Which Colleges Have the Best Welding Associate Degree Programs?
- Lee College (Baytown, TX) offers an associate degree and 4 certificates in welding, at $2,520 a year.
- Butte College (Oroville, CA) offers an associate degree and 4 certificates in welding, at $1,356 a year.
- Aims Community College (Greeley, CO) offers an associate degree and 5 certificates in welding, at $2,258 a year.
- Tuition and fees run from $1,128 to $27,836 a year across the schools on this page (2024–25).
- California has the most schools on this list (29), then Texas (27).
Lee College Leads the Welding Associate Degree Programs Rankings
The first 50 of 311 schools. Tuition is the 2024–25 full-time rate shown on each school's profile; welding awards are credentials conferred in welding in 2024–25; graduation rate is college-wide. Source: NCES College Navigator. Blank cells mean no federal figure for that school.
How We Ranked Welding Associate Degree Programs
Every college offering a welding associate degree with a verified, current welding program page gets a percentile score against the others on this page: program size (35%, welding awards conferred), cost (25%, lowest resident tuition and fees for 2024–25), completion (25%, college-wide graduation rate) and credential ladder (15%, both certificates and associate degrees awarded). Federal data can't measure instructors or shop equipment, so tour the welding lab before you enroll.
Best Welding Associate Degree Programs by Goal: Top Ranked, Lowest Tuition, Most Welding Awards and Highest Completion
The Top 25 Welding Associate Degree Programs, School by School
1Lee College, Baytown, Texas
Offers an associate degree and 4 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,520 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 182 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Fabrication
2Butte College, Oroville, California
Offers an associate degree and 4 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $1,356 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 121 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Cutting · Fabrication
3Aims Community College, Greeley, Colorado
Offers an associate degree and 5 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,258 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 292 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Cutting
4Central Community College, Columbus, Nebraska
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 3 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $3,360 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 233 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Cutting · Fabrication
5Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 17 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $4,728 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 380 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting
6Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 7 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $4,728 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 415 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Cutting
7Gateway Community and Technical College, Florence, Kentucky
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 16 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $4,728 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 324 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting
8Blue Ridge Community College, Flat Rock, North Carolina
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 6 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,660 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 105 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication · Inspection
9Merced College, Merced, California
Offers an associate degree and 3 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $1,200 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 175 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
10Owensboro Community and Technical College, Owensboro, Kentucky
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 18 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $4,728 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 301 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Fabrication · Robotic
11Texarkana College, Texarkana, Texas
Offers an associate degree, 2 certificates and one other award in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,476 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 103 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
12Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, Wisconsin
Offers an associate degree, 3 diplomas and a certificate in welding
- Tuition / year
- $5,040 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 203 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Cutting · Fabrication · Robotic · Inspection
13Vance-Granville Community College, Henderson, North Carolina
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 2 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $1,944 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 58 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Cutting · Fabrication · Inspection
14American River College, Sacramento, California
Offers an associate degree and 7 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $1,288 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 116 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Cutting
15Cerritos College, Norwalk, California
Offers an associate degree and 8 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $1,364 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 278 conferred 2024–25
Teaches TIG · Pipe · Fabrication
16Hutchinson Community College, Hutchinson, Kansas
Offers an associate degree and 3 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $3,540 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 92 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Fabrication
17William Rainey Harper College, Palatine, Illinois
Offers an associate degree and 4 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $3,894 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 110 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
18Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Lexington, Kentucky
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 8 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $4,808 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 535 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Cutting · Fabrication
19Central Carolina Community College, Sanford, North Carolina
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 3 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,711 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 93 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
20Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Salisbury, North Carolina
Offers an associate degree, 2 diplomas and 9 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,064 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 136 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
21Southeast Community College Area, Lincoln, Nebraska
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and a certificate in welding
- Tuition / year
- $3,690 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 223 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Fabrication
22Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, North Carolina
Offers an associate degree, a diploma and 3 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,254 in-state, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 192 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Pipe · Cutting · Fabrication
23Lewis and Clark Community College, Godfrey, Illinois
Offers an associate degree and 10 certificates in welding
- Tuition / year
- $4,340 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 153 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · TIG · Pipe · Fabrication · Inspection
24San Jacinto Community College, Pasadena, Texas
Offers an associate degree, 4 certificates and one other award in welding
- Tuition / year
- $2,490 in-district, 2024–25
- Welding awards
- 534 conferred 2024–25
Teaches TIG · Pipe · Fabrication
25Tulsa Welding School-Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Offers an associate degree and a diploma in welding
- Welding awards offered
- 2 certificates and degrees
- Welding awards
- 591 conferred 2024–25
Teaches Stick · MIG · TIG · Flux-cored · Pipe · Inspection
Tuition and welding awards: NCES College Navigator, 2024–25. Programs, processes and schedules: each school's own welding page, reviewed September 2026.
