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Texas Welding Schools · 2026

Best Welding Schools in Texas

We ranked all 39 welding schools in Texas that award college credentials, using federal data on program size, tuition, and completion, then checked each college's current welding page. These are the 10 strongest places to train.

By the Best Welding School editorial teamUpdated September 24, 2026How we ranked

Two welding students in helmets at a workbench, one guiding a MIG torch while the other watches the joint
Photo: Jeswin Thomas / Pexels

What Are the Best Welding Schools in Texas?

  • Lee College in Baytown ranks first among welding schools in Texas: the strongest completion record of any ranked college, a busy welding shop, and a separate welding inspection certificate.
  • San Jacinto College (Pasadena) and Texarkana College (Texarkana) round out the top three.
  • Texas State Technical College runs the largest program, with 588 welding certificates and degrees awarded in 2024–25.
  • Resident tuition at the best welding schools in Texas runs from $1,863 (Tarrant County College) to $7,212 a year. Texas welders earn a median $53,340 (BLS, May 2025).

Compare the Top 10 Texas Welding Schools

Tuition is the 2024–25 resident rate for a full-time year. Welding awards are the certificates and associate degrees each college conferred in 2024–25.

#CollegeTuitionWelding awardsGraduation rate
1Lee College, ranked #1Baytown$2,520182155 cert · 27 assoc53%
2San Jacinto College, ranked #2Pasadena$2,490534511 cert · 23 assoc30%
3Texarkana College, ranked #3Texarkana$2,47610398 cert · 5 assoc47%
4Texas State Technical College, ranked #4Waco$7,212588487 cert · 101 assoc46%
5Tarrant County College, ranked #5Fort Worth$1,8638166 cert · 15 assoc34%
6Dallas College, ranked #6Dallas$2,730185162 cert · 23 assoc32%
7Panola College, ranked #7Carthage$2,352128127 cert · 1 assoc43%
8Collin College, ranked #8Allen$2,014189149 cert · 40 assoc20%
9Houston City College, ranked #9Houston$2,040239220 cert · 19 assoc17%
10Odessa College, ranked #10Odessa$2,688128112 cert · 16 assoc37%

Source: NCES College Navigator (IPEDS), retrieved September 24, 2026. Graduation rates are college-wide; see how we ranked for cohorts.

Best Welding Programs in Texas for Your Situation

Pick from the ranked welding programs in Texas by the thing that matters most to you, or by where you live.

Welding Schools by What Matters Most

Lowest TuitionTarrant County College$1,863 a year, in-districtLargest Welding ProgramTexas State Technical College588 welding certificates and degrees in 2024–25Most Welding Associate DegreesTexas State Technical College101 welding associate degrees in 2024–25Strongest Completion RecordLee College53% college-wide graduation rate

Welding Schools by Region

The 10 Best Welding Schools in Texas for 2026

All ten welding programs in Texas below are run by public community and technical colleges. Each card shows the numbers that matter, then what sets the school apart.

How to read each card: tuition and fees are the lowest 2024–25 rate for a full-time resident (in-district unless marked), with the out-of-state rate and the books estimate beside it. Certificates and associate degrees are welding credentials the college conferred in 2024–25. Completion is the college-wide federal graduation rate within 150% of normal time. Figures come from NCES College Navigator; program details come from each college's own welding page, checked September 24, 2026.

BaytownPublic, 2-year

1Lee College, Baytown, Texas

Offers an associate degree and 4 certificates in welding

  • Associate Degree
  • Pipe Welding
Tuition / year
$2,520
in-district, 2024–25
Welding awards
182
conferred 2024–25

Lee College pairs a busy Baytown welding shop with the best graduation rate among the ten colleges ranked here. It's also one of the few Texas programs where you can move from welding into inspection: its Welding Inspection certificate adds nondestructive testing courses and ends with a Certified Welding Inspector exam-prep class. That's a real advantage in the refinery and petrochemical corridor east of Houston.

  • Awards: Industrial Welding Technology AAS, plus certificates in Industrial Welding Technology, Structural Welder, Combination Welder, and Welding Inspection.
  • Pipe welding runs from introductory through advanced, alongside SMAW, GMAW, FCAW, and GTAW, blueprint reading, metallurgy, and welding codes.
  • The Welding Inspection certificate covers film interpretation, liquid penetrant and magnetic particle testing, ultrasonics, and Certified Welding Inspector exam preparation.

Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Fabrication

PasadenaPublic, 4-year

2San Jacinto Community College, Pasadena, Texas

Offers an associate degree, 4 certificates and one other award in welding

  • Associate Degree
  • Pipe Welding
Tuition / year
$2,490
in-district, 2024–25
Welding awards
534
conferred 2024–25

San Jac conferred more welding certificates in 2024–25 than any other Texas college, and its credential ladder has many rungs: a 3-month TIG award, 6-month certificates, an 18-month Industrial Welder certificate, and a two-year AAS. You can start small, get hired, and come back for the next level. It trains on carbon and stainless plate and pipe in all positions at two campuses.

