Chef Renee Erickson works with student Amberlin Lee. PC: UHMC Culinary Arts Program.

The 2020 gradreports ranked the University of Hawai’i Maui College Culinary Arts Program No. 1 on its survey of the 25 best associate in culinary arts programs in the United States.

“It’s an incredible and humbling honor,” says Program Coordinator and Pastry Chef Teresa Shurilla said in a press release.

“It’s a tribute to our faculty, staff, administration, and students. Even in this challenging time with our kitchens and classrooms closed, we are forging ahead making use of every available technology.
And it underlines the importance of all us supporting our food and beverage community. We want our all our graduates to thrive in industry when it’s safe out there once again.”

The survey is based on median starting salaries for graduates in their first year after college.

Kapi’olani Community College Culinary Arts Program – the only other Hawai’i program included in the survey – is ranked #7 and the famed Culinary Institute of America is ranked #5.

According to UHMC, the rankings are the first to be based on median early-career salary data of more than five million graduates in dozens of different programs of study from the U.S. Department of Educationʻs resource, College Scorecard.

Click here to learn more about UHMCʻs culinary program.