University Programs

Degree Programs at the CIA

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is the premier provider of culinary education for undergraduate students and foodservice and hospitality professionals. The college’s mission is to provide the world’s best professional culinary education, supported by its core values of excellence, leadership, professionalism, ethics, and respect for diversity.

The college offers two degree programs:

Bachelor of Professional Studies (B.P.S., 38 months)
Associate in Occupational Studies (A.O.S., 21 months)

Each program offers majors in the culinary arts and the baking & pastry arts.

All CIA degree programs emphasize professional, hands-on learning in the college’s kitchens, bakeshops, and restaurants – more than 1,300 hours in total. In addition, all programs include an 18-week externship offering real-world experience at one of more than 1,600 top restaurant, hotel, and resort locations.

CIA classes span the culinary globe, exploring great cultures, cooking techniques, and cuisines to prepare students for the diversity and creativity of the foodservice industry. Associate degree classes are taken in a progressive sequence optimized to build food knowledge, skills, and production experience. These studies culminate in operating courses that give students both kitchen and front-of-house experiences in the school’s famous restaurants. The bachelor’s programs also focus on foodservice management development, with a broad range of management and liberal arts courses.

The college’s extraordinary faculty and facilities make the CIA experience remarkable. More than 140 instructors from 13 countries make up the CIA’s faculty, which has the broadest base of industry experience – and the most American Culinary Federation-Certified Master Chefs - of any culinary school in the world. At the CIA, students learn from accomplished chefs and bakers, who are trained to be certified hospitality educators as well.

The CIA’s extensive Hudson Valley campus in Hyde Park, New York features 41 kitchens and bakeshops, five public restaurants, lecture halls and classrooms. The Conrad N. Hilton Library, offers the largest culinary research collection of any culinary school. CIA students also enjoy a recreation and athletics center, contemporary residence halls, and a wireless computer network. Beyond campus, students frequently go to New York City for recreation and industry research, an hour and forty minutes away by train.

The CIA’s graduation rates significantly exceed the national average. This success carries forward to the job market, and top employers come to the campus quarterly to recruit students. Graduates enjoy a high employment rate with leading restaurant, hotel, resort, and foodservice companies. In the college’s most recent alumni survey, 98% of responding graduates said they were employed within six months of graduation.

The CIA is represented around the world by more than 36,000 alumni. As industry leaders, they become executive chefs, restaurant and business owners, hotel executives, food writers, pastry chefs, research chefs, and culinary educators. The college’s surveys show that CIA graduates have impressive career and salary growth, and their median salaries are significantly higher than median industry salaries.

CIA graduates include: Rick Crossland, SVP of culinary and beverage development, Darden Restaurants; Steven Ells, founder and CEO, Chipotle Mexican Grill chain; Todd English, executive chef and restaurateur, The Olive Group; Larry Forgione, executive chef at An American Place; Calvin Harris, executive chef at Triarc Restaurant Group; Roger Kaplan, VP operations of Ruths Chris Steak House; Melissa Kelly, co-owner and executive chef, Primo; Doug Martinides, vice president of culinary solutions, Aramark; Sara Moulton, executive chef Gourmet magazine and host of “Sara’s Secrets” on the Food Network; and Walter Scheib, executive chef of The White House.

The CIA is accredited by the prestigious Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredits leading colleges and universities in the region. The college is also accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT).

Want to learn more? Visit http://www.ciachef.edu.