2025 Best General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

If you plan on getting your associate degree in general cooking & related culinary arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #132 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 6 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 196 associate degrees in general cooking & related culinary arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts School for Your Associate Degree

The general cooking & related culinary arts associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality general cooking & related culinary arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to general cooking & related culinary arts students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of general cooking & related culinary arts students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized general cooking & related culinary arts related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for general cooking & related culinary arts students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts in the Southeast Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in general cooking & related culinary arts.

Top Southeast Region Schools for an Associate in General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts

1

Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

33 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in general cooking & related culinary arts needs to take a look at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale. Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Fort Lauderdale.More information about a associate in general cooking & related culinary arts from Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale

2

NorthWest Arkansas Community College
Bentonville, AR

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

21 Annual Graduates

NorthWest Arkansas Community College is a good choice for students pursuing an associate degree in general cooking & related culinary arts. Located in the city of Bentonville, NWACC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in general cooking & related culinary arts from NorthWest Arkansas Community College

3

Meridian Community College
Meridian, MS

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

10 Annual Graduates

Meridian Community College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in general cooking & related culinary arts. Located in the town of Meridian, MCC is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in general cooking & related culinary arts from Meridian Community College

4

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Perkinston, MS

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

15 Annual Graduates

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is a good choice for students interested in an associate degree in general cooking & related culinary arts. Located in the rural area of Perkinston, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in general cooking & related culinary arts from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

5

Hinds Community College
Raymond, MS

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

42 Annual Graduates

Located in the rural area of Raymond, Hinds Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in general cooking & related culinary arts from Hinds Community College

6

Tidewater Community College
Norfolk, VA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

10 Annual Graduates

Tidewater Community College is a large public college located in the city of Norfolk.More information about a associate in general cooking & related culinary arts from Tidewater Community College

Best General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best general cooking & related culinary arts schools for a specific state in the Southeast Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Mississippi	272	79
Florida	232	41
Arkansas	161	20
Virginia	158	92

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General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts Related Rankings by Major

One of 11 majors within the Culinary Arts area of study, General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts/Chef Training	769
Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef	303
Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager	148
Institutional Food Workers	24
Other Culinary Arts & Related Services	22

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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.