Chef & Head Cook: where to study
Every U.S. school that awarded one of the 5 programs NCES links to this career in 2023-24, certificate to doctorate. A complete list, not a ranking.
NCES IPEDS
- Checked
- 21 Oct 2026
Find a school
Filter by state, program, award level and type of school. Each result links to the school's College Navigator profile (costs, admissions, graduation rates) and its own site.
Loading 518 schools…
Programs that lead to this career
The NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk links SOC 35-1011 to these programs. Awards in 2023-24, all levels, first majors. NCES
View source
| Program | CIP code | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| Cooking and Related Culinary Arts, General | 12.0500 | 4,160 |
| Baking and Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef | 12.0501 | 5,535 |
| Culinary Arts/Chef Training | 12.0503 | 11,134 |
| Restaurant, Culinary, and Catering Management/Manager | 12.0504 | 1,333 |
| Culinary Science/Culinology | 12.0509 | 301 |
By award level: (awards, not schools).
Largest programs by awards
Size tells you where many students study, not which program is best for you.
| School | Location | Type | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts-Boulder | Boulder, CO | 2-year · Private for-profit | 3,347 |
| NUC University | Bayamon, PR | 4-year · Private for-profit | 1,128 |
| Culinary Institute of America | Hyde Park, NY | 4-year · Private nonprofit | 722 |
| Institute of Culinary Education | New York, NY | Under 2-year · Private for-profit | 582 |
| Valencia College | Orlando, FL | 4-year · Public | 397 |
| Johnson & Wales University-Providence | Providence, RI | 4-year · Private nonprofit | 393 |
| Central Piedmont Community College | Charlotte, NC | 2-year · Public | 317 |
| Institute of Culinary Education | Pasadena, CA | 2-year · Private for-profit | 310 |
| Ivy Tech Community College | Indianapolis, IN | 2-year · Public | 268 |
| Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts-Austin | Austin, TX | 2-year · Private for-profit | 212 |
Schools in each state
How many schools in each state awarded one of these programs in 2023-24. Each state page lists all of its schools with cost and completion.
- Alabama5 schools
- Alaska3 schools
- Arizona9 schools
- Arkansas6 schools
- California54 schools
- Colorado9 schools
- Connecticut2 schools
- Delaware1 school
- Florida48 schools
- Georgia18 schools
- Hawaii5 schools
- Idaho2 schools
- Illinois19 schools
- Indiana3 schools
- Iowa8 schools
- Kansas4 schools
- Kentucky8 schools
- Louisiana11 schools
- Maine5 schools
- Maryland8 schools
- Massachusetts8 schools
- Michigan12 schools
- Minnesota7 schools
- Mississippi12 schools
- Missouri7 schools
- Montana2 schools
- Nebraska4 schools
- Nevada2 schools
- New Hampshire3 schools
- New Jersey11 schools
- New Mexico6 schools
- New York26 schools
- North Carolina25 schools
- North Dakota1 school
- Ohio10 schools
- Oklahoma12 schools
- Oregon5 schools
- Pennsylvania18 schools
- Rhode Island2 schools
- South Carolina7 schools
- South Dakota2 schools
- Tennessee8 schools
- Texas29 schools
- Utah7 schools
- Virginia13 schools
- Washington15 schools
- West Virginia5 schools
- Wisconsin12 schools
- Wyoming1 school
Registered Apprenticeship
A Registered Apprenticeship Program is a model of apprenticeship validated by the Department of Labor or a State Apprenticeship Agency Linked from apprenticeship.gov/apprenticeship-occupations. Term lengths are hours of on-the-job learning; time-based programs list one figure, hybrid programs a range.USDOL
View sourceUSDOL
| Apprenticeship occupation (DOL title) | RAPIDS code | O*NET occupation | Term (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHIEF, COOK | 1053 | Chefs and Head Cooks (35-1011.00) | Competency-Based 2000 Time-Based 2000 |
| COOK, CHIEF | 1053 | Chefs and Head Cooks (35-1011.00) | Competency-Based 4000 |
Search open apprenticeship jobs on Apprenticeship.gov · What a Registered Apprenticeship is
About this list
Where these facts come from
Official and primary sources only, each checked on the date shown. Rules on testing, aid, licensing and immigration change, so confirm a detail with its source before you rely on it.
- IPEDS Completions, 2023-24 (complete data file C2024_A) · National Center for Education Statistics checked 2026-10-21
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk · National Center for Education Statistics checked 2026-10-21
- College Scorecard data, Most Recent Institution-Level file (release of 15 Oct 2026) · U.S. Department of Education checked 2026-10-21
- Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020, code file · National Center for Education Statistics checked 2026-10-21
- Approved occupations for Registered Apprenticeship (spreadsheet: RAPIDS code, type, minimum term) · U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship (Apprenticeship.gov) checked 2026-10-21
- College Navigator · National Center for Education Statistics checked 2026-10-07