School of Culinary Arts
In our Culinary Arts program, students get trained in the theory, practice and art of cooking — skills which can be applied to a broad range of career paths.
Diploma Program
Welcome to the Foundation of Your Career
Consider how much there is to learn, and how far you want to go. Recognized as one of the top culinary arts programs in the nation, our award-winning 650-hour comprehensive curriculum is designed to teach you the actual practice and art of cooking through theory, technique, palate training, speed and teamwork. These will be the essentials for success in your culinary career.
Quick Facts
Program Duration: 8, 11 and 12 month options
Class Times: morning, afternoon, evening and weekend
Tuition, Fees & Charges: $36,120-$42,550
Culinary Arts Schedule & Cost
The Culinary Arts program consists of 650 instructional hours. Students are in the classroom for 440 hours and then complete an externship over the course of 210 hours, acquiring real-world experience in the culinary field.
To provide flexibility, we run several schedule options for our Culinary Arts diploma, including morning, afternoon, evening and weekend schedules. Choose from schedules that meet from two to five times per week.
Financing Your Culinary Education
At this point, you’ve already decided that you’re interested in a professional future in food and hospitality. But should you attend culinary school, and can you can really afford it?
The ICE Office of Student Financial Services puts an award-winning culinary education within your reach. Our Financial Aid advisors are available six days a week to help make your dream of attending culinary school at ICE a reality.
Learn more about ICE's Student Financial Services.
Scholarships
ICE provides various scholarship opportunities to assist students on their journey towards a career in food and hospitality. Whether offered by ICE itself, our food industry partners or a vetted list of outside organizations, these scholarships provide students with additional resources to realize their dreams of attending our career training programs. Please be aware of the varying deadlines and application requirements for each individual scholarship. For additional information about any of the available scholarships, feel free to contact our Office of Student Financial Services directly at (888) 921-CHEF or NYfinaid@ice.edu.
View all ICE Scholarship Opportunities.
Financial Aid Options
ICE offers financial assistance from both Federal and Private sources. The following is a list of aid available to those students who qualify:
• Federal Pell Grant
• FSEOG Program
• Federal Stafford Loan
• Federal Direct PLUS Loan
• State-Funded Grants and Loans
• Private Student Loans
• Payment Plan
• Tuition Flex
To learn more about financial aid options, feel free to contact our Office of Student Financial Services directly at (888) 921-CHEF or NYfinaid@ice.edu.
View all financial aid options.
Applying for Financial Aid
Please contact us with any Financial Aid or financing questions, problems or suggestions. We will work closely with you in preparing the necessary forms and documents on student grants, loans or scholarships and employment programs.
In Europe, aspiring chefs learn their trade through culinary apprenticeships. ICE's global teaching perspective takes inspiration from this centuries-old tradition, with our hands-on externship program.
What exactly is an “externship”? Similar in concept to a culinary internship, these paid or unpaid placements are chosen at a student's discretion with the assistance of Career Services Advisors. Each externship is is designed to fit the interests and career goals of the individual student, and externships consistently prove to be an exceptional opportunity for hands-on training and networking at the heart of the industry. What’s more, many externships lead to job offers and full-time employment.
How does the externship program work? The final course of our Culinary Arts and Pastry & Baking Arts programs being a 210-hour externship at a restaurant, bakery or other culinary business.
Proven Results
Our incredible track record.
ICE placed over 500 externs in over 300 establishments in the past few years - and each experience was as unique as our students. Noteworthy among these placements were restaurants and bakeries owned and operated by many of America’s most celebrated chefs, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Tom Colicchio and Daniel Boulud, as well as leading food publications, catering companies and luxury hotels. Getting your “foot in the door” with one of these organizations could be the start of the career you have dreamed of.
See the full list of externship sites.
The range of ICE externships reads like a Who's Who of the food world: Gramercy Tavern, Jean-Georges, Eleven Madison Park, Le Bernardin and Per Se. The multiple restaurants headed/owned by chefs April Bloomfield, Daniel Boulud, Andrew Carmellini, Tom Colicchio, Alex Guarnaschelli, Daniel Humm, Thomas Keller, Anita Lo, Alfred Portale, Marcus Samuelsson, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and restaurateurs Danny Meyer and Stephen Starr, took a combined 136 student externs in 2016. One of the prime benefits of ICE’s program is that externships expose students to a deep professional network and often lead to job offers. With our finger on the pulse of the New York food scene, we can get your foot into some amazing doors and remarkable kitchens.
Choose your path, and make your success.
An ICE externship gives you a chance to customize your education. For example, if you’ve always dreamed of working in a sushi restaurant, food truck, butcher shop or artisanal bread bakery, we can gear your search towards the goal of placing you in that particular type of establishment.
Some students also choose to pursue externships outside of the restaurant environment. For students passionate about food media, we've facilitated externships at Food Network, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Saveur, Tasting Table and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. In the catering realm, externship placements were made at Abigail Kirsch, The Cleaver Company and Oliver Cheng Catering. Students interested in hotel externships found placements at Le Parker Meridien, The Standard and The Waldorf-Astoria.
Our staff has the connections.
Our faculty and advisors assess your culinary career aspirations, skills and academic record to pair you with sites that align with your goals and background. Each hospitality, pastry or culinary arts externship is structured so that your performance is monitored by ICE’s professional staff, and subsequent feedback and evaluations are incorporated into your overall grade.
Most culinary schools in America, and Europe, do require culinary arts externships as part of their programs. Employers and students routinely agree that it is a fantastic opportunity that provides both better training and stronger networking opportunities than a school-run restaurant that is insulated from the real world. When you are choosing which culinary school to attend, be sure to ask about externship programs and learn how each program incorporates in-the-field training into your education.
Below are just a couple of our alumni externship stories.
