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Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region

21 Colleges
$25,389 Avg Salary
$15,195 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You

Culinary Arts is the #11 most popular major in the country with 22,075 degrees and certificates awarded in 2021-2022.

Today's trade school students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Trade College Search has created the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 21 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for trade school students.

View our full ranking methodology.


 

2023 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for culinary arts majors pursuing a associate degree.

Top 10 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Chippewa Valley Technical College the best school in the Great Lakes Region for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Chippewa Valley Technical College

The excellent associate degree programs at National Louis University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best culinary arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Chicago, NLU is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at NLU take out while working on their Associate Degree is $13,165.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at National Louis University

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Madison Area Technical College is a great place for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Madison, Madison College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Culinary Arts majors at Madison College take out an average of $12,211 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Madison Area Technical College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Waukesha County Technical College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Pewaukee, WCTC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at WCTC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $20,902.

Read More…

The excellent associate degree programs at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best culinary arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . Cincinnati State is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Cincinnati.

Culinary Arts majors at Cincinnati State take out an average of $10,789 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

#6

Baker College

Owosso, MI

With a ranking of #6, Baker College did quite well on this year’s best schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the distant town of Owosso, Baker College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at Baker College accumulate an average of around $13,531 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $205, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Culinary Arts at Baker College Report

#7

Grand Rapids Community College

Grand Rapids, MI

Grand Rapids Community College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree culinary arts programs. Located in the city of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Community College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Grand Rapids Community College carry an average student debtload of $14,085.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Grand Rapids Community College

#8

Schoolcraft College

Livonia, MI

Schoolcraft College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Livonia, Schoolcraft College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Schoolcraft College carry an average student debtload of $14,643.

Full Culinary Arts at Schoolcraft College Report

Gateway Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Gateway Technical College is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Kenosha.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Gateway Technical College

Fox Valley Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #10 on the list. FVTC is a large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Appleton.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Fox Valley Technical College

Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best culinary arts schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 413
Indiana 181
Wisconsin 333
Ohio 305
Illinois 668

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

Culinary Arts Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts/Chef Training 10,546
Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef 5,029
General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts 3,303
Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager 1,394
Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant 786
Other Culinary Arts & Related Services 335
Institutional Food Workers 204
Culinary Science/Culinology 203
Bartending/Bartender 157
Food Service, Waiter/Waitress, & Dining Room Management/Manager 82
Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter 28
Wine Steward/Sommelier 8

Majors Similar to Culinary Arts

Related Major Annual Graduates
Cosmetology 124,611
Funeral & Mortuary Science 2,186
Casino Operations and Services 385
Other Personal & Culinary Services 95

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 21 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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.

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