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2024 Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools

102 Colleges in the United States
3,941 Associate Degrees
Ranked #38 in popularity, culinary arts/chef training is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 102 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,941 associate degrees in culinary arts/chef training during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Culinary Arts/Chef Training School for Your Associate Degree

Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools Your choice of culinary arts/chef training for getting your associate degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for culinary arts/chef training students working on their associate degree.

More Ways to Rank Culinary Arts/Chef Training Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Culinary Arts/Chef Training Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.


 

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Culinary Arts/Chef Training in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in culinary arts/chef training. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

15 Top Schools for an Associate in Culinary Arts/Chef Training

1
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
464 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in culinary arts/chef training has to check out Culinary Institute of America. The Culinary Institute of America is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Hyde Park.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Culinary Institute of America

2
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
138 Annual Graduates

Johnson & Wales University - Providence is one of the finest schools in the country for getting an associate degree in culinary arts/chef training. Located in the medium-sized city of Providence, JWU Providence is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Johnson & Wales University - Providence

3
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
33 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in an associate degree in culinary arts/chef training needs to take a look at National Louis University. NLU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from National Louis University

4
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
136 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte if you want to pursue an associate degree in culinary arts/chef training. JWU Charlotte is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Charlotte.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte

5
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
14 Annual Graduates

IUP is a moderately-sized public university located in the town of Indiana.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
9 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Lakewood, CPTC is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Clover Park Technical College

7
Saint Paul College crest
Saint Paul College
Saint Paul, MN
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
21 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Saint Paul, Saint Paul College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Saint Paul College

8
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
360 Annual Graduates

Escoffier - Boulder is a moderately-sized private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Boulder.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder

9
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
9 Annual Graduates

Madison College is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Madison.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Madison Area Technical College

10
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
15 Annual Graduates

CVTC is a moderately-sized public college located in the city of Eau Claire.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Chippewa Valley Technical College

11
ECPI University crest
ECPI University
Virginia Beach, VA
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Virginia Beach, ECPI University is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from ECPI University

12
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
7 Annual Graduates

Gateway Technical College is a moderately-sized public college located in the midsize suburb of Kenosha.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Gateway Technical College

13
El Centro College crest
El Centro College
Dallas, TX
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
22 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from El Centro College

14
Sullivan University crest
Sullivan University
Louisville, KY
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Louisville, Sullivan University is a private for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Sullivan University

15
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
26 Annual Graduates

Cincinnati State is a medium-sized public college located in the city of Cincinnati.More information about a associate in culinary arts/chef training from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Culinary Arts/Chef Training students that almost earned our Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
16 Johnson County Community College Overland Park, KS
17 Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, NC
18 Savannah Technical College Savannah, GA
19 Houston Community College Houston, TX
20 Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee, WI
21 Delaware Technical Community College - Terry Dover, DE
22 Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids, MI
23 Gwinnett Technical College Lawrenceville, GA
24 Lee College Baytown, TX
25 Atlantic Cape Community College Mays Landing, NJ
25 North Shore Community College Danvers, MA

Culinary Arts/Chef Training by Region

View the Best Culinary Arts/Chef Training Associate Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 11 majors within the Culinary Arts area of study, Culinary Arts/Chef Training has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Culinary Arts/Chef Training

Related Major Annual Graduates
Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef 1,253
General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts 831
Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager 627
Other Culinary Arts & Related Services 78
Institutional Food Workers 45
Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant 17
Wine Steward/Sommelier 5
Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter 2
Food Service, Waiter/Waitress, & Dining Room Management/Manager 1

Notes and References

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