  • Welding Technology AAS, 60 credits (four full-time terms); Industrial Welder Level 2 certificate, 42 credits.
  • Combination Welder and Gas Shielded Welding certificates, 24 credits each (about six months); GTAW (TIG) Welder skills award, 12 credits (about three months).
  • Also offers an Art-Welding certificate in metal sculpture and CNC fabrication.

Teaches TIG · Pipe · Fabrication

TexarkanaPublic, 2-year

3Texarkana College, Texarkana, Texas

Offers an associate degree, 2 certificates and one other award in welding

  • Evening Classes
  • Associate Degree
Tuition / year
$2,476
in-district, 2024–25
Welding awards
103
conferred 2024–25

Texarkana College is a good fit if you're working while you train. It runs day and night sections, blends online and shop time, and teaches students individually, so people in the same shop can work on different skills at their own pace. It adds Lincoln VRTEX 360 virtual welding simulators for practice, and the college's graduation rate is among the highest on this list.

  • Welding AAS, 60 semester credit hours; one-year certificate, 42 hours; one-semester Welder's Helper certificate, 15 hours.
  • The college says the welding course takes three semesters, or twelve months, to complete.
  • Two training sites: the main campus at 2500 North Robison Road and TexAmericas.

Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication

AbilenePublic, 2-year

4Texas State Technical College, Abilene, Texas

Offers an associate degree and 3 certificates in welding

  • Evening Classes
  • Associate Degree
Tuition / year
$7,212
in-state, 2024–25
Welding awards
588
conferred 2024–25

TSTC conferred more welding certificates and degrees in 2024–25 than any other Texas college, and it teaches welding at about a dozen locations, from Harlingen to Marshall to Abilene. Its associate degree finishes in 16 months. TSTC also advertises a Money-Back Guarantee: a job offer within six months of graduation or a tuition refund. Read the conditions before you count on it. The trade-off is price: TSTC has no in-district rate, so resident tuition is higher than at a community college near your home.

  • Welding Technology AAS in about 16 months; Structural Welding certificate in about 12 months; Advanced Pipe and Advanced Processes certificates in about 16 months.
  • The AAS is offered at Abilene, Fort Bend County, Harlingen, North Texas, Waco, and Williamson County.
  • Classes run in person or hybrid, with day and night options.

Teaches Pipe

Fort WorthPublic, 2-year

5Tarrant County College District, Fort Worth, Texas

Offers an associate degree and 2 certificates in welding

  • Lowest Tuition in TX
  • Associate Degree
Tuition / year
$1,863
in-district, 2024–25
Welding awards
81
conferred 2024–25

TCC is the most affordable place on this list to train if you live in Tarrant County, and it publishes exact 2026–27 totals for each welding award. Its two short certificates cover the core processes and cutting, and the AAS is aimed at welders who want to move into inspection or supervision.

  • 2026–27 in-county tuition and fees: AAS $4,440; Welding Basic certificate $1,628; Welding Advanced certificate $1,480. Textbooks and materials are extra.
  • Welding Technology AAS, 60 credit hours; Basic certificate, 22 credit hours; Advanced certificate, 20 credit hours.
  • Covers pipe welding, SMAW, GTAW, GMAW, FCAW, plasma and oxyfuel cutting, and structural plate and pipe layout.

Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Cutting

MesquitePublic, 4-year

6Dallas College, Mesquite, Texas

Offers an associate degree and 5 certificates in welding

  • Associate Degree
  • Pipe Welding
Tuition / year
$2,730
in-district, 2024–25
Welding awards
185
conferred 2024–25

Dallas College has more welding credential options than any other college on this list: single-process certificates for stick, MIG, or TIG that take about eight months, four-month skills awards, and a Welding Applications AAS with a choice of Multiple Processes, Pipe Welding and Fitting, or Fabrication. The college says most required learning materials are included in tuition, which makes budgeting simpler.

  • Welding Applications AAS, 60 credit hours, with three specializations: Multiple Processes Welding, Pipe Welding and Fitting, or Fabrication.
  • Credit certificates in GMAW, GTAW, and SMAW (about eight months each), plus Structural Welding and a four-month Rising Welder certificate.
  • Taught at Eastfield (Mesquite), Mountain View (Oak Cliff), and North Lake (Irving).

Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Fabrication

CarthagePublic, 2-year

7Panola College, Carthage, Texas

Offers an associate degree, 2 certificates and 3 other awards in welding

  • AWS Testing
  • Associate Degree
Tuition / year
$2,352
in-district, 2024–25
Welding awards
128
conferred 2024–25

Panola is a small East Texas college with a serious pipe program. It names the codes students test to, AWS D1.1 for structural work and ASME Section IX for combination pipe, and the department chair is a Certified Welding Inspector. Short pipe and structural skills awards let you stack credentials quickly, a good match for pipeline and oilfield work in the region.

  • Welding Technology AAS, 60 credits; Basic and Intermediate Welding certificates, 16 credits each.
  • Skills awards in Advanced Pipe Welding (11 credits), Multi-Process Pipe Welding (12 credits), and Multi-Process Structural Welding (12 credits).
  • The department lists welding certifications in AWS D1.1 and combination pipe certifications under ASME Section IX.

Teaches Pipe

AllenPublic, 4-year

8Collin County Community College District, Allen, Texas

Offers an associate degree and 3 certificates in welding

  • Evening Classes
  • Weekend Classes
Tuition / year
$2,014
in-district, 2024–25
Welding awards
189
conferred 2024–25

Collin is built for people who can only train on weekends. Its welding program runs as a full-time cohort with four fixed schedules: morning, afternoon, evening, or Saturday–Sunday. Training goes beyond the basics into robotic, sub-arc, and aerospace welding, all at one dedicated technical campus in Allen.

  • Welding AAS, 60 credit hours; Welding Technology Level 2 certificate, 45 hours; Welding Fabrication certificate, 31 hours; Entry Welding certificate, 16 hours.
  • Schedules: mornings, afternoons, or evenings Monday–Thursday, or weekends Saturday–Sunday 7 a.m.–4:50 p.m.
  • All welding courses meet at the Collin College Technical Campus, 2550 Bending Branch Way, Allen.

Teaches Fabrication · Robotic

HoustonPublic, 4-year

9Houston Community College, Houston, Texas

Offers an associate degree and 3 certificates in welding

  • AWS Testing
  • Associate Degree
Tuition / year
$2,040
in-district, 2024–25
Welding awards
239
conferred 2024–25

Houston City College, formerly Houston Community College, builds its degree on the American Welding Society's SENSE training standards and offers a dedicated Welding Automation certificate in robotic arm programming. Its entry-level Structural Welding certificate is taught at six campuses across the city, so it's easy to find one near home.

  • Welding Technology AAS, 60 credits, about two years full time, at the Eastside Campus.
  • Combination Pipe Welding certificate, 36 credits (three semesters); Structural Welding and Welding Automation certificates, 24 credits each (two semesters).
  • Structural Welding is offered at Central, South, North Forest, Alief Bissonnet, Eastside, and Stafford campuses; Welding Automation is also available hybrid.

Teaches Pipe · Robotic

OdessaPublic, 4-year

10Odessa College, Odessa, Texas

Offers an associate degree and a certificate in welding

  • AWS Testing
  • Associate Degree
Tuition / year
$2,688
in-district, 2024–25
Welding awards
128
conferred 2024–25

Odessa College serves the Permian Basin, and it removes a cost most welding students pay: it supplies its NC3 curriculum to welding students free, so books cost nothing. Beyond the degree, it offers AWS Certified Welding Inspector, Educator, and Supervisor exam prep through continuing education, and it will train at an employer's own site.

  • Welding AAS, 60 credit hours; General Welder Level I certificate, 24 credit hours.
  • Covers SMAW, GMAW, GTAW, and FCAW, pipe welding, metallurgy, inspection and quality control, with welding automation and internship options.
  • Courses run in 16-week terms.

Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Fabrication · Inspection

Tuition, welding awards and completion: NCES College Navigator. Programs: each school's own welding page. The ranking method is below.

Other welding schools in Texas that scored well: Austin Community College District (Austin), Tyler Junior College (Tyler), Kilgore College (Kilgore), Paris Junior College (Paris), Lamar Institute of Technology (Beaumont).

How We Ranked Texas Welding Schools

We started with every Texas college that reported welding awards (CIP 48.0508, Welding Technology/Welder) to the U.S. Department of Education: 39 welding schools in Texas in all. Each college got a percentile score on four measures, weighted as shown. Only welding programs in Texas whose current official page we read made the published list.

  1. 35%
    Welding program size

    Total welding certificates and associate degrees conferred in 2024–25 (CIP 48.0508). Larger programs usually run more sections, labs, and start dates.

  2. 25%
    Cost

    Lowest published resident tuition and fees for 2024–25, usually the in-district rate. Lower is better.

  3. 25%
    Completion

    Institution-wide graduation rate within 150% of normal time for full-time, first-time students. It covers the whole college, not welding alone.

