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Structural designer education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a structural designer. Structural designers usually study drafting and design, civil engineering, or mechanical engineering. 46% of structural designers hold a bachelor's degree, and 39% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 4,084 real structural designer resumes to see exactly what structural designer education sections show.
The most common colleges for structural designers are the University of Houston and the University of Houston.
There are also many online structural designer courses to help get the education required to be a structural designer.
What education do you need to become a structural designer?
What degree do you need to be a structural designer?
- Bachelor's, 46%
- Associate, 39%
- Master's, 7%
- High School Diploma, 3%
- Other Degrees, 5%
What should I major in to become a structural designer?
- Drafting And Design, 29%
- Civil Engineering, 27%
- Engineering, 5%
- Other Majors, 32%
Most common colleges for structural designers
| Structural designer common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Houston | 17.78% |
| Lamar University | 8.89% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 7.22% |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | 7.22% |
| Purdue University | 6.11% |
Best majors for structural designers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drafting And Design | 28.8% |
| 2 | Civil Engineering | 27.5% |
| 3 | Mechanical Engineering | 6.6% |
| 4 | Engineering | 5.1% |
| 5 | Architecture | 4.7% |
Best colleges for structural designers
The best colleges for structural designers are Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, and Washington University in St Louis.
A structural designer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for structural designers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become structural designers.
1. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,465
Enrollment
6,483
2. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,832
Enrollment
4,550
4. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$9,816
Enrollment
21,047
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
6. University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM • Private
In-state tuition
$7,633
Enrollment
17,321
7. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$12,424
Enrollment
15,201
8. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
9. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA • Private
In-state tuition
$13,620
Enrollment
27,730
10. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
20 best online courses for structural designers
Advertising disclosure
1. Engineering of Structures: Tension
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2. The Engineering of Structures Around Us
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5. ETABS: For Structural Design of Buildings
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6. Learning Autodesk Revit Structure 2016
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7. PG Diploma in Piping Design Engineering
Learn Piping Design Engineering...
8. Revit Structure 2021 from Zero to Hero
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9. CSi SAP2000: Structural Analysis Program for Engineers
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10. Revit Structure Beginners to Advanced (Contractor Services)
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11. Robot Structural Analysis Professional course
Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis : From Beginning to Pro...
12. Designing Piping Systems: Pipe Fittings Flanges Valves
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13. Autodesk Revit & Robot Structural Analysis + Sheets + BOQ
Autodesk Revit & Robot building structural design +draw structural sheets + BOQ + advanced lectures in Revit & Robot...
14. Structural Engineering Abaqus Tutorials
The most comprehensive course with 13.5 hours of real life structural examples under various loading conditions...
15. Robot structural Analysis (RC building)
Full building Design with seismic Analysis using Robot Structural Analysis...
16. Revit Structure 2018 from Zero to Hero
Covering essentials, intermediate, and advanced features of Revit Structure 2018...
17. Fundamentals of Structural Analysis
Get to grips with civil engineering structural analysis once and for all...
18. Data Structures A-Z: Data Structures + Algorithms Bootcamp
Become ace in data structures & algorithms & Crack the code interview by getting mastery in data structures & algorithms...
19. Data Structures and Algorithms in Swift
Implementing Practical Data Structures with Swift...
20. Easy to Advanced Data Structures
A complete guide to learning everything there is to know about data structures...
Top 10 most affordable universities for structural designers
The most affordable schools for structural designers are University of Florida, florida state university, and florida atlantic university.
If the best universities for structural designers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for structural designers.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
3. Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$4,831
Cost of attendance
19,559
4. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,140
Cost of attendance
14,430
5. California State University - Northridge
Northridge, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,893
Cost of attendance
18,870
6. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
7. California State University - Sacramento
Sacramento, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,310
Cost of attendance
19,807
8. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Cost of attendance
22,430
9. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
10. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Pomona, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,353
Cost of attendance
21,302
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for structural designers
The hardest universities for structural designers to get into are Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, and Washington University in St Louis.
Some great schools for structural designers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for structural designers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
2. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
3. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
7%
SAT average
1,545
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
6. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
7. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
Admissions rate
23%
SAT average
1,434
8. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
9. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
Admissions rate
26%
SAT average
1,427
10. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,465
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for structural designers
The easiest schools for structural designers to get into are South Dakota State University, washington state university, and oregon institute of technology.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a structural designer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for structural designers.
1. South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,149
2. Washington State University
Pullman, WA • Private
Admissions rate
77%
SAT average
1,123
3. Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,139
4. Portland State University
Portland, OR • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
1,111
5. Saint Martin's University
Lacey, WA • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,111
6. Ferris State University
Big Rapids, MI • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
1,070
7. The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,035
8. North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,170
9. The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, TX • Private
Admissions rate
80%
SAT average
1,157
10. Alabama A & M University
Normal, AL • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
957
Average structural designer salary by education level
| Structural designer education level | Structural designer salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $68,510 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $62,470 |
| Doctorate Degree | $68,072 |
Structural designer education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common architecture and engineering questions.
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025