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Most Popular Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southeast Region

2023 Most Popular Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southeast Region

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Finding the Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, culinary arts was ranked #11 in the country. In fact 22,075 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2021-2022.

With all the trade school programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Most Popular Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. This report analyzed 111 schools in the Southeast Region to see which ones were the most popular basic certificate 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 basic certificate.

#1

Valencia College

Orlando, FL

Our analysis found Valencia College to be the most popular school for culinary arts students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the Southeast Region . Valencia College is a very large public school located in the large city of Orlando.

Of the 301 students majoring in culinary arts at Valencia College, 28% are male and 72% are female.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Valencia College

The in-demand basic certificate programs at University of Arkansas - Pulaski Technical College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular culinary arts schools in the Southeast Region . UA Pulaski Tech is a small public school located in the small city of North Little Rock.

Women make up 76% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

Full Culinary Arts at University of Arkansas - Pulaski Technical College Report

The in-demand basic certificate programs at Wake Technical Community College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular culinary arts schools in the Southeast Region . Located in the large suburb of Raleigh, Wake Technical Community College is a public college with a very large student population.

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

Read More…

#4

Miami Dade College

Miami, FL

The in-demand basic certificate programs at Miami Dade College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular culinary arts schools in the Southeast Region . MDC is a very large public school located in the large city of Miami.

Women make up 53% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

Read More…

#5

Trident Technical College

Charleston, SC

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Trident Technical College is a great place for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Located in the medium-sized city of Charleston, Trident Technical College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 64% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Trident Technical College

Central Georgia Technical College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate culinary arts programs. Located in the city of Warner Robins, CGTC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Of the 60 students majoring in culinary arts at CGTC, 22% are male and 78% are female.

Full Culinary Arts at Central Georgia Technical College Report

With a ranking of #7, Crescent City Bartending School did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Crescent Schools is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of New Orleans.

Of the 41 students majoring in culinary arts at Crescent Schools, 37% are male and 63% are female.

Read More…

Southern Crescent Technical College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate culinary arts programs. Located in the suburb of Griffin, Southern Crescent Technical College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 58% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

Read More…

West Georgia Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for culinary arts students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the rural area of Waco, West Georgia Technical College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Of the 59 students majoring in culinary arts at West Georgia Technical College, 37% are male and 63% are female.

Full Culinary Arts at West Georgia Technical College Report

Central Piedmont Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southeast Region list. Central Piedmont Community College is a large public school located in the city of Charlotte.

Women make up 81% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Central Piedmont Community College

South Georgia Technical College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate culinary arts programs. Located in the rural area of Americus, South Georgia Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

About 71% of the students majoring in culinary arts at the school are women while 29% are male.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at South Georgia Technical College

#12

Somerset Community College

Somerset, KY

Somerset Community College ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southeast Region list. SCC is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Somerset.

Women make up 15% of the culinary arts majors at the school.

Full Culinary Arts at Somerset Community College Report

West Kentucky Community and Technical College ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the town of Paducah, West Kentucky Community and Technical College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Of the 20 students majoring in culinary arts at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, 35% are male and 65% are female.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at West Kentucky Community and Technical College

Coastal Carolina Community College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate culinary arts programs. Located in the small city of Jacksonville, Coastal Carolina Community College is a public college with a small student population.

Of the 26 students majoring in culinary arts at Coastal Carolina Community College, 27% are male and 73% are female.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Coastal Carolina Community College

With a ranking of #15, Georgia Northwestern Technical College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Located in the small city of Rome, Georgia Northwestern Technical College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

About 44% of the students majoring in culinary arts at the school are women while 56% are male.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Georgia Northwestern Technical College

#16

Delgado Community College

New Orleans, LA

Delgado Community College ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southeast Region list. Delgado Community College is a large public school located in the city of New Orleans.

About 74% of the students majoring in culinary arts at the school are women while 26% are male.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Delgado Community College

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional popular schools for Culinary Arts students in the Southeast Region that almost earned our Most Popular Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
17 Lanier Technical College Gainesville, GA
18 Atlanta Technical College Atlanta, GA
19 Savannah Technical College Savannah, GA
19 Hillsborough Community College Tampa, FL
21 Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Valdosta, GA
22 Columbus Technical College Columbus, GA

Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
South Carolina 215
Georgia 864
Arkansas 283
North Carolina 811
Florida 1,298
West Virginia 59
Louisiana 367
Virginia 357
Alabama 94
Kentucky 359
Tennessee 104
Mississippi 320

Culinary Arts is one of 4 different types of trade school programs to choose from.

Culinary Arts Concentrations

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 26 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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