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2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 21 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for culinary arts students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Chippewa Valley Technical College the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CVTC are $6,793 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, CVTC is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
Full Culinary Arts at Chippewa Valley Technical College Report
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Madison Area Technical College is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Madison, Madison College is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Madison College are $6,812 per year. Culinary Arts majors at Madison College take out an average of $12,211 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
In addition to its great value ranking, Madison College is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Waukesha County Technical College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value culinary arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the large suburb of Pewaukee, WCTC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
WCTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,722 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at WCTC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $20,902.
WCTC also claimed a spot on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Oakland Community College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Auburn Hills, Oakland Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Oakland Community College are $5,400 per year.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Gateway Technical College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value culinary arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . Gateway Technical College is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize suburb of Kenosha.
Gateway Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,917 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #6, Fox Valley Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. FVTC is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Appleton.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at FVTC are $6,977 a year.
FVTC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
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Schoolcraft College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree 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.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Schoolcraft College are $7,652 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Schoolcraft College carry an average student debtload of $14,643.
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Cincinnati State Technical and Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Cincinnati State is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Cincinnati.
Cincinnati State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,558 in tuition and fees each year. Culinary Arts majors at Cincinnati State take out an average of $10,789 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cincinnati State also is in the top 10% of our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
Full Culinary Arts at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Report
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Milwaukee Area Technical College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. MATC is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Milwaukee.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MATC are $7,018 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at MATC accumulate an average of around $17,154 in student debt.
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Kalamazoo Valley Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Valley Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Kalamazoo Valley Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,596 in tuition and fees each year. On average, culinary arts graduates from Kalamazoo Valley Community College take out $13,005 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Full Culinary Arts at Kalamazoo Valley Community College Report
Request InformationBest 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 |
Culinary Arts Related Majors for Culinary Arts
One of 4 majors within the trade school area of study, culinary arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
Culinary Arts Focus Areas
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.
- 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.