Hocking College in Nelsonville offers one baking credential: a two-year Baking associate degree taught at the McClenaghan Center for Hospitality Training in the Hocking Hills region of southeast Ohio. The 61-credit plan runs four semesters, and most courses meet in eight-week blocks, so students take two or three lab courses at a time rather than five at once.
Two features set the program apart. Hocking states that the Baking program is accredited by the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and that graduates receive the ACF Certified Pastry Culinarian (CPC) credential on completion. The college also prices programs on an all-inclusive model, publishing a semester-by-semester cost for the degree that folds course fees into the bill.
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| School | Hocking College |
| Location | McClenaghan Center for Hospitality Training, 15770 State Route 691, Nelsonville, Ohio |
| Credential | Associate of Applied Business in Baking |
| Total credits | 61 credits |
| Typical length | Four semesters, starting in autumn |
| Accreditation | ACF accreditation stated by the college for the Baking program |
| Format | Campus-based, mostly eight-week course blocks |
Baking and Pastry Program Options
The Culinary Arts: Baking program page and the 2025–26 Hocking College catalog, the latest the college has posted, describe a single baking degree. Hocking does not list a shorter baking certificate, so the degree is the only baking-titled option.
Associate of Applied Business in Baking
The catalog’s curriculum table titles the credential an Associate of Applied Business in Baking, while the program outcomes on the same page and on the website refer to an Associate of Applied Science in Baking. Either way, it is a two-year technical degree. About two-thirds of the credits are baking, pastry, and kitchen management courses, and the rest cover English, math, speech, accounting, biology, and organizational behavior.
Hands-on work extends beyond the classroom. Two baking production lab courses each require 96 hours of production work, and students gain experience through college-run events, catering, and Rhapsody, the college-owned restaurant on Nelsonville’s Public Square.
Related Option: Culinary Arts Degree
Hocking’s 62-credit Culinary Arts associate degree shares several courses with the baking degree, including Introduction to Baking and Culinary Industry, Safety and Sanitation, Baking Development, Planning and Purchasing, and Nutrition in Commercial Food Service Operations. It centers on savory cooking, garde manger, and meat and seafood production rather than pastry.
Curriculum and Baking Courses
The catalog’s four-semester plan includes these baking and kitchen courses:
- Introduction to Baking and Culinary Industry (3 credits) and Safety and Sanitation (1 credit, with ServSafe certification)
- Baking Development: Breads and Pastries (3 credits), covering yeast doughs, quick breads, puff pastry, choux, pastillage, and pulled sugar
- Pastries, Cakes and Desserts (3 credits) and Yeast Dough Production (3 credits)
- Candy and Confections (3 credits), including chocolate molding, enrobing, hard candies, and marzipan
- Petit Fours, Miniatures and Classical Pastries (3 credits)
- Catering Banquet Lab I, Planning and Purchasing, Nutrition in Commercial Food Service Operations, Table Service, and Hospitality Supervision
- Baking Production Lab Experience I and II (3 credits each) and the Baking Capstone Experience (3 credits)
The capstone prepares students for a written and practical final exam designed by the ACF. The program’s stated outcomes include passing the CPC examination, which is how graduates earn that credential.
Tuition and Additional Costs
Hocking’s tuition and fees page lists rates effective May 1, 2026. Ohio residents taking 1–14 credits pay $243 per credit (a $189 instructional fee, $29 general fee, $20 learning materials fee, and $5 career services fee) plus a flat $20 health center fee each semester. Full-time students taking 15–18 credits pay a flat $3,665 per semester. Out-of-state students add $218 per credit, or $3,270 per semester at full time.
Each course also carries a course fee, which Hocking lists on the 2026–27 Baking degree track. Those fees total $11,380 across the program, ranging from $50 for general education courses to $1,555 for Introduction to Baking and Culinary Industry. Using the published four-semester plan of 15, 14, 15, and 17 credits:
| Program | Credits | Estimated Ohio resident tuition and fees | Estimated out-of-state tuition and fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate of Applied Business in Baking (4 semesters) | 61 | $25,797 | $38,659 |
The estimate includes tuition, the college-wide fees, and the listed course fees. It leaves out parking ($106 a year), housing and meal plans, and transportation. Hocking’s own degree track shows a total of $26,422 for Ohio residents and $39,284 for out-of-state students. That figure adds a $600 first-semester computer charge, which students can have removed after IT approves a personal laptop that meets college requirements.
Because course fees cover materials that other colleges bill separately, the college describes its pricing as all-inclusive. Course fees are subject to change, so ask for the current degree track before enrolling.
Admissions and Financial Aid
Hocking follows an open admission policy for high school graduates and GED holders, according to the catalog. Prospective students without either credential are asked to meet with an admissions representative. The Baking catalog page lists no extra selective admission steps.
The college says it works with each student to line up complete funding, including financial aid, before classes start. Students who plan to use federal aid should file the FAFSA and ask the financial aid office how course fees and the computer charge are treated in their aid package.
Career Preparation and Transfer Considerations
The catalog lists pastry chef, artisan bread baker, cake decorator, bakery supervisor, and dessert specialist among the roles graduates prepare for. It names hotels, resorts, fine dining restaurants, boutique bakeries, country clubs, healthcare facilities, and self-employment as settings. Graduates also leave with ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification and, according to the college, the CPC credential.
As an applied associate degree, the Baking program is built for employment rather than transfer. Students who might later pursue a bachelor’s degree in hospitality or business should ask Hocking’s Transfer Resource Center which general education courses would carry over.
Who May Find This Degree a Good Fit?
| Student goal | How the program may fit |
|---|---|
| Earn an industry certification along with a degree | The college says graduates receive the ACF Certified Pastry Culinarian credential |
| Focus on a few subjects at a time | Most courses run in eight-week blocks within each semester |
| Know the full program cost up front | Hocking publishes semester totals that include course fees |
| Get production experience before graduating | Two production labs require 96 hours each, plus catering and restaurant work |
Questions to Ask Before Applying
- Is the degree awarded as an Associate of Applied Business or an Associate of Applied Science?
- Can new students start the baking sequence in spring, or only in autumn?
- What do the course fees cover, and are uniforms, knives, and textbooks included?
- Where are the baking production lab hours completed, and do they include weekends or holidays?
- Is there a cost to sit for the CPC examination, or is it included?
- Which laptop specifications allow me to opt out of the $600 computer charge?
Program details and costs can change. Confirm current requirements with Hocking College before applying.