ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE CULINARY ARTS
Become a Certified Culinarian!
The AAS Culinary Arts at UAA is a cutting-edge program accredited by the American Culinary Federation (ACF) that introduces you to seasoned professionals, the hottest trends, and constantly-evolving curriculum to reflect the rapid-fire changes in our industry. Students in this program learn how to write recipes, shop for ingredients, stay within an acceptable food cost percentage, and sell final product. Upon successful completion of the AAS Culinary Arts degree, students will be ACF certified culinarians.
We also offer specialized classes for those interested in rounding out their culinary education. Our recipe for success includes intensives on writing business proposals for your bar, bakery, or restaurant idea; an entire class devoted to beer, wine, and mixology; catering management for those interested in culinary flexibility; and excellent, hands-on experiences in both the commercial kitchen and bakery. For those interested in front-of-the-house careers, UAA Culinary Arts has its own restaurant, Lucy's, which is completely student-run.
Students in the AAS Culinary Arts program have a unique opportunity to study abroad in Florence, Italy at FUA APICIUS: International School of Hospitality. Upon completion of core and laboratory courses, students may elect to attend a semester abroad to fulfill their elective requirements.
Come explore all of the tasty opportunities!
- American Culinary Federation Accreditation
A culinary school that boasts an American Culinary Federation accreditation, like the Culinary Arts Program at UAA, comes with a higher level of prestige. Students who graduate from a recognized ACF program are usually considered more marketable from an employment viewpoint, and are more likely to work among peers of similar stature. Attending an accredited culinary school ensures that the program and curriculum meets exemplary standards of culinary education. After completing the AAS degree in Culinary Arts at UAA, graduates will automatically be designated "Certified Culinarians" by the ACF, opening doors and providing professional employment opportunities at graduation.
ACF Program Data UAA Culinary Arts, AAS
Year Declared Majors ACF Student Certification Rate Graduation Rate Job Placement Rate 2017 83 0% 18.1% 94% 2018 91 0% 18.7% 94% 2019 60 0% 26.7% 35% 2020 53 0% 22.6% 41% 2021 44 33.3% 13.6% 83% 2022 52 90% 19.2% 90% 1. Graduation rate determined by number of degrees award divided by enrolled students as culinary majors
2. ACF Rate determined by number of students that have certified divided by number of graduated students
Source: UAA Office of Institutional Research - Study Abroad
Study Abroad
Students admitted to the AAS Culinary Arts program have an opportunity to attend a semester abroad at APICIUS in Florence, Italy! Approved courses will be used to fulfill the elective requirements in the degree program.
Requirements
- Completed all general education courses (12 credits)
- Completed all culinary core courses
- Completed all kitchen and bakery labs
- Students must have a 3.0 GPA
- Culinary Arts Scholarships
Scholarships
UAA Culinary Arts offers several scholarship opportunities that can help offset the cost of coming to culinary school. The scholarship application period is October 1st to February 15th. Scholarships are applied to the following academic year.
- UAA Culinary Arts Scholarship
- Sue Linford Culinary Arts Scholarship
- Gail Marshall Culinary Arts Scholarship
- Giorgio Chrimat and Amanda Saxton Culinary Arts Scholarship
Additional Scholarship Opportunities
Incoming Student Requirements
- Have a 2.0 GPA either from high school or previous college transcripts*
- Have SAT or ACT scores to determine writing placement. If you do not have SAT or ACT scores you may take a writing sample or take the online Accuplacer ($21).
- All students must take the ALEKS Math placement
*The University of Alaska Anchorage is an open-access public university. Test scores are not used as part of the admissions decision for most programs. The University of Alaska uses placement exams as part of UAA’s advising and registration process to determine course placement. Students must have earned a high school diploma or GED (secondary student can apply to take classes while concurrently completing their high school diploma). There is a no minimum grade point average (GPA) requirement for general admissions, however, students admitted with a GPA below a 2.0 are automatically placed into the General Associates of Arts program until a 2.0 is achieved at which time a student can change majors.
The Associates of Applied Science Culinary Arts degree requires the following:
- General Education Requirements: 12 credits
- Major Requirements: 48 credits
- A total of 60 credits is required
These core culinary courses are prerequisites to the laboratory courses. All students must successfully complete the core courses with a letter grade of C or better.
- CA A101 Hospitality Industry: Careers 2 credits
Offered in Fall & Spring
Explores career opportunities in the hospitality industry and examines emerging labor trends.
- CA A104 Sanitation 2 credits
Offered in Fall & Spring
This course focuses on sanitation principles, concepts, methods, codes and regulations current to the foodservice industry. All students take the mandatory ServSafe Food Protection Manager national exam certification. Students are required to have their ServSafe certification before moving into the primary laboratories.
- CA A107 Procurement & Cost Control 3 credits
Offered in Fall & Spring
This course focuses on critical control points in the foodservice cost control cycle. Prepares student to analyze costs and make foodservice operation decisions. Examines foodservice industry procurement practices and standards.
Remaining major requirements
- CA A111 Bakery Skills Development Lab 4 creditsIntroduces and provides student with a comprehensive theoretical and practical foundation in commercial baking practices.
Registration Restrictions: Admission to the Associate of Applied Science in Culinary Arts or the Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Administration, and current ServSafe certification by course start date - CA A103 Culinary Skills Development Lab 4 creditsIntroduces and provides student with a comprehensive theoretical and practical foundation in commercial kitchen practices.
