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2025 Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Southeast Region

28 Colleges in the Southeast Region
5,187 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$24,750 Avg Early-Career Salary
Culinary Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #97 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 28 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the best for culinary arts students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 5,187 degrees in culinary arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Culinary Arts School

Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Southeast Region Your choice of culinary arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Culinary Arts School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Culinary Arts Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Culinary Arts
Bachelor's Degrees in Culinary Arts

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Culinary Arts Schools in the Southeast Region list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Culinary Arts in the Southeast Region

The schools below may not offer all types of culinary arts degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Southeast Region Schools in Culinary Arts

1
Sullivan University crest
Sullivan University
Louisville, KY
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
70 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$24,292 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat Sullivan University if you wish to pursue a degree in culinary arts. Located in the large city of Louisville, Sullivan University is a private for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #727 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Sullivan University is a great university overall.

There were about 70 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Sullivan University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the culinary arts program report average early career wages of $24,292.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Sullivan University

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
218 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
5.5% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte if you want to pursue a degree in culinary arts. JWU Charlotte is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Charlotte. A Best Colleges rank of #208 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means JWU Charlotte is a great university overall.

There were about 218 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at JWU Charlotte in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the culinary arts program at Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte make $2,868 more than the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte

3
Valencia College crest
Valencia College
Orlando, FL
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
467 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
26.8% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in culinary arts has to look into Valencia College. Valencia College is a very large public college located in the large city of Orlando. A Best Colleges rank of #130 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Valencia College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 467 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Valencia College in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the culinary arts program earn about $25,227 for their early career.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Valencia College

4
ECPI University crest
ECPI University
Virginia Beach, VA
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
122 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$23,274 Median Starting Salary

ECPI University is a great choice for students interested in a degree in culinary arts. Located in the large city of Virginia Beach, ECPI University is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #215 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means ECPI University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 122 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at ECPI University in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the culinary arts program state that they receive average early career earnings of $23,274.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from ECPI University

5
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
41 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
$28,159 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #123 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a great university overall.

There were about 41 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale in the most recent year we have data available. Those culinary arts students who get their degree from Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale make $3,409 more than the standard culinary arts student.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In GA
72 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded

Savannah Tech is a small public college located in the midsize city of Savannah. A Best Colleges rank of #759 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Savannah Tech is a great college overall.

There were approximately 72 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Savannah Tech in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Savannah Technical College

7
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In FL
35 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded

FSCJ is a very large public college located in the large city of Jacksonville. A Best Colleges rank of #360 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means FSCJ is a great college overall.

There were roughly 35 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at FSCJ in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Florida State College at Jacksonville

8
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
188 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
18.1% Growth in Graduates

MDC is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Miami. A Best Colleges rank of #355 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means MDC is a great college overall.

There were roughly 188 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at MDC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the culinary arts program at Miami Dade College make $6,351 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Miami Dade College

9
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NC
68 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded

Wake Technical Community College is a very large public college located in the large suburb of Raleigh. A Best Colleges rank of #461 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Wake Technical Community College is a great college overall.

There were roughly 68 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at Wake Technical Community College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Wake Technical Community College

10
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
38 Culinary Arts Degrees Awarded
21.1% Growth in Graduates

A-B Tech is a medium-sized public college located in the small city of Asheville. This college ranks 26th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were about 38 culinary arts students who graduated with this degree at A-B Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the culinary arts major at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College earn $7,852 above the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in culinary arts from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College

Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best culinary arts colleges for a specific state in the Southeast Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 192
Florida 282 298
North Carolina 279 401
Virginia 274 261
Tennessee 269 36
South Carolina 248 85
Kentucky 244 109
Louisiana 242 132
Mississippi 234 105
Arkansas 234 53
Alabama 233 64
West Virginia 207 33

View All Rankings >

Culinary Arts is one of 4 different types of Personal & Culinary Services programs to choose from.

Culinary Arts Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts/Chef Training 2,670
Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef 920
General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts 577
Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager 412
Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant 385
Institutional Food Workers 132
Bartending/Bartender 43
Other Culinary Arts & Related Services 29
Food Service, Waiter/Waitress, & Dining Room Management/Manager 10
Culinary Science/Culinology 8

View All Culinary Arts Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Culinary Arts

Related Major Annual Graduates
Cosmetology 34,706
Funeral & Mortuary Science 642
Casino Operations and Services 385

View All Culinary Arts Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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