College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Culinary Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools

17 Colleges in the United States
433 Bachelor's Degrees
$31,534 Avg Early-Career Salary
Culinary Arts is about average in terms of popularity for bachelor's degrees programs. That is, it ranks #216 out of the 363 majors across the country that we analyze each year. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 17 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for culinary arts students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 433 bachelor's degrees in culinary arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Culinary Arts School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Culinary Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools The culinary arts bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality culinary arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's 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

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 schools for culinary arts students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Culinary Arts Schools

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Culinary Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Culinary Arts in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in culinary arts.

10 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Culinary Arts

1
69 Annual Graduates
$45,756 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat Culinary Institute of America if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in culinary arts. The Culinary Institute of America is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Hyde Park.

Bachelor's recipients from the culinary arts program at Culinary Institute of America make $14,222 more than the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in culinary arts from Culinary Institute of America

2
107 Annual Graduates
$30,833 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Johnson & Wales University - Providence is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in culinary arts. Located in the city of Providence, JWU Providence is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the culinary arts program earn about $30,833 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University - Providence

3
10 Annual Graduates

National Louis University is a good decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in culinary arts. NLU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in culinary arts from National Louis University

4
12 Annual Graduates
$31,439 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in culinary arts. Located in the rural area of Paul Smiths, Paul Smith's College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Soon after graduating, culinary arts bachelor's recipients usually earn about $31,439 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in culinary arts from Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science

5
SUNY Delhi crest
SUNY Delhi
Delhi, NY
16 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Delhi, SUNY Delhi is a public school with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in culinary arts from SUNY Delhi

6

Located in the small city of Williamsport, Penn College is a public college with a small student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the culinary arts program at Pennsylvania College of Technology get $4,008 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in culinary arts from Pennsylvania College of Technology

7
42 Annual Graduates
$26,055 Median Starting Salary
$26,063 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Thibodaux, Nicholls State University is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the culinary arts program earn around $26,055 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in culinary arts from Nicholls State University

8
5 Annual Graduates
$29,862 Median Starting Salary
$31,109 Median Student Debt

The Art Institute of Dallas is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of Dallas.

Soon after graduating, culinary arts bachelor's recipients generally earn about $29,862 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in culinary arts from The Art Institute of Dallas

9
4 Annual Graduates
$29,862 Median Starting Salary
$31,109 Median Student Debt

International Fine Arts College is a fairly small private for-profit university located in the large city of Miami.

Soon after graduating, culinary arts bachelor's recipients generally earn about $29,862 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in culinary arts from AI Miami International University of Art and Design

10
1 Annual Graduates
$37,855 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

SNHU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized suburb of Manchester.

Those culinary arts students who get their bachelor's degree from Southern New Hampshire University earn $6,321 more than the average culinary arts graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in culinary arts from Southern New Hampshire University

Culinary Arts by Region

View the Best Culinary Arts Bachelor's 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

View All Rankings >

One of 4 majors within the Personal & Culinary Services area of study, Culinary Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Culinary Arts Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts/Chef Training 172
Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager 98
Culinary Science/Culinology 94
Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef 42
Other Culinary Arts & Related Services 23
General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts 4

Related Major Annual Graduates
Funeral & Mortuary Science 211

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options