Registration Restrictions: Admission to the Associate of Applied Science in Culinary Arts or the Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Administration, and current ServSafe certification by course start date - *CA A114 Beverage Management 3 credits
Offered in Spring only
Reviews the history of the beverage industry, including alcohol and non-alcohol beverages. Focuses on the management and operations of beverage service in restaurants and hotels. Covers legal responsibilities of serving alcohol and awareness of alcohol abuse.
Special Note: Course prepares student to take the state alcohol server exam.
Registration Restrictions: Must be age 21 or older by the first day of class - CA A201 A la Carte Kitchen Lab 4 creditsEmphasizes cooking techniques, ingredients and professionalism in a commercial kitchen.
Special Note: Must have instructor approval to retake course.
Registration Restrictions: Admission to the Associate of Applied Science in Culinary Arts or the Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Administration, and current ServSafe certification by course start date - CA A202 Advanced Baking Lab 4 creditsExplores advanced bakery, pastry, confectionary and presentation techniques in a commercial bakery environment. Emphasizes production processes, service, portion controls, safety and sanitation in a commercial bakery.
Special Note: Must have instructor approval to retake course.
Registration Restrictions: Admission to the Associate of Applied Science in Culinary Arts or the Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Administration, and current ServSafe certification by course start date - CA A223 Hospitality Concept Design 3 credits
Offered in Spring Only
Introduces fundamental concepts of catering management, planning and production of events.
Registration Restrictions: Admission to the Associate of Applied Science in Culinary Arts or the Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Administration - CA A224 Hospitality Service 3 creditsFocuses on hands-on instruction of dining room service and management, including duties of front-of-the-house service to include server, greeter, busser, steward and cashier. Reviews the process of merchandising food, beverages and services. Examines the use of table topography, glassware, china, linen and service ware in a professional restaurant operation.
Registration Restrictions: Admission to the Associate of Applied Science in Culinary Arts or the Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Administration, and current ServSafe certification by course start date - *CA A225 Hospitality Concept Design 3 credits
Offered in Fall Only
Examines concept development and business planning for professional foodservice facilities. Explores menu planning/pricing, operating, budgeting, and production models in foodservice management. Explores trends in technology, human resource management and financing.
- CA A230 Foodservice Management 3 credits
Offered in Spring Only
Covers supervisory and management responsibilities within hospitality food service operations. Emphasizes communication, problem solving, leadership, human resource planning, training, motivating and organizational skills. Labor costs, cost control and the legal environment are examined
Online Course
- CA A270 Culinary Nutrition 3 credits
Offered in Fall Only
Presents the physical and chemical characteristics of foods that affect nutritional value. Explores the modification process and application of these concepts in planning nutritionally balanced meals.
Special Note: Students are responsible for purchasing all food and equipment for class projects. Cost of food alone may exceed $100 depending on student location. Availability of a kitchen, kitchen appliances, and a smart phone, tablet or laptop with video capabilities and ability to transmit photos and videos electronically is required. - CA A295 Foodservice Internship 3 creditsProvides supervised workplace training in selected foodservice industry settings. Integrates knowledge and skills through work designed to meet students' individual competency needs and career objectives. Requires minimum of 225 hours at worksite plus 15 hours of consultation with faculty mentor. Upon successful completion of this internship, students will be certified as a culinarian with the American Culinary Federation.
Registration Restrictions: Admission to the Associate of Applied Science in Culinary Arts and current ServSafe certification by course start date - *CA A490 Culinary Selected Topics These are 1-credit courses that are intensives. Instructors choose course subject and examines topics in culinary arts resulting from special demands of the industry or special faculty expertise.
*Elective culinary arts courses
This is an example of a full-time student schedule.
Your student success advisor will help create an academic plan based on your needs.
| First Semester (Fall Start) | Second Semester (Spring) |
| CA A101 Hospitality Industry: Careers (2) | CA A111 Bakery Skills Development Laboratory (4) |
| CA A104 Sanitation (2) | CA A202 Advanced Baking Laboratory (4) |
| CA A107 Procurement & Cost Control (3) | MATH A104 Technical Math (3) |
| CA A270 Culinary Nutrition (3) | WRTG A212 Writing & the Professions (3) |
| WRTG A111 Writing Across Contexts (3) | Culinary Arts Elective (1) |
| Culinary Arts Elective (2) | |
| Total Credits 15 | Total Credits 15 |
| Third Semester (Fall) | Fourth Semester (Spring) |
|
CA A103 Culinary Skills Development Laboratory (4) |
CA A230 Food Service Management (3) |
|
CA A201 A la Carte Kitchen Laboratory (4) |
CA A223 Catering Management (3) |
|
CA A114 Beverage Management (3) or Advisor Approved Culinary Elective |
CA A224 Hospitality Service (3) |
|
Culinary Arts Elective (1) |
Culinary Arts Elective (3) |
|
COMM A235 Small Group Communication (3) |
CA A295 Food Service Internship (3) *Can be completed in the summer semester or the following semester |
|
Total Credits 15 |
Total Credits 15 |
Estimated Cost of AAS Culinary Arts Program
| Tuition | Student Lab Fees | Estimated Total |
| $14,050 | $2105 | $16,155 |
*Costs estimations are subject to change due to unknown conditions and variables. Estimations include the price of resident tuition and student lab fees for the 2023-2024 school year. Cost of books, UAA associated fees, and housing/meal plans are not included here.
Labor Statistics