Best Welding Associate Degree Programs by State
| State | Schools on this list | Highest ranked in the state |
|---|---|---|
| California | 29 | Butte College (#2) |
| Texas | 27 | Lee College (#1) |
| North Carolina | 23 | Blue Ridge Community College (#8) |
| Illinois | 20 | William Rainey Harper College (#17) |
| Arkansas | 13 | Arkansas State University Mid-South (#41) |
| Kentucky | 13 | Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (#5) |
| Michigan | 12 | Washtenaw Community College (#67) |
| Oregon | 10 | Portland Community College (#154) |
| Washington | 10 | Peninsula College (#53) |
| Colorado | 9 | Aims Community College (#3) |
| Kansas | 9 | Hutchinson Community College (#16) |
| Mississippi | 9 | East Mississippi Community College (#38) |
| New Mexico | 9 | Central New Mexico Community College (#54) |
| Alabama | 8 | Bevill State Community College (#73) |
| Missouri | 8 | East Central College (#106) |
| Idaho | 7 | College of Western Idaho (#116) |
| Montana | 7 | Great Falls College Montana State University (#107) |
| Pennsylvania | 6 | Pennsylvania College of Technology (#135) |
| South Carolina | 6 | Tri-County Technical College (#31) |
| West Virginia | 6 | New River Community and Technical College (#245) |
| Wyoming | 6 | Eastern Wyoming College (#83) |
| Arizona | 5 | Northland Pioneer College (#39) |
| Minnesota | 5 | Anoka Technical College (#36) |
| Nebraska | 5 | Central Community College (#4) |
| New York | 5 | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred (Alfred State) (#206) |
| Wisconsin | 5 | Fox Valley Technical College (#12) |
| Iowa | 4 | Indian Hills Community College (#145) |
| Nevada | 4 | Western Nevada College (#32) |
| Ohio | 4 | Ohio Technical College (#111) |
| Virginia | 4 | Advanced Technology Institute (#102) |
| North Dakota | 3 | North Dakota State College of Science (#147) |
| South Dakota | 3 | Lake Area Technical College (#108) |
| Florida | 2 | Tulsa Welding School-Jacksonville (#121) |
| Hawaii | 2 | Hawaii Community College (#190) |
| Indiana | 2 | Ivy Tech Community College (#140) |
| Louisiana | 2 | Baton Rouge Community College (#192) |
| Maine | 2 | Eastern Maine Community College (#194) |
| Tennessee | 2 | William R Moore College of Technology (#239) |
| Utah | 2 | Salt Lake Community College (#185) |
| Georgia | 1 | Oconee Fall Line Technical College (#45) |
| New Hampshire | 1 | Manchester Community College (#195) |
| Oklahoma | 1 | Tulsa Welding School-Tulsa (#25) |
How to Choose Among Welding Associate Degree Programs
Know What the Degree Adds
An associate degree in welding adds metallurgy, inspection, fabrication and general education to the shop work in a certificate. It takes about two years full time.
Think About Where You Want to Be in Ten Years
AWS lets an associate degree in welding count toward the experience needed for the Certified Welding Inspector exam, so the degree pays off most if you're aiming for inspection or supervision.
Check That Certificates Stack
Many colleges award certificates along the way, so you can start working before you finish the degree.
Compare the AAS and Transfer Tracks
An Associate of Applied Science is built for work. If you might go on to a bachelor's in welding engineering technology, ask which credits transfer.
Best Welding Associate Degree Programs: FAQ
What Is the Best Welding Associate Degree Program?
Lee College in Baytown, TX ranks first on the method on this page, followed by Butte College and Aims Community College. The best fit depends on the campus you can reach and the credential you want.
How Much Do Welding Associate Degree Programs Cost?
Full-time tuition and fees for 2024–25 at the 304 schools on this page with federal figures run from $1,128 to $27,836 a year, before books, tools and protective gear. Each figure is the school's lowest resident rate.
How Many Welding Associate Degree Programs Are There?
311 schools on this page meet the rule for this list, each checked against the school's own program page. California has the most (29), followed by Texas (27).
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Sources
Reviewed November 3, 2026.
- NCES College Navigator: tuition and fees, welding awards and graduation rates, 2024–25
- Each school's official welding program page, linked from its profile