Culinary Arts Courses
How to Find the Right One Near Tempe Arizona
You have made a wonderful career choice to become a cook or chef by enrolling in a culinary college near Tempe AZ. You will not only be taught how to create extraordinary dishes or make elegant desserts, you'll also be able to earn a good income doing it. But just how do you set about selecting a culinary school now that you've decided to enroll? Before arriving at your ultimate selection, what requirements should you research and compare among the cooking schools you are considering? Keep in mind that you must choose the right program and degree if you want to be a success in the hospitality and restaurant business. There are a multitude of options to choose from, starting with a certificate or diploma program and progressing to attaining an undergraduate or even a graduate degree. You may attend a small culinary college, an online school, or enroll in a large culinary institute that provides more advanced degrees. The kind of credential and school you pick will undoubtedly be dependent on the amount of money and time you can afford to invest, together with your ultimate career objective. Once you have decided what your main area of interest and budget are, you can begin assessing the cooking schools that meet your initial qualifications. Depending upon the degree and type of culinary school you choose, you can be working as a professional cook or chef in just 6 months. So before we delve more into the method of choosing a school, let's talk a little bit more about the degree and culinary school choices that are available.
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Culinary Arts School Degree Programs
Just as with many other industries or professions in Tempe AZ, there are multiple degree programs that are offered in the culinary arts. At the most elemental level, you can enroll in a nearby cooking course, which are more casual in nature and can run from just a few hours to several weeks. Frequently a diploma or a certificate is presented upon completion. They may be comprehensive in nature, for example teaching how to cook French dishes, or they can be very targeted and focus on one dish, such as Crepes Suzette. Naturally if you are seeking a more formal education suitable for a career in the restaurant profession, you will most likely choose to enroll in a degree program. With a degree program, you will be obligated to devote significantly more time.
- Associate's Degrees can require anywhere from six months to 2 years to finish.
- Bachelor's Degrees usually involve as much as 4 years of education.
- Masters Degrees can take an additional 2 years or even longer after attaining a Bachelor's.
Even more advanced educational options may be offered, such as Doctoral or specialized programs offered by culinary arts institutes. Probably the most important issue to remember when deciding on which degree to strive for is making sure that it furnishes the education and credential necessary to advance your ultimate career goals.
Culinary Arts Institutes
After you have made your selection regarding the type of training and degree that you wish to pursue, you can start your search for the culinary school, college or institute that offers it. For instance, if your goal is to train to be a chef specializing in French cuisine, then naturally you will focus on those schools that furnish the proper training. Or you can pick a school based on its reputation or other criteria (we'll review some of those later) and then choose the best degree program available that is simpatico with your career objectives in Tempe AZ. However you arrive at your decision, culinary schools generally fit within three distinct categories:
- Cooking Schools. A few cooking schools do offer degree programs, but typically they offer certificates or diplomas. Their courses tend to be more focused in nature, and they can last anywhere from a couple of months to as long as three or four years.
- Community Colleges. Regional community colleges can be more inexpensive than most private colleges and many have outstanding programs. They almost solely offer Associate's Degrees and are established and maintained by either state or local governments.
- Culinary Schools and Institutes. The advanced training and degrees are offered by culinary colleges and institutes. A few institutes provide the most highly regarded as well as the highest standard of training in academia. Unfortunately, since they are private schools they often can be more costly than their public counterparts, some much more.
Picking a culinary college will not only be based on the type of program or degree you want to pursue, but also how much you have to spend on your education. If you decide to enroll in a public school to minimize expenses, remember that out-of-state residents generally are required to pay a higher tuition than in-state residents. In addition, numerous community colleges and regional public schools have lower tuition charges for area residents. So don't forget to research the public alternatives within Arizona as well as within the Tempe AZ area to discover the most affordable options.
Online Cooking Schools
Some prospective students may find that there are no culinary institutes that are within driving proximity of their Tempe AZ home. One option is to enroll in online classes within the comfort of one's residence. The accessibility and flexibility makes it the single solution for many students that continue working full-time while attending school. Plus there are more programs online than ever before that are accredited. Bear in mind that a considerable portion of the instruction will be provided through an externship. Externships are programs where students work under local chefs or other culinary arts practitioners to ensure that they obtain hands-on training outside of the internet classroom. Just be sure that the online program you decide on is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education recognized organization (more on this later). So if you are disciplined enough to be able to go to classes and study in this more independent method, earning a cooking online degree just might be the ideal choice for you.
