If you pursue a associate degree in culinary arts, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #23 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 2 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 250 associate degrees in culinary arts to qualified students.
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their associate degree from the school. After all, your associate degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to culinary arts students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - The number of culinary arts students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How much debt culinary arts students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized culinary arts related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for culinary arts students working on their associate degree.
The culinary arts school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Virginia.
Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Culinary Arts in Virginia
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in culinary arts.
Top Virginia Schools for an Associate in Culinary Arts
ECPI University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in culinary arts. ECPI University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the large city of Virginia Beach.
Associate graduates who receive their degree from the culinary arts program make around $22,745 in their early career salary.
Tidewater Community College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting an associate degree in culinary arts. Tidewater Community College is a fairly large public college located in the city of Norfolk.
Students who graduate with their associate from the culinary arts program report average early career wages of $23,264.
It's hard to beat Virginia Western Community College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in culinary arts. Virginia Western Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the medium-sized city of Roanoke.
Students who graduate with their associate from the culinary arts program report average early career wages of $21,466.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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).