Culinary Certification Programs
Studying culinary arts is a great way to get started in an exciting and growing field. Whether you pursue a bachelor's degree, associate degree or a certificate program like American Culinary Institute Certification, you can find an excellent culinary arts school to suit your needs and interests. A few of the top culinary arts schools include:
Institute of Culinary Education
The Institute of Culinary Education is located in New York City. It offers culinary diploma programs in:
- culinary arts
- culinary management
- pastry & baking arts.
Programs range from 316 to 650 hours with both classroom time and an externship at a catering kitchen, hotel or restaurant for real world experience. Class size never exceeds 16 students, making individual attention an important part of the curriculum.
To attend the Institute of Culinary Education, a high school diploma or GED is required. It is not necessary to have prior culinary experience.Tuition ranges from $12,900 for the Culinary Management program to $28,017 for the Culinary Arts diploma. Other features of this school include:
- a 25 percent discount offered for students taking Culinary Management along with one of the other two programs
- job placement services
- student housing.
Johnson & Wales University
Johnson & Wales University has campuses in:
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Denver, Colorado
- North Miami Florida
- Providence, Rhode Island.
Tuition in all locations is $21,297 annually, with additional fees for room and board. Both Bachelor's and Associate degree programs are offered in a variety of culinary areas. A high school diploma or GED is required and there is no application fee. Courses of study include:
- Baking and Pastry Arts (Associate or Bachelor's program)
- Culinary Arts (Associate or Bachelor's program)
- Culinary Nutrition (Bachelor's program)
- Food Marketing (Bachelor's program)
- Food Service Management (Bachelor's program).
Johnson & Wales has a career development office to keep students in touch with employment needs in the real world. Other services offered to students include:
- dining facilities
- health services
- university bookstore.
New England Culinary Institute
The New England Culinary Institute is located in Montpellier, Vermont and Essex, Vermont. This culinary arts school offers hands-on training in its own restaurant, as well as paid internships worldwide. Classes are small, with a student to teacher ratio of 10:1.Programs are offered in:
- Baking & Pastry (Associate degree or certificate)
- Culinary Arts (Bachelor's, Associate or certificate)
- Hospitality & Restaurant Management (Bachelor's, Associate or online Bachelor's).
A high school diploma or GED is required for admission, and tuition ranges from $10,388 per year for certificate programs to $24,788 per year for Bachelor's programs, with additional fees for housing and other expenses.
DCT – Swiss-European Culinary & Pastry Chocolate Art Center
Those with a passion for pastry, chocolates and European cuisine might want to consider study abroad at DCT – Swiss-European Culinary & Pastry Chocolate Art Center located in Vitznau-Lucerne, Switzerland. Diploma programs are offered in a variety of European Culinary Arts (ECA) areas including:
- European Gourmet Cuisine
- European Pastry & Chocolate
- Foundation in European Cuisine.
There is also an advanced diploma program offered, which combines the study of all three areas and includes a six- or nine-month paid internship in a Swiss restaurant. Tuition, room and board for DCT is about CHF 11,500 per term.
The Culinary Institute of America
The Culinary Institute of America has campuses in Hyde Park, New York and Napa Valley, California. Programs are offered in:
- Baking & Pastry Arts (Associate degree)
- Baking & Pastry Arts Management (Bachelor's degree)
- Culinary Arts (Associate degree)
- Culinary Arts Management (Bachelor's degree).
To be admitted to the Culinary Institute of America, an assessment test is required, as well as at least six months of experience in a professional kitchen and letters of recommendation. Freshman tuition is $10,640 per semester with some additional fees.
Online Culinary Arts Schools
Getting an education online has become a popular way to earn a degree. Coursework can be completed at home during your free time, without having to give up your regular job.
In the culinary field, most educators agree that it is not practical to teach hands-on, professional-level courses online. The experience gained in true-to-life lab situations is an indispensable part of culinary arts school. However, if you have prior lab experience (most often through a culinary associate degree), you can earn a culinary bachelor's degree online.
Online education has become much more respected in recent years as more traditional schools add online options to their course offerings. Degrees earned online are identical to those earned on campus, so the reputation of the individual school is far more important than whether the degree was earned online or through traditional classroom study.
Resources
Coley, Jennifer (n.d.). Online Education in Culinary Arts. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from the CookingSchools.com Web site.
Chef2Chef LLC (2008). Top 100 Culinary Schools. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from the Chef2Chef Web site.
DCT – European Culinary & Pastry Chocolate Arts Center (2008). DCT – European Culinary Arts & Pastry Chocolate Arts Center. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from the DCT – European Culinary & Pastry Chocolate Arts Center Web site.
Johnson & Wales University (2000). Johnson & Wales University. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from the Johnson & Wales University Web site.
New England Culinary Institute (2008). New England Culinary Institute. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from the New England Culinary Institute Web site.
The Culinary Institute of America (n.d.). The Culinary Institute of America. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from The Culinary Institute of America Web site.
The Institute of Culinary Education (2007). The Institute of Culinary Education. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from the Institute of Culinary Education Web site.
About Us