Culinary Degees

Culinary Arts degrees are available at several levels but their exact content is defined by the type of degree.

For a culinary degree at a Certificate or Diploma level, the curriculum is based on learning hands-on cooking and baking skills. The skills acquired are practical in nature such as choosing, preparing and cooking food, baking and pastry arts, culinary arts and wine and beverage management. The admission requirements are academic or work references and a high school diploma or GED.

To earn an Associate’s Degree, a student must follow not only a basic food preparation curriculum, but also complete classes in safety/sanitation, management, and nutrition. Many associate's degree programs offer certificates in addition to degrees. The requirements are the same as for the Certificate and Diploma options.

The most advanced degree option is a Bachelor of Science in culinary studies. The majority of these programs focus on business, marketing, finance, customer service, human resource and management rather than cooking and baking, although the current trend is to offer food science degrees. The Admission requirements are more rigorous - they include a high school diploma or GED, satisfactory high school GPA and SAT scores, and personal essays and references. These degrees are more suitable for students who are hoping to pursue a culinary career in management.

Less intensive options such as apprenticeship programs are also available. As a participant in this type of program, the student learns by working in a hotel, club or restaurant under a skilled professional to learn the culinary arts. The admission requirements are academic and work references and a high school diploma or GED.

Overall, schools are working hard to suit different needs and career aspirations, from creating new degrees to offering many courses online. Taking advantage of these options has never been easier.

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