• Associate Degree Program

Baking and Pastry Arts

Program Overview

Sweet Dreams

Have you had a desire to run your own bakery or café as far back as you can remember? Or to design spectacular cakes or prepare desserts for elegant catered affairs? °ä±õ´¡â€™s Associate in Baking and Pastry Arts degree program is where you can make these dreams happen! In less than two years, you’ll be well on your way to a successful career in this creative profession thanks to the best hands-on learning experience with our expert, industry-proven faculty.

Quick Facts

Start Dates: September, January, April*

Campuses: New York, California, Texas

CIA Core Advantage: Baking

Internship Included

*April start not available in Texas

Program Highlights

  • Learn how to craft delicious high-end products like chocolates, confections, pastries, artisan breads, cakes, and plated desserts.
  • Study pastry techniques, baking ingredients and technology, and principles of design.
  • Gain real-world experience through a paid internship semester at one of the °ä±õ´¡â€™s 2,000+ food industry partners. (Already have experience? Check out our Turbo Option.)
  • Hone your business skills with study in management, communications, and finance.
  • Discover how a retail bakery operation is run—hands-on in °ä±õ´¡â€™s bakery café, one of our that serve thousands of customers annually.
  • Network with top baking and pastry employers who recruit at CIA throughout the year.

Careers

Rise to the Top in Baking and Pastry

Explore all your career options at exciting venues such as:

  • Bakeries
  • Bistros
  • Hotels
  • Private clubs
  • Resorts
  • Restaurants
A pastry chef in a white uniform and hat is piping chocolate into molds in a commercial kitchen. She is focused on her task, handling a piping bag filled with chocolate mixture, with trays and cooking equipment visible in the background.

Curriculum

Cutting-Edge Curriculum

New York and California Campuses

The 66-credit Associate in Occupational Studies (AOS) in Baking and Pastry Arts degree program includes:

  • 52.5 credits in baking and pastry arts requirements
  • 7.5 credits in liberal arts requirements
  • 6 credits in business management requirements

You will get a hands-on experiential foundation in the baking and pastry arts, including specialty breads, confectionery art, production desserts, design, advanced baking principles, menus, and café savory foods.

  • As part of your degree program, you’ll get real-world experience during a semester-long internship at one of more than 2,000 CIA-approved businesses, as well as in the kitchens and dining rooms of °ä±õ´¡â€™s award-winning public restaurants.

Texas Campus

The 69-credit Associate in Applied Science (AAS) in Baking and Pastry Arts degree program includes:

  • 52.5 credits in baking and pastry arts requirements
  • 10.5 credits in liberal arts requirements
  • 6 credits in business management requirements

You will get a hands-on experiential foundation in the baking and pastry arts, including specialty breads, confectionery art, production desserts, design, advanced baking principles, menus, and café savory foods.

As part of your degree program, you’ll get real-world experience during a semester-long internship at one of more than 2,000 CIA-approved businesses, as well as in the kitchens and dining rooms of °ä±õ´¡â€™s award-winning public restaurants.

CIA Restaurants and Internship Experiences

High-Energy Experience in Our Restaurants

The CIA restaurant experience will really make you stand out to food industry employers. The hands-on work you’ll do in our restaurant kitchens and dining rooms is exactly the kind of experience they value—and they often look to CIA grads first when hiring.

Internships: Real, Life Experience

You have a world of choices for your semester-long internship, giving you unprecedented access to Michelin three-star restaurants, international hotel groups, innovative test kitchens, and more throughout the food and hospitality industry.

Faculty

We want you to become the best of the best, which is why our faculty members are masters in their fields. Learn from acclaimed chefs, industry executives, world-famous restaurateurs, restaurant owners, published authors, sommeliers, and more.

Admissions

The business of food and hospitality is your future—and there’s no better place to start than here.

Throughout the year we offer campus tours, open houses, and online events so that you can ask questions, learn more about our degree programs, and chat with admissions counselors.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Culinary School Costs

CIA is very committed to making your CIA education as affordable as possible. Our costs are comparable to similar colleges, and here’s even better news—more than 90% of our students receive some form of financial aid.

Don’t let applying for financial assistance keep you from going to the world’s premier culinary college. No matter what your individual circumstances are, we will work with you to help make attending CIA an affordable investment in your future in the world of food.

Chat With a Student

Are you curious about what it’s really like to attend CIA? We’ve got you covered. Our students are ready to answer the questions you haven’t asked anyone else, share their own personal experiences, and give you genuine advice—because they’ve gone through it, too.

School of Baking and Pastry Arts

The School of Baking and Pastry Arts advances baking and pastry skills in state-of-the-art bakeshops, classrooms, and restaurants on campus. Through the college’s vital industry partnerships and gift-in-kind program, students work in spectacular facilities such as the public-facing Apple Pie Bakery Café and have access to premium products like Ghirardelli chocolates. They also explore contemporary methods and concepts, such as baking for vegan, gluten-free, no-sugar, and dairy-free diets. The faculty’s expertise and extensive industry experience bring vibrant creativity and inspiration to learning.

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