Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Virginia

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Virginia

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

5 Colleges
$12,576 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$25,593 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You

With 261 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, culinary arts is the #84 most popular major in Virginia.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. This report analyzed 5 schools in Virginia to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for culinary arts students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Virginia

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Colleges.

Best Virginia Schools for Affordable Quality for an Associate in Culinary Arts

Our 2023 rankings named Virginia Western Community College the best value school in Virginia for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Virginia Western Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Roanoke.

Virginia Western Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,355 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Culinary Arts majors at Virginia Western Community College take out an average of $18,539 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Culinary Arts at Virginia Western Community College Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Tidewater Community College is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Tidewater Community College is a large public school located in the midsize city of Norfolk.

Tidewater Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,561 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at Tidewater Community College accumulate an average of around $24,567 in student debt.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Tidewater Community College

#3

Stratford University

Fairfax, VA

The excellent associate degree programs at Stratford University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value culinary arts schools in Virginia. Located in the city of Fairfax, Stratford University is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Stratford University are $15,130 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at Stratford University accumulate an average of around $36,398 in student debt.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Stratford University

#4

ECPI University

Virginia Beach, VA

Out of the 5 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, ECPI University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Virginia Beach, ECPI University is a private for-profit college with a large student population.

ECPI University undergraduate students pay an average of $17,479 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at ECPI University take out while working on their Associate Degree is $20,370. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $135, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Culinary Arts at ECPI University Report

The excellent associate degree programs at The Art Institute of Virginia Beach helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value culinary arts schools in Virginia. Ai Virginia Beach is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of Virginia Beach.

Ai Virginia Beach undergraduate students pay an average of $19,354 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Ai Virginia Beach carry an average student debtload of $23,771. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $266.

Read More…

Best Value Culinary Arts Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Culinary Arts Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 192
North Carolina 401
Florida 298
Tennessee 36
Kentucky 109
South Carolina 85
Louisiana 132
Arkansas 53
Alabama 64
Mississippi 105
West Virginia 33

One of 4 majors within the area of study, culinary arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

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 5 schools only.

  • 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.