The Culinary Institute of America
Admissions Office
1946 Campus Drive
Hyde Park, New York 12538-1499
COSTS:
Tuition:
$22,280
Room and Board:
$8,100
Fees, books, misc.:
$400
Hyde Park, New York
Overview
The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a private, not-for-profit college dedicated to providing the world’s best undergraduate education in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts. Guided by its core values of excellence, leadership, professionalism, ethics, and respect for diversity, the CIA strives to foster an atmosphere where students can develop both professionally and personally. At the CIA, aspiring culinarians gain the general knowledge and specific skills they need to grow into positions of leadership in the foodservice and hospitality industry, the largest private employer in the United States.
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America today enrolls more than 2,800 students from virtually every state and thirty countries around the world, all united by their shared passion for food. The CIA student body has an equal balance of recent high school graduates and adults returning to higher education.
As the world’s premier culinary college, the CIA is renowned for its degree programs, extraordinary faculty, and outstanding educational facilities. All CIA degree programs emphasize professional, hands-on learning in the college’s kitchens, bakeshops, and restaurants. 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. Classes are taken in a progressive sequence optimized to build skills, food knowledge, and production experience. These studies culminate in operating courses that give students both kitchen and front-of-the-house experiences in the college’s famous restaurants. Bachelor’s degree students also focus on foodservice management development, with a broad range of business management and liberal arts courses.
The Culinary Institute of America is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 (telephone: 215-662-5000). The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
The CIA is also accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). The certificate of accreditation is available for viewing on the wall of the President’s Wing on the second floor of Roth Hall at the college’s Hyde Park, New York, campus. Supporting documentation can be reviewed in the office of the Associate Vice President of Planning, Research, and Accreditation, located on the third floor of Roth Hall. Information related to tuition charges, fees, and length of comparable programs at other institutions may be obtained from the ACCSCT at 2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 302, Arlington, Virginia 22201 (telephone: 703-247-4212).
Location and Community
The CIA’s scenic 170-acre campus is set along the east bank of the Hudson River in Hyde Park, New York, conveniently located 1½—2 hours from New York City and Albany.
The Mid-Hudson region’s attractions and recreational opportunities offer something for everyone in both rural and urban settings. There are a number of state parks and historic sites throughout the area. Students can taste wines at local vineyards, visit farmer’s markets, and pick apples at nearby orchards. To the west lie the Catskill and Shawangunk Mountains, with many opportunities for hiking, skiing, rock climbing, mountain biking, and sightseeing. Concerts, plays, films, and other cultural and special events are offered regularly at the many colleges, theaters, and community facilities throughout the Hudson Valley and Catskill regions. In addition, students can take advantage of the campus’s proximity to New York City to experience the culture, arts, and nightlife of this exciting city and food mecca.
Academic Life
At the core of The Culinary Institute of America’s curriculum lies more than 1,300 hours of hands-on instruction in its kitchens and bakeshops as well as classes developing the managerial skills and creative thinking that today’s culinary professional requires. Students learn about foods, cooking and baking techniques, cuisines, and business fundamentals while advancing through skills and production kitchens. They also gain invaluable experience in a paid externship program and by cooking and serving in the college’s bakery café or in some of the four fine-dining public restaurants on campus. Bachelor’s degree students also take courses in marketing, communications, psychology, foreign languages and cultures, accounting and the use of computers in the food business, and financial and human resources management.
Students must earn 132 total credits in culinary arts management or in baking and pastry arts management to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Students must earn 69 total credits in culinary arts or in baking and pastry arts to graduate with an associate degree.
All students work in externships for a minimum of eighteen weeks (600 hours). These externships provide students with valuable on-the-job experience at one of more than 1,200 top foodservice and hospitality properties—such as hotels, restaurants, and resorts—around the world. B.P.S. students also travel to California for a wine and food seminar, where they can learn from local purveyors and visit area wineries and vineyards.
The college’s faculty is composed of more than 135 chefs and instructors from sixteen countries whose credentials and industry experience are unmatched in culinary education. The faculty also includes the largest concentration of American Culinary Federation—Certified Master Chefs anywhere. The 18:1 student-faculty ratio provides student support and mentoring, while giving students the opportunity to work in an environment closely representative of the foodservice industry.
Majors Offered:
The Culinary Institute of America awards the degree of Bachelor of Professional Studies (B.P.S.) in baking and pastry arts management and in culinary arts management, as well as the degree of Associate in Occupational Studies (A.O.S.) in baking and pastry arts and in culinary arts.
