the United States. Located in the city of Sioux City, Western Iowa Tech Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,826 per year.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Western Iowa Tech Community College

Southeast Community College Area ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list. Southeast Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Lincoln.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeast Community College are $3,780 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, design engineering tech majors at Southeast Community College accumulate an average of around $18,797 in student debt.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Southeast Community College also did well on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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

Waukesha County Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for drafting and design engineering technology students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. WCTC is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Pewaukee.

WCTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,603 in tuition and fees each year. Design Engineering Tech majors at WCTC take out an average of $17,832 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, WCTC also is in the top 15% of our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools ranking.

Read full report on Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Waukesha County Technical College

Fletcher Technical Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools ranking. Fletcher Technical Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Schriever.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Fletcher Technical Community College are $3,981 a year.

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SOWELA Technical Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Lake Charles, SOWELA is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SOWELA are $4,265 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, design engineering tech graduates from SOWELA carry an average student debtload of $9,173.

Read More…

With a ranking of #10, Madison Area Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drafting and design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Madison College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Madison.

Madison College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,769 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Madison College also did well on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

#11

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

Hennepin Technical College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree drafting and design engineering technology programs. Located in the suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Hennepin Technical College are $5,741 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, design engineering tech graduates from Hennepin Technical College carry an average student debtload of $26,496.

Hennepin Technical College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at Hennepin Technical College Report

With a ranking of #12, Alexandria Technical & Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for drafting and design engineering technology students working on their associate degree. Located in the remote town of Alexandria, ATCC is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ATCC are $5,910 a year. On average, design engineering tech graduates from ATCC take out $11,508 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

In addition to its great value ranking, ATCC is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools list.

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

St Cloud Technical and Community College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Saint Cloud, St Cloud Technical and Community College is a public school with a small student population.

St Cloud Technical and Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,874 in tuition and fees each year. Design Engineering Tech majors at St Cloud Technical and Community College take out an average of $15,778 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, St Cloud Technical and Community College also is in the top 5% of our Best Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools ranking.

Full Drafting & Design Engineering Technology at St Cloud Technical and Community College Report

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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 Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
14 South Louisiana Community College Lafayette, LA
15 Chippewa Valley Technical College Eau Claire, WI
16 Amarillo College Amarillo, TX
17 Alpena Community College Alpena, MI

Drafting & Design Engineering Technology by Region

View the Best Value Drafting & Design Engineering Associate Degree 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.

  • 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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