Indiana·Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-3011

Best Architectural programs in Indiana, ranked by enrollment

Prepare detailed drawings of architectural and structural features of buildings or drawings and topographical relief maps used in civil engineering projects, such as highways, bridges, and public works.

9 schools in Indiana run programs that feed this job, graduating 628 people a year. The job pays a median of $60,000 in Indiana across about 2,240 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledDraftsmanCivil DrafterArchitectural DrafterComputer-Aided Drafting Designer (CAD Designer)DrafterDesignerDetailerArchitect
Graduates / yr
628
in Indiana
Median pay · Indiana
$60,000
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
2,240
people employed
Schools
9
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
52%
across those schools
Median net price
$22,269
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Indiana that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

6 programs in Indiana that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Indiana (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Indiana page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 15.0101In Indiana
231
36.8%
2$50,625$21,717
2
CIP 15.1302In Indiana
188
29.9%
3$44,946$12,992
3
CIP 15.1301In Indiana
142
22.6%
1$44,946$12,992
4
CIP 15.1303In Indiana
32
5.1%
2$44,946$12,992
5
CIP 04.0902In Indiana
31
4.9%
2$48,514$27,000
6
CIP 04.0901In Indiana
4
0.6%
1$48,514$27,000

Top 9 schools in Indiana

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 5 of the 9 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Ivy Tech Community College
Indianapolis, IN Public · 3 feeder programs
318CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician$41,46740%
2Purdue University - Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
230Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians$75,91383%50%
3Trine University
Angola, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
36CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician$65,01364%$22,26985%
4Ball State University
Muncie, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
24Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology62%85%
5Indiana University - Bloomington
Bloomington, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
7Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology80%78%
6Vincennes University
Vincennes, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
7Architectural Drafting and Architectural CAD/CADD39%
7Indiana State University
Terre Haute, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
4Architectural Technology/Technician43%81%
8Indiana University - Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
1Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians$69,34954%76%
9Trine University - Regional/Non - Traditional Campuses
Angola, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician$65,0130%$21,97640%

All 9 schools in Indiana

Every school in Indiana with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Indiana that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Ivy Tech Community CollegeIndianapolisPublic3183
Purdue University - Main CampusWest LafayettePublic2301
Trine UniversityAngolaPrivate not-for-profit361
Ball State UniversityMunciePublic241
Indiana University - BloomingtonBloomingtonPublic71
Vincennes UniversityVincennesPublic71
Indiana State UniversityTerre HautePublic41
Indiana University - IndianapolisIndianapolisPublic11
Trine University - Regional/Non - Traditional CampusesAngolaPrivate not-for-profit11

What architectural and civil drafters earn in Indiana

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Indiana
$60,000
Mean annual
$64,350
Jobs in state
2,240
What the range looks like
10th pct$43,430Median$60,00090th pct$93,560
Versus the national median
-9.3%

U.S. median $66,150. Indiana pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.05×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Indiana

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
$62,330median
980 jobs
Evansville, IN
$59,890median
100 jobs
Bloomington, IN
$52,410median
80 jobs
Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN
$58,810median
60 jobs
Fort Wayne, IN
$57,110median
160 jobs
Elkhart-Goshen, IN
$58,080median
120 jobs
Terre Haute, IN
$58,820median
40 jobs
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI
$52,790median
80 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+4.1%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
10,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
4,600
110,500 → 115,100
Typical entry education
Associate's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Architectural and Civil Drafters page.

How to become a Architectural

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Associate's degree

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingActive LearningWritingMathematicsMonitoring

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Indiana

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 9 majors mapped to Architectural and Civil Drafters9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 04.0901Architectural Technology/Technician
  • 04.0902Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology
  • 04.0999Architectural Sciences and Technology, Other
  • 15.0101Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians
  • 15.1301Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General
  • 15.1302CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician
  • 15.1303Architectural Drafting and Architectural CAD/CADD
  • 15.1304Civil Drafting and Civil Engineering CAD/CADD
  • 15.13073-D Modeling and Design Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing architectural and civil drafters programs in Indiana.

What degree do you need to become an Architectural?+

Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians, which awarded 231 degrees in Indiana in 2024-25, 36.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Architectural?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Architectural Sciences and Technology. Together they graduate about 628 people a year in Indiana.

How much do architectural and civil drafters earn in Indiana?+

The median is $60,000 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 9.3% below the U.S. median of $66,150. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for architectural and civil drafters growing?+

BLS projects a +4.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 10,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Indiana?+

9 institutions in Indiana reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do architectural and civil drafters work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Draftsman, Civil Drafter, Architectural Drafter, Computer-Aided Drafting Designer (CAD Designer) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-3011.

Architectural and Civil Drafters in other statesCaliforniaTexasNew YorkFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisMassachusettsPennsylvania

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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