by our College Data Analytics TeamImagine yourself working in a bakery pulling a batch of fresh bread from the oven, or as a cook in a busy restaurant, preparing filet mignon, chicken parmesan or butternut squash soup. If you have a passion for food and love spending time in the kitchen, you may want to consider a major in Culinary Arts.
As a Culinary Arts student, you will learn everything you need to know to become a top chef. Along with classes in food science, nutrition, baking, menu planning, and garde manger, you will also study hospitality, facilities management, and business administration to give you the skills to cook, as well as manage a restaurant property.
Maybe you have a passion for a certain type of cooking? Don't worry, general Cooking and Related Culinary Arts is not the only specialization available to you. You can choose to concentrate in Baking and Pastry Arts, Bartending, Chef Training, Catering Management, Food Preparation, Meat Cutting, Food Service, Dining Room Management, Culinary Science, and Wine Stewardship/Sommelier.
Culinary Arts was the 97th most popular major in the 2020-2021 school year. Colleges in the United States reported awarding 19,806 degrees in this year alone. This represents a 10.6% reduction in culinary arts degrees awarded over the prior year's total of 21,906.
Our 2023 Best Culinary Arts Schools ranking analyzes 137 of these schools to determine the best overall colleges for culinary arts students. Continue reading to check out one of our many unbiased rankings of culinary arts programs later in this article.
Chefs set the pace in the kitchen. This means leadership skills are mandatory. You must be prepared to oversee staff to ensure all meals are cooked efficiently and only the best quality meals leave the kitchen. Successful chefs are also creative and have strong time management skills. Good business skills are just as important as cooking skills for executive chefs.
Chefs often work full time with long hours both during the week and on weekends. Since executive chefs oversee food delivery, cooking and plan the menu, they can sometimes put in 12-hour workdays.
In order to become a head chef, you must work your way up. A part-time job as a line cook or dishwasher will expose you to the kitchen environment and allow you to pick up some skills from the other cooks. Training at a school and the following apprenticeship will refine these skills. Work experience along with advanced education will allow students to find jobs as executive chefs or head cooks. Although it's not necessary, certification by The American Culinary Federation may attract the attention of more employers.
This major is available as an Associate's or Bachelor's degree. Depending on your career goals, an associate's degree along with work experience may be sufficient training. However, if you seek a more advanced position or want to run your own business, a Bachelor's may be helpful.
culinary arts degree applicants generally need have finished high school or their GED. Many schools may also have GPA and SAT/ACT score minimums that must be met. In addition to these basic culinary arts program qualifications, to serve in some culinary arts careers, special certification may be required outside of your degree.
There are many different culinary arts degree levels. You can spend many years getting as high as a in culinary arts to something that takes less time like a . Different culinary arts degrees vary in how long they take.
| Degree | Credit Requirements | Typical Program Length |
|---|---|---|
| Associate Degree | 60-70 credits | 2 years |
| Bachelor’s Degree | 120 credits | 4 years |
| Master’s Degree | 50-70 credits | 1-3 years |
| Doctorate | Program required coursework including thesis or dissertation | At least 4 years |
A bachelor's degree is the most common level of education achieved by those in careers related to culinary arts, with approximately 10.5% of workers getting one. Find out other typical degree levels for culinary arts workers below.
| Level of Education | Percentage of Workers |
|---|---|
| High School Diploma | 43.9% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 16.1% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 11.4% |
| Bachelor’s Degree | 10.8% |
| Some College Courses | 9.3% |
View the chart below to get an idea of what degree level most of those in culinary arts careers have.
This of course varies depending on which culinary arts career you choose.
Graduates with a degree in Culinary Arts often work in restaurants, hotels, or as private chefs. Some have gone on to open their own restaurants and start their own catering services.
Jobs at high-end venues, such as restaurants, hotels, and casinos, will be extremely competitive since they are limited and the pay is greater.
Want a job when you graduate with your culinary arts degree? Culinary Arts careers are expected to grow 8.2% between 2016 and 2026.
The following options are some of the most in-demand careers related to culinary arts.
| Occupation Name | Projected Jobs | Expected Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant Cooks | 1,377,200 | 11.8% |
| Food Preparation and Serving Worker Supervisors | 1,024,500 | 9.3% |
| Bartenders | 626,300 | 2.5% |
| Institution and Cafeteria Cooks | 457,400 | 7.7% |
| Food Service Managers | 336,400 | 9.0% |
Recently graduated culinary arts students earned an average of $24,832 in 2019-2020. Earnings can range from as low as $7,848 to as high as $45,756. As you might expect, salaries for culinary arts graduates vary depending on the level of education that was acquired.
Salaries for culinary arts graduates can vary widely by the occupation you choose as well. The following table shows the top highest paying careers culinary arts grads often go into.
| Occupation Name | Median Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Professors | $76,990 |
| Food Scientists and Technologists | $72,570 |
| Food Service Managers | $58,960 |
| Chefs and Head Cooks | $52,160 |
| Private Cooks | $41,240 |
With over 1,794 different culinary arts degree programs to choose from, finding the best fit for you can be a challenge. Fortunately you have come to the right place. We have analyzed all of these schools to come up with hundreds of unbiased culinary arts school rankings to help you with this.
Culinary Arts is one of 4 different types of Personal & Culinary Services programs to choose from.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Culinary Arts/Chef Training | 9,052 |
| Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef | 4,322 |
| General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts | 3,156 |
| Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager | 1,380 |
| Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant | 801 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Cosmetology | 107,895 |
| Funeral & Mortuary Science | 2,354 |
| Casino Operations and Services | 192 |
| Other Personal & Culinary Services | 81 |
Image Credit: By U.S. Army Europe Images under License More about our data sources and methodologies.