Contrasting Culinary Institutions
At this point you should have decided on the type of degree that you plan to attain, and whether or not you would like to enroll in a private or a public college. Since there a large number of cooking schools in the Tempe area and within the USA, you will want to create a checklist of important qualifiers so that you can start narrowing your choices. A few obvious qualifications, for example cost and location are an excellent place to begin. But selecting a school because it is the nearest or the least expensive is not the ideal way to make a decision regarding your education. There are other criteria, for instance accreditation and reputation that you need to evaluate also. So below are some crucial areas that you must investigate for every school as you compare and contrast them and make your final choice.
Accreditation. It's imperative that the culinary arts program you choose has some form of accreditation from either a local or a national agency. As aforementioned, the accrediting authority should be a U.S. Department of Education certified authority, such as the American Culinary Federation (ACF). ACF accredited schools have passed a comprehensive review pertaining to their course of study, teachers and facilities. So not only does accreditation help ensure that you will receive excellent training, but it can also help in obtaining a student loan or financial aid which are generally not available for non-accredited schools.
Age. Recently established schools generally have the benefit of having modern facilities and equipment. However, they may not have been in operation long enough to earn an accreditation or to establish a reputation. Conversely, more established schools may still be using their original, outdated equipment, but have established a lengthy track record of excellence and acquired one or more accreditations. Also, the longer a school has been in business, the more alumni the school can reach out to for its job assistance program. Certainly there is some give and take based on the age of the culinary arts schools. And older, more highly regarded schools usually modernize their facilities and equipment. The valuable lesson is that in the best case scenario, your chosen school will have an excellent reputation, accreditation and a state-of-the-art facility with modern equipment.
Job Placement Rates. To begin with, ask what the graduation rates are for the cooking colleges you are looking at. Low graduation rates are indications that numerous students were dissatisfied with either the institutes or the training and dropped out. They can also indicate that the instructors were not competent to teach the curriculum. Request that the schools furnish their job placement rates as well. If a college has a high job placement rate, it will help affirm that it has a good or exceptional reputation within the cooking field, as well as a broad network of professional associations. Be wary of any school that will not provide this information.
Location. The cooking institute that you attend must be within driving distance of your Tempe residence, unless you are willing to relocate. You may think about attending school online, but you would still have to travel for your externship training. Conversely, perhaps you have chosen to attend a specific culinary college located in a different state due to its reputation and programs offered. It would be a good idea to check out the campus before enrolling, to make certain that you are satisfied with the location and your potential living conditions. Check the training facilities personally to make sure they are modern and that the equipment is state of the art. Consider also that some schools target their job placement programs within their local communities, so select a location where you will be happy working.
Class Sizes. The ideal way to learn how to cook is with a lot of one-on-one instruction. If the cooking program you enroll in has larger classes, you will undoubtedly get minimal individual attention from the instructors. The best way to evaluate the interaction between faculty and students is to attend a few of the classes. Ask some of the students what their experience has been. Ascertain if they are satisfied with the level of attention they get in class in addition to the entire course of training. Also, speak with a couple of the instructors and determine what their teaching philosophies are as well as their histories and qualifications.
Flexible Class Schedules. There is no sense in enrolling in a cooking college if you will not be able to attend the classes. Therefore confirm that the school you select has available class scheduling that can accommodate your hectic lifestyle. If you can only attend at night or on weekends near Tempe AZ because of your job schedule, confirm that the school you decide on offers either weekend or night classes. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, verify that the culinary arts college has a part-time offering. Also, find out what the make-up policy is if you need to miss a class as a result of family, work or other commitments.
Learn More About Cooking Classes in Tempe
Find the Right Tempe Cooking School
A rewarding career in the hospitality and restaurant industry is dependent upon enrolling in the appropriate chef program. As we have discussed, there are various things that you should take into account when researching schools, such as their accreditation, reputations, and training facilities. As with any life changing decision, you should start by acquiring information, and the optimal approach to accomplish that is by contacting cooking colleges directly, either face to face or over the phone. If you're uncertain about which schools to look into, you might need to think about asking chefs in your location about any culinary colleges they recommend. Later go on the Internet to investigate these schools further before you contact them. By making the effort to thoroughly research each of your education options, you will find yourself in a better position to make an enlightened decision. And when you select the ideal school, you will have a terrific start toward your aspiration of becoming a chef in Tempe Arizona.