  4. 15%
    Credential ladder

    Full credit when the college awarded both welding certificates and at least five welding associate degrees in 2024–25, half credit for fewer associate degrees.

Graduation rates follow the federal definition. Two-year colleges report students who started in fall 2021 and finished within three years. Colleges that also grant bachelor's degrees report the fall 2018 group over six years. Neither rate is specific to welding, so it carries a quarter of the score, not more.

Federal data can't measure instructor quality, lab equipment, or employer relationships. Visit the shop at any of these welding schools in Texas before you enroll.

Welding Classes in Texas: Certificate or Associate Degree?

A welder in a harness and helmet stick-welding a steel beam outdoors as sparks fall
Structural work usually calls for stick (SMAW) and flux-core (FCAW) skills. Photo: Cesar A. Ramirez Vallejo / Pexels

Most students taking welding classes in Texas choose between a short certificate and a two-year Associate of Applied Science. The ranked colleges conferred 2,087 welding certificates and 270 associate degrees in 2024–25, so most students take the certificate route.

Choose a Certificate if You Want to Start Working Soon

A certificate focuses almost entirely on shop time: stick, MIG, flux-core, and TIG, plus cutting and blueprint reading. It's the right fit if you want entry-level fabrication, construction, or shop work, and plan to build certifications on the job.

Choose an Associate Degree if You Want Room to Move Up

The AAS adds advanced processes such as pipe welding, metallurgy, inspection, and general education courses. It takes longer and costs more in total, but it suits students aiming for pipe work, quality control, inspection, or supervision.

Plan for Welding Certification Either Way

Many employers test you on their own weld procedure before they hire you. An AWS Certified Welder test is a portable proof of skill you can take at an accredited test facility. Ask each college whether it hosts testing and whether the test fee is included.

Welder Salary in Texas: What Welders Make

Texas employs about 52,000 welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers, more than any other state and about twice as many as California. The median wage is $53,340 a year, or $25.64 an hour, close to the national median of $53,750.

The spread matters more than the median. A new welder typically starts toward the lower end. Where you go from there depends on the processes and positions you can pass tests in, the industry you work in, and your experience.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers (SOC 51-4121).

Texas Welding Schools FAQ

How Much Do Welding Schools in Texas Cost?

At the ten best welding schools in Texas ranked here, 2024–25 tuition and fees for a full-time year ranged from $1,863 to $7,212 for residents, before books, tools, and gear. Most community colleges charge the lowest rate to residents of their taxing district. Texas State Technical College has no district rate, which is why its figure is higher.

How Long Do Welding Programs in Texas Take?

Most welding programs in Texas offer a short certificate and a longer degree. A short certificate usually takes two or three semesters of full-time study. An Associate of Applied Science in welding usually takes about two years because it adds general education and more advanced lab work. Check the exact credit hours on the college's program page; the ranked cards list them where the college publishes them.

Can I Take Welding Classes in Texas at Night or on Weekends?

Yes. Collin College runs a Saturday–Sunday welding cohort in Allen, Texarkana College offers day and night sections, and TSTC lists day and night classes. Evening and weekend welding classes in Texas fill quickly, so ask about the next start date early.

Do I Need a Degree to Get a Welding Job in Texas?

No. Employers hire on skill, and many ask you to pass a weld test on their procedure. A certificate is the fastest way to get supervised practice on the processes employers test. An associate degree adds depth in fabrication, inspection, and blueprint reading, and keeps the door open to supervisor or inspector roles later.

What Is the Average Welder Salary in Texas?

BLS estimates the median annual wage for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers in Texas at $53,340 (May 2025). The lowest-paid 10% earned under $38,380 and the top 10% earned over $80,240.

Do Texas Welding Schools Include Welding Certification?

Not automatically. AWS Certified Welder is a performance test taken at an AWS Accredited Test Facility, separate from a college certificate or degree. Several Texas welding schools prepare you for welding certification tests; the ranked cards note it where the college says so.

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Sources

Every source below was reviewed September 24, 2026. College links go to each official welding page.

  1. National Center for Education Statistics, College Navigator (IPEDS): 2024–25 tuition and fees, 2024–25 welding completions, and graduation rates for each ranked college.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
  3. American Welding Society, Certified Welder program.
  4. Lee College welding program page.
  5. San Jacinto College welding program page; San Jacinto College catalog.
  6. Texarkana College welding program page; Texarkana College catalog.
  7. Texas State Technical College welding program page.
  8. Tarrant County College welding program page.
  9. Dallas College welding program page; Dallas College catalog.
  10. Panola College welding program page; Panola College catalog.
  11. Collin College welding program page; Collin College catalog.
  12. Houston City College welding program page; Houston City College catalog.
  13. Odessa College welding program page; Odessa College catalog.