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Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois

2023 Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois

17 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.

The Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 17 schools in Illinois to see which ones were the most popular associate degree programs for trade school students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Culinary Arts program at each school on the list.


 

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

Our 2023 rankings named City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College the most popular school in Illinois for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Kennedy-King College is a small public school located in the large city of Chicago.

Of the 22 students majoring in culinary arts at Kennedy-King College, 23% are male and 77% are female.

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

The in-demand associate degree programs at National Louis University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular culinary arts schools in Illinois. Located in the large city of Chicago, NLU is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Of the 50 students majoring in culinary arts at NLU, 44% are male and 56% are female.

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

Read More…

#3

Joliet Junior College

Joliet, IL

Out of the 17 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Joliet Junior College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Joliet Junior College is a large public school located in the large suburb of Joliet.

Of the 39 students majoring in culinary arts at Joliet Junior College, 41% are male and 59% are female.

While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at Joliet Junior College accumulate an average of around $13,611 in student debt.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Joliet Junior College

#4

College of Lake County

Grayslake, IL

The in-demand associate degree programs at College of Lake County helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular culinary arts schools in Illinois. Located in the large suburb of Grayslake, College of Lake County is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 60% of the students majoring in culinary arts at the school are women while 40% are male.

Full Culinary Arts at College of Lake County Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elgin Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois list. ECC is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Elgin.

About 80% of the students majoring in culinary arts at the school are women while 20% are male.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Elgin Community College

#6

College of DuPage

Glen Ellyn, IL

With a ranking of #6, College of DuPage did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. COD is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Glen Ellyn.

Of the 24 students majoring in culinary arts at COD, 21% are male and 79% are female.

After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from COD carry an average student debt load of $10,428.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at College of DuPage

Moraine Valley Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois list. MVCC is a large public school located in the large suburb of Palos Hills.

Women make up 79% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

Full Culinary Arts at Moraine Valley Community College Report

#8

Illinois Central College

East Peoria, IL

Illinois Central College ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois list. ICC is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of East Peoria.

About 50% of the students majoring in culinary arts at the school are women while 50% are male.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Illinois Central College

#9

Rend Lake College

Ina, IL

Rend Lake College ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois list. Located in the rural area of Ina, Rend Lake College is a public college with a small student population.

Women make up 30% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Rend Lake College

#10

Roosevelt University

Chicago, IL

Roosevelt University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Culinary Arts Associate Degree Trade Schools in Illinois ranking. Roosevelt is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Women make up 75% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Roosevelt University

Best Culinary Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Culinary Arts Schools 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 17 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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