Associate's · Wichita, Kansas

Is Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians at Wichita State University-Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $53,714; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $47,715; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: Not enough borrowers to report; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $22k (likely $22k – $29k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $10k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in KS; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.3 years (likely 1.4–6.3); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$756 (likely −$68k – $71k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $81k (likely −$47k – $222k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 47%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26