Facilities and Resources
CIA students learn the fundamentals of the culinary and baking and pastry arts in the college’s forty-one professionally equipped production kitchens and bakeshops and five student-staffed public restaurants on campus—the American Bounty Restaurant, Escoffier Restaurant, Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici, St. Andrew’s Café, and Apple Pie Bakery Café, sponsored by Rich Products Corporation. Classes are centered in the college’s main building, Roth Hall, as well as in the Shunsuke Takaki School of Baking and Pastry, General Foods Nutrition Center, and Colavita Center for Italian Food and Wine. The Culinary regularly hosts world-renowned chefs for lectures, cooking demonstrations, and discussions with students in its Danny Kaye Theatre and Anheuser-Busch Theatre. Other valuable academic resources include the 76,000-volume Conrad N. Hilton Library, which contains the largest culinary collection of any culinary school; audiovisual programs to supplement course work; computer labs and workstations; and a wireless network that allows students to access online resources from almost anywhere on campus.
Campus Life
CIA students enjoy an active campus life, with a variety of year-round fitness programs, intramural and club sports, student clubs, and extracurricular activities such as ski and camping trips, on-campus live entertainment events, presentations by leading chefs and industry executives, and cook-offs. The college’s Student Recreation Center includes a six-lane pool, a gymnasium, racquetball courts, an aerobics studio, a fitness center and free-weight room, a game room, outdoor tennis courts, and the Courtside Café and Pub. Four coed residence halls and five Adirondack-style lodges house approximately 1,700 students on campus. The college’s dining plan provides students with two meals per instructional day.
All students in good standing are members of the Student Council. The council’s Executive Board acts as a liaison between students and the administration. The Student Council helps support student activities and funds all student clubs and committees.
Expenses
Freshman tuition for academic year is $22,280. Board is $1120 per semester, which includes two meals per instructional day. Housing costs range from $1190 to $3170 per semester, depending on the room to which the student is assigned.
Additional required fees for the freshman year include a confirmation fee of $100, equipment fees of $1180 for culinary supplies or $995 for baking and pastry supplies, and a general fee of $495 per semester, which includes student activity and exam fees, as well as secondary accident insurance. The CIA offers students a tuition installment plan. Details are available from the college’s Bursar’s Office.
Financial Aid / Scholarships
More than 90 percent of the CIA’s students receive financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. Federal programs offered at the college include the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Stafford Loan, Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study Program (which provides a variety of on-campus and community service jobs to eligible students), Federal PLUS Program, and Veterans Administration benefits. Students should also investigate their own state’s programs and apply if those grants or scholarships can be used in New York State.
Students who have applied for admission or who are currently enrolled at the CIA may apply for scholarships offered by various organizations in the foodservice industry. A list of these scholarships, which are administered by the college, is available from the Financial Aid Office.
Admission Requirements / Application
The Admissions Committee seeks candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to a culinary career and who have the personal initiative, confidence, and motivation to succeed. The basic requirements are successful completion of a secondary school education or its equivalent and some experience in the foodservice and hospitality industry. The applicant’s educational record is evaluated on the basis of overall performance and the type of program taken. Academics and leadership ability are key requirements for the B.P.S. programs. SATs are strongly recommended but not required.
Preference is given to candidates who have worked in foodservice, particularly in a kitchen that offers a varied menu. Before entering the program, students should have had about six months of hands-on food preparation in a non-fast-food environment.
Applicants must submit a formal application for admission, a nonrefundable $30 application fee, an official secondary school transcript (not a student copy), an essay of between 400 and 500 words, and an official college transcript, if applicable. Students applying directly from high school may include an optional secondary school report. In addition, A.O.S. candidates must provide one recommendation, and B.P.S. applicants must provide two. Bachelor’s degree candidates must also participate in an on-campus or telephone interview.
Students may apply for admission to the CIA year-round, as the college offers multiple enrollment seasons from which to choose. Applicants should submit their materials according to the enrollment schedule (available at the Web site listed below) that corresponds to the season they are interested in beginning the degree program. Students are notified of an admission decision according to that schedule. For information, to schedule a tour, or to participate in an Open House program, students should contact:
Admissions Office
1946 Campus Drive
Hyde Park, New York 12538-1499
800-CULINARY (toll-free)
E-mail: admissions@culinary.edu
http://www.ciachef.edu
 |
 |