Culinary Arts - AAS-T
BTC’s programs in Culinary Arts are ideal for students with a passion for food and pastry, and an interest in the fast-growing food service industry. Once you graduate with your Associate of Applied Science-Transfer degree, you can go straight to work in top jobs in the food industry, or transfer your class credits to a four-year college or university to earn your bachelor's degree.
Bellingham Technical College’s Culinary Arts program offers the highest quality culinary education available. You’ll receive training from an award-winning faculty in state-of-the-art facilities and learn the culinary skills you need to function as a professional in the fast-paced restaurant and food-service industry. You can put your training to work in a wide range of restaurants, bakeries, pastry shops, hotels, schools and universities, hospitals, and catering companies.
The Culinary Arts Program is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the American Culinary Federation Foundation.
Employment Information
Data are provided on a program (not credential) level
97% BTC graduate placement rate1
$37,046 starting annual wage2
$42,683 average annual wage2
$52,852 potential annual wage2
BTC Culinary Arts graduation rates: The graduation rate reflects the percentage of students starting in the Culinary Arts program who receive a Culinary Arts degree within three years.
Certification Information
100% ACF certification rate for students graduating in 2020-21
100% ACF certification rate for students graduating in 2022
BTC ACF certification rates: The ACF certification rate reflects the percentage of students graduating with a Culinary Arts degree who receive ACF certification within one year of program completion.
- Employment and Wage Data Sources
1Employment data come from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) and reflect WA/OR employment for students enrolled at BTC between 2017-18 and 2019-20. Students are included in the employment rate if they left with a credential. Rates are not shown for programs with fewer than 10 students meeting the above criteria.
2Whatcom County and WA State wage data come from Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) 2021 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates and reflect 2018-21 employment. Wage data represent occupations that BTC faculty have identified as the most relevant career paths for program graduates. Note that these wages reflect employees with varying educational levels/credentials. For cases in which multiple occupations have been identified by faculty, a weighted percentile is calculated using each occupation’s percentile wage and employment size estimate. Wages are not shown for programs for which occupations do not meet the ESD’s minimum thresholds for publishing. If the program has wage data from the Washington SBCTC that involves shift work, these ESD wages reflect the same number of hours used in the annual wage calculation. Starting wage = 25th percentile, median wage = 50th percentile, wage potential = 75th percentile.
Estimated Program Costs