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Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois

2023 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois

3 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 Illinois with 668 degrees and certificates awarded in 2021-2022.

It's not easy to decide which trade school program to enroll in when you have so many options available. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 3 schools in Illinois to see which associate degree programs offered the best educational experiences for trade school students.

View our full ranking methodology.


 

2023 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois

Check out the culinary arts associate degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top Illinois Trade Schools for an Associate in Culinary Arts

Our analysis found National Louis University to be the best school for culinary arts students who want to pursue a associate degree in Illinois. Located in the city of Chicago, NLU is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

On average, culinary arts graduates from NLU take out $13,165 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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#2

Joliet Junior College

Joliet, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Joliet Junior College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois list. Joliet Junior College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Joliet.

After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Joliet Junior College carry an average student debtload of $13,611.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College is a great place for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Kennedy-King College is a small public school located in the large city of Chicago.

While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at Kennedy-King College accumulate an average of around $8,350 in student debt.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College

Best Culinary Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Culinary Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 413
Indiana 181
Wisconsin 333
Ohio 305

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

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 3 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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