2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Virginia
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
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.
Best Virginia Schools for Affordable Quality for an Associate in Culinary Arts
Our analysis found Virginia Western Community College to be the best value school for culinary arts students who want to pursue a associate degree in Virginia. Virginia Western Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Roanoke.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Virginia Western Community College are $5,355 per 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.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Tidewater Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Virginia list. Tidewater Community College is a large public school located in the 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.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Stratford University is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the midsize city of Fairfax, Stratford University is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
Stratford University undergraduate students pay an average of $15,130 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at Stratford University accumulate an average of around $36,398 in student debt.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means ECPI University is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of Virginia Beach, ECPI University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at ECPI University are $17,479 a 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.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means The Art Institute of Virginia Beach is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Ai Virginia Beach is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of Virginia Beach.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ai Virginia Beach are $19,354 per 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.
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Request InformationBest Value Culinary Arts Colleges in the Southeast Region
Explore all the Best Value Culinary Arts Schools 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 |
More Culinary Arts Rankings in Virginia
Culinary Arts Related Majors for Culinary Arts
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.