South Seattle College trains cooks and pastry cooks together in one Culinary and Pastry Arts program, offered as a 66-credit certificate, a 101-credit associate in applied science (AAS), and a 103-credit AAS-T built for transfer. Every student takes the same kitchen sequence, and pastry and bread work is concentrated in a full 15-credit quarter rather than spread across a separate baking track.
Classes meet in person Monday through Thursday, usually from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and the college says there is no part-time option. Students cook and bake for the campus’s own food outlets, including the Culinary Convenience Store, food trucks, Otters’ Den pop-ups, and the full-service Alhadeff Grill. Details below come from South’s current program pages and its 2026–27 tuition and fee schedules.
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| School | South Seattle College (one of the Seattle Colleges) |
| Location | Seattle, Washington; main campus at 6000 16th Avenue SW |
| Credentials | Culinary and Pastry Arts Certificate; Culinary and Pastry Arts AAS; Culinary and Pastry Arts AAS-T |
| Credits | 66, 101, or 103 credits |
| Sample schedule | 4 quarters for the certificate; 6 quarters for either degree |
| Entry | Introductory culinary courses start in fall, winter, or spring |
| Schedule | In person, Monday through Thursday, typically 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; full-time only |
| Baking content | One 15-credit pastry and bread course, plus artisan breads in a later production course |
Baking and Pastry Program Options
South groups all three credentials on its Culinary and Pastry Arts page. They stack: the certificate’s kitchen courses are the first four quarters of both degrees, and the college says certificate credits generally apply toward the AAS or AAS-T. The college no longer lists a stand-alone pastry or baking credential, so students who want a baking-only program should compare other schools as well.
Culinary and Pastry Arts Certificate
The Culinary and Pastry Arts Certificate requires 66 credits: 53 in food service courses and 13 in general education (composition, computation, and human relations). The sample schedule finishes in four quarters, with the pastry and bread quarter falling third.
Culinary and Pastry Arts AAS
The Culinary and Pastry Arts AAS totals 101 credits. It adds Restaurant Production 2, a Management Practicum, and a nutrition course to the certificate core, for eight required food service and nutrition courses in all.
Culinary and Pastry Arts AAS-T
The Culinary and Pastry Arts AAS-T requires 103 credits. Its kitchen courses match the AAS, but general education must come from transfer-level choices such as English 101 or 102 and a quantitative reasoning course. South designed it for students who may continue into a bachelor of applied science or a four-year school.
Curriculum and Baking Courses
South teaches its culinary core as large block courses, most worth 15 credits each:
- Health and Sanitation (3 credits), taken alongside the first kitchen course
- Fundamentals of Classical Techniques (15 credits): knife cuts, stocks, mother sauces, and basic butchery
- Culinary Foundations: Global Approaches (15 credits), built around Asian ingredients and flavor profiles
- Intro to Pastry and Breads: Traditional and GF (15 credits), with weekly rotations through the bakery kitchen and an emphasis on gluten-free products and ingredient science
- Intro to Sustainable Food Systems (5 credits)
- Degree only: Restaurant Production 2, which covers artisan breads, advanced sauces, and cheese making; Management Practicum (both 15 credits); and Nutrition (5 credits)
Pastry and bread account for 15 of the certificate’s 53 food service credits, so this program suits students who want broad culinary training with a baking component more than those set on becoming pastry specialists.
Tuition and Additional Costs
South’s Fall 2026–Summer 2027 tuition table charges Washington residents $136.14 per credit for the first 10 credits, then $67.18 for each credit from 11 to 18 and $122.14 per credit above 18. The nonresident waiver-eligible rate is $155.55 per credit for the first 10, $68.21 for credits 11–18, and $141.55 above 18. Mandatory quarterly fees add a $9 per-credit campus enhancement fee (capped at $90), a $5 per-credit instructional technology fee, a $3 per-credit universal technology fee (capped at $54), a $25 wellness center fee, and a $15 transportation fee for students taking 10 or more credits. These estimates apply the table to South’s published full-time sample schedules:
| Program | Credits | Estimated in-state tuition and fees | Estimated out-of-state tuition and fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culinary and Pastry Arts Certificate (4 quarters) | 66 | $8,495 | $9,337 |
| Culinary and Pastry Arts AAS (6 quarters) | 101 | $12,869 | $14,151 |
| Culinary and Pastry Arts AAS-T (6 quarters) | 103 | $12,869 | $14,151 |
South’s sample schedules use the 5-credit Business Math/Spreadsheets course, so the certificate and AAS estimates are based on 68 and 103 credits. Choosing the 3-credit Applied Math for Technicians instead would lower either total by about $150. International students pay a higher rate. The figures leave out textbooks, parking, and any course fees.
Each program page lists about $500 for uniforms and tools. The college’s 2026–27 fee schedule also lists a $175.14 food service lab fee and a $65.84 uniform cleaning fee per course, but it does not say which culinary courses carry them, so they are not included above.
Admissions and Financial Aid
Applying to South is free. Beyond the college application, students need placement at or above ENGL 107 and MATH 110, which they can establish with South’s free directed self-placement tools. The program holds information sessions that cover start dates, and tours can be arranged through the professional-technical office. The college posts deadlines through those sessions and its academic calendar.
All three credentials are marked as eligible for financial aid, and students can file either the FAFSA or the WASFA. South also lists possible workforce funding for these plans through Basic Food Employment and Training, WorkFirst, Worker Retraining, and the Opportunity Grant. The college does not state Pell eligibility separately for each credential, so check with financial aid.
Career Preparation and Transfer Considerations
South names chefs and head cooks, restaurant cooks, and first-line food preparation supervisors as example careers. The Management Practicum in the degrees has students design a food truck operation, develop a retail food product with a HACCP plan, and plan marketing campaigns, which may appeal to graduates who want to run their own bakery or food business.
Graduates who want a four-year credential without leaving campus can look at South’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Hospitality Management, which the college says many culinary graduates choose. The AAS-T is the more direct route into that or another bachelor’s program.
Which South Seattle Pathway May Fit You?
| Pathway | May fit students who want |
|---|---|
| Culinary and Pastry Arts Certificate | A four-quarter route into kitchen work that includes one full quarter of pastry and bread |
| Culinary and Pastry Arts AAS | The certificate core plus artisan breads, restaurant production, and a management practicum |
| Culinary and Pastry Arts AAS-T | The same kitchen training with transfer-level general education for a later bachelor’s degree |
Questions to Ask Before Applying
- If I start in winter or spring, which quarter will the pastry and bread course fall in?
- Which culinary courses carry the food service lab or uniform cleaning fee?
- What does the $500 uniform and tool estimate include, and can I use tools I already own?
- How much bread and pastry production happens in the Alhadeff Grill and campus outlets?
- Which AAS-T general education choices best prepare me for the Hospitality Management BAS?
Program details and costs can change. Confirm current requirements with South Seattle College before applying.