Los Angeles Trade-Technical College states that its Professional Baking program is accredited by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation. The college, at 400 W. Washington Boulevard near downtown Los Angeles, also describes its culinary school as the oldest continually operating one in the nation. Baking students produce goods each day for a retail bakery on campus, the college cafeteria, the faculty dining room, and catered events.
The 2026–27 catalog lists two awards under the title Baking Professional: a 48-unit Certificate of Achievement and an Associate in Arts degree built on the same 48 units plus general education. Both follow one four-semester course sequence.
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| School | Los Angeles Trade-Technical College (Los Angeles Community College District) |
| Location | Los Angeles, California; 400 W. Washington Boulevard. The Culinary Arts office is in building E3. |
| Credentials | Baking Professional Certificate of Achievement; Baking Professional A.A. |
| Units | 48 (certificate); 48 major units plus 21 general education units (A.A.) |
| Format | Campus-based lecture and kitchen lab |
| Length | Four semesters in the catalog plan |
| Accreditation | The catalog states the program is accredited by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation (ACFEF) |
| Financial aid | The catalog marks both awards as Financial Aid Eligible |
Baking and Pastry Program Options
Both awards appear on the college’s Professional Baking page and in the Culinary Arts Pathway section of the 2026–27 catalog. The website uses the name Professional Baking, while the catalog’s award title is Baking Professional.
Baking Professional Certificate of Achievement
The Certificate of Achievement is a state-approved award that appears on the transcript. It requires all 48 units of the major with a grade of C or better in each course. The catalog arranges those units as 12 per semester: an introductory semester of culinary orientation, sanitation, nutrition, and baking theory, followed by two bread courses, two dessert courses, and a final semester of decorative work, menu planning, and supervision.
Baking Professional Associate in Arts
The A.A. uses the same 48 required units. The catalog’s award table adds 21 units of general education, which can be met through any of the college’s general education patterns, and notes that at least 60 degree-applicable units are needed for any associate degree. Students who finish the certificate can keep going toward the degree without repeating baking courses.
Curriculum and Baking Courses
Every Professional Baking course from the second semester on is 6 units, with 2 hours of lecture and 9 hours of lab each week. Required courses include:
- Baking Processes and Theory of Ingredients (4 units): quick breads, cookies, puff pastry and laminated dough, mixing methods, and leavening
- Beginning Yeast Breads and Quickbreads; Artisan and Specialty Breads: volume production of lean and rich yeast breads, formula adjustment, and baker’s percentages
- Plated Restaurant Style Desserts; Multi-Component Desserts and Pastries: composed desserts built from several components, in classical and contemporary styles
- Advanced Baking Centerpiece and Decorating Techniques: tempered chocolate showpieces, marzipan, pastillage, pulled sugar, fondant, gum paste, and wedding cakes
- Culinary Arts courses: Culinary Arts Orientation I, Sanitation and Safety, Culinary Nutrition, Menu Planning and Purchasing, and Restaurant Supervision and Training
Prerequisites set the order. Baking Processes and Theory of Ingredients has Sanitation and Safety as a corequisite, the bread and dessert courses require both, and the final decorating course requires every earlier baking course. The National Restaurant Association ServSafe exam is given in the first semester. A 4-unit cooperative education course in baking is in the catalog but is not part of the 48 units.
Tuition and Additional Costs
The college’s tuition and fees page lists an enrollment fee of $46 per unit for California residents, a $19 health services fee, and a $2 student representation fee each fall and spring semester. Non-residents pay the enrollment fee plus non-resident tuition. LATTC’s page still shows the 2025–26 rate of $377 per unit, and its catalog prints $359. The estimates below use $397 per unit, the district rate that sister college Los Angeles Mission College posts for Fall 2026, for $443 per unit in all.
| Program | Credits | Estimated in-state tuition and fees | Estimated out-of-state tuition and fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baking Professional Certificate of Achievement (four semesters) | 48 | $2,292 | $21,348 |
| Baking Professional A.A. (four semesters assumed) | 69 | $3,258 | $30,651 |
Each estimate multiplies units by the per-unit rate and adds $21 in health and representation fees per semester. Four semesters comes from the catalog plan for the 48 major units. The A.A. figure adds 21 general education units and assumes they fit into the same four semesters; every extra semester adds $21. Figures are before financial aid and exclude the optional $7 Associated Student Organization fee, parking ($20 to $27 a semester), books, uniforms, tools, and living costs.
The catalog says some courses carry instructional materials fees but does not list amounts for the baking courses, and neither the catalog nor the program page publishes a uniform or tool kit price.
Admissions and Financial Aid
LATTC has no separate application for Professional Baking. New students apply through the college credit application, and the Los Angeles Community College District requires new and some returning students to complete identity authentication before they can enroll. The college then sends a welcome message with a student ID number and enrollment instructions. Course prerequisites control entry to each baking class after the first semester, and the college posts its semester dates.
The catalog lists both baking awards as Financial Aid Eligible. It also explains that the California College Promise Grant waives the per-unit enrollment fee for eligible California residents but does not cover health fees, the student representation fee, or materials fees.
Career Preparation and Transfer Considerations
LATTC frames the program around production. Students bake for the campus retail bakery, the cafeteria, the faculty dining room, and special events, and they practice formulas, cost controls, and daily task planning along the way. The catalog names employment in baking and pastry arts as the goal. It adds that graduates of the pathway who hold the A.A. may apply for a first level of industry certification with the American Culinary Federation.
Several of the Culinary Arts courses in the plan are marked as transferable to the California State University system. The catalog does not attach a CSU notation to most of the Professional Baking courses, so students who plan to transfer should review the plan with a counselor.
Which LATTC Pathway May Fit You?
| Pathway | May fit students who want |
|---|---|
| Baking Professional Certificate of Achievement | The full four-semester baking sequence, at 12 units a semester, without general education courses |
| Baking Professional A.A. | The same baking sequence plus general education for an associate degree, and eligibility to apply for entry-level ACF certification |
Questions to Ask Before Applying
- Which non-resident tuition rate applies this year? The college’s fee page, its catalog, and the district’s Fall 2026 figure differ.
- What do uniforms, knives, and baking tools cost, and are there materials fees for the baking labs?
- On which days and at what hours do the 6-unit baking labs meet, and are any sections offered in the evening?
- Can I begin in spring, or does the first-semester sequence start only in fall?
- How many extra terms should I plan for the 21 general education units in the A.A.?
Program details and costs can change. Confirm current requirements with Los Angeles Trade-Technical College before applying.