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2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

122 Colleges
$6,503 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$20,089 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate School for You

In 2021-2022, 22,075 people earned a degree or certificate in culinary arts, making the major the #11 most popular in the United States.

There are so many trade school programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house.

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 Undergraduate Certificate Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 122 schools in the United States to see which undergraduate certificate programs offered the best value experiences for culinary arts students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 15% Best Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools

#1

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS

Our 2023 rankings named Johnson County Community College the best value school in the United States for culinary arts students working on their undergraduate certificate. Located in the midsize city of Overland Park, JCCC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at JCCC are $5,472 a year.

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#2

Saint Paul College

Saint Paul, MN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Paul College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools list. Saint Paul College is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Saint Paul.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Saint Paul College are $6,318 a year. After completing their Undergraduate Certificate, culinary arts graduates from Saint Paul College carry an average student debtload of $8,369.

Saint Paul College also claimed a spot on our Best Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Full Culinary Arts at Saint Paul College Report

Out of the 122 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Clover Park Technical College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Lakewood, CPTC is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CPTC are $5,979 a year.

Full Culinary Arts at Clover Park Technical College Report

#4

El Centro College

Dallas, TX

Out of the 122 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, El Centro College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public school with a very large student population.

El Centro College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,000 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at El Centro College take out while working on their Undergraduate Certificate is $9,389.

El Centro College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Trade Schools list.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Madison Area Technical College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Madison, Madison College is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Madison College are $6,812 a year. After completing their Undergraduate Certificate, culinary arts graduates from Madison College carry an average student debtload of $12,047.

Madison College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Trade Schools list.

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Waukesha County Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Pewaukee, WCTC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WCTC are $6,722 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, WCTC also is in the top 15% of our Best Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Trade Schools ranking.

Full Culinary Arts at Waukesha County Technical College Report

With a ranking of #7, Southeast Community College Area did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their undergraduate certificate. Located in the large city of Lincoln, Southeast Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Southeast Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $3,864 in tuition and fees each year. Culinary Arts majors at Southeast Community College take out an average of $10,957 in student loans while working on their Undergraduate Certificate.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Southeast Community College also did well on our Best Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Trade Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Culinary Arts at Southeast Community College Area Report

#8

Gwinnett Technical College

Lawrenceville, GA

Gwinnett Technical College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate culinary arts programs. Located in the suburb of Lawrenceville, GTC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

GTC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,686 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Gwinnett Technical College

Kansas City Kansas Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Kansas City, Kansas City Kansas Community College is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kansas City Kansas Community College are $6,244 per year.

Full Culinary Arts at Kansas City Kansas Community College Report

University of Hawaii Maui College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Kahului, UH Maui College is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UH Maui College are $8,420 per year.

UH Maui College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Trade Schools list.

Full Culinary Arts at University of Hawaii Maui College Report

Arkansas State University - Newport did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the rural area of Newport, ASUN is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ASUN are $4,416 per year.

Read More…

#12

Oakland Community College

Auburn Hills, MI

Oakland Community College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the suburb of Auburn Hills, Oakland Community College is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Oakland Community College are $5,400 a year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Oakland Community College

Georgia Northwestern Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #13 on the list. Georgia Northwestern Technical College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Rome.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Georgia Northwestern Technical College are $5,512 a year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Georgia Northwestern Technical College

Fox Valley Technical College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools list. FVTC is a 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.

In addition to its great value ranking, FVTC is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Trade Schools list.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Fox Valley Technical College

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools list. Wiregrass Georgia Technical College is a small public school located in the small suburb of Valdosta.

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,562 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College

San Jacinto Community College landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate culinary arts programs. Located in the suburb of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at San Jacinto College are $5,040 a year.

Read More…

With a ranking of #17, Des Moines Area Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their undergraduate certificate. Located in the large suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DMACC are $10,680 per year.

Read More…

#18

Grayson College

Denison, TX

Grayson College landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate culinary arts programs. Located in the rural area of Denison, Grayson College is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Grayson College are $5,692 per year.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Grayson College

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate Schools award.

Rank College Location
19 West Georgia Technical College Waco, GA
20 Schoolcraft College Livonia, MI
21 Augusta Technical College Augusta, GA
22 Kirkwood Community College Cedar Rapids, IA
23 Cerritos College Norwalk, CA
24 Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids, MI

Culinary Arts by Region

View the Best Value Culinary Arts Undergraduate Certificate 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

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 25 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.

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