2023 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools
Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You
Culinary Arts is the #100 most popular major in the country with 19,806 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 147 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for culinary arts majors pursuing a associate degree.
Top 15% Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools
Our analysis found Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder to be the best school for culinary arts students who want to pursue a associate degree in the United States. Escoffier - Boulder is a moderately-sized private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Boulder.
While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at Escoffier - Boulder accumulate an average of around $16,632 in student debt.
Full Culinary Arts at Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder Report
Out of the 147 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Culinary Institute of America landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Hyde Park, The Culinary Institute of America is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at The Culinary Institute of America take out while working on their Associate Degree is $14,124. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $450.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the town of Indiana, IUP is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Full Culinary Arts at Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus Report
Out of the 147 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Chippewa Valley Technical College landed the # 4 spot on the list. CVTC is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Eau Claire.
Full Culinary Arts at Chippewa Valley Technical College Report
The excellent associate degree programs at Johnson County Community College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best culinary arts schools in the United States. JCCC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Overland Park.
Culinary Arts majors at JCCC take out an average of $13,463 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Full Culinary Arts at Johnson County Community College Report
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Austin ranked #6 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools list. Escoffier - Austin is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of Austin.
The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at Escoffier - Austin take out while working on their Associate Degree is $17,367. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $133, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
Saint Paul College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree culinary arts programs. Located in the city of Saint Paul, Saint Paul College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Saint Paul College carry an average student debtload of $20,167.
Cerritos College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools list. Cerritos College is a large public school located in the suburb of Norwalk.
With a ranking of #9, University of Hawaii Maui College did quite well on this year’s best schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. UH Maui College is a small public school located in the city of Kahului.
Read full report on Culinary Arts at University of Hawaii Maui College
National Louis University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #10 on the list. NLU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at NLU take out while working on their Associate Degree is $17,353. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $479, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
Madison Area Technical College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools list. Madison College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.
On average, culinary arts graduates from Madison College take out $17,638 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Clover Park Technical College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. CPTC is a small public school located in the small city of Lakewood.
North Shore Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #13 on the list. North Shore Community College is a small public school located in the large suburb of Danvers.
Read full report on Culinary Arts at North Shore Community College
With a ranking of #14, Des Moines Area Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. DMACC is a very large public school located in the suburb of Ankeny.
Culinary Arts majors at DMACC take out an average of $11,783 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Waukesha County Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #15 on the list. WCTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Pewaukee.
While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at WCTC accumulate an average of around $16,964 in student debt.
Read full report on Culinary Arts at Waukesha County Technical College
The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #16 on the list. The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College carry an average student debtload of $16,363. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $388, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
Read full report on Culinary Arts at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College
El Centro College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. El Centro College is a very large public school located in the city of Dallas.
On average, culinary arts graduates from El Centro College take out $22,807 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Pennsylvania College of Technology landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree culinary arts programs. Located in the city of Williamsport, Penn College is a public college with a small student population.
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, Cincinnati State is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree culinary arts programs. JWU Charlotte is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Charlotte.
While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at JWU Charlotte accumulate an average of around $17,376 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $314.
Read full report on Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte
Kapiolani Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Kapiolani CC is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Honolulu.
After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Kapiolani CC carry an average student debtload of $11,867.
Baker College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. Baker College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Owosso.
Culinary Arts majors at Baker College take out an average of $17,466 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $99.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Sullivan University | Louisville, KY |
| 24 | Culinary Institute Inc | Houston, TX |
| 25 | Grand Rapids Community College | Grand Rapids, MI |
| 26 | Stratford University | Fairfax, VA |
| 27 | Schoolcraft College | Livonia, MI |
| 28 | Johnson & Wales University - Providence | Providence, RI |
| 29 | Brookdale Community College | Lincroft, NJ |
Culinary Arts by Region
View the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Culinary Arts Rankings
Culinary Arts Related Rankings by Major
Culinary Arts is one of 4 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Culinary Arts
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Cosmetology | 107,895 |
| Funeral & Mortuary Science | 2,354 |
| Casino Operations and Services | 192 |
| Other Personal & Culinary Services | 81 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to U.S. Army Europe Images.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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