Illinois students have more baking and pastry options than most states. Thirteen public community colleges and one private university offer for-credit credentials with baking or pastry in the title, from short certificates in Chicago and the suburbs to associate degrees in Springfield, Decatur, and the Metro East.
Program length ranges from a 10-credit decorative pastry certificate to a 69-credit Pastry Arts AAS. Nine schools offer a baking or pastry associate degree, and several let students stack one or two certificates into the degree without repeating coursework.
Baking and Pastry Programs at a Glance
| School | Location | Programs, Credits and Estimated Costs |
|---|---|---|
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | Baking and Pastry Arts A.A.S.: 64–68 credits – about $10,240 Baking and Pastry Arts Certificate: 28 credits – about $4,480 |
| College of Lake County | Grayslake | Baking and Pastry Arts A.A.S.: 64–66 credits – about $11,392 Pastry Chef Assistant Certificate: 30–32 credits – about $5,340 Baking and Pastry Assistant Certificate: 17 credits – about $3,026 |
| Elgin Community College | Elgin | Pastry Arts AAS: 69 credits – about $10,242 Bakery Supervisor Vocational Specialist: 39 credits – about $5,790 Baker Basic Vocational Specialist: 23 credits – about $3,416 Cook Assistant/Baker Assistant Basic Vocational Specialist: 11 credits – about $1,634 Decorative Pastry Basic Vocational Specialist: 10 credits – about $1,486 |
| Joliet Junior College | Joliet | Baking and Pastry, Certificate of Completion: 17 credits – about $2,601 |
| Kennedy-King College | Chicago | Baking and Pastry Arts AAS: 62 credits – about $10,106 Baking and Pastry Arts Advanced Certificate: 30 credits – about $4,890 Baking and Pastry Arts Basic Certificate: 14 credits – about $2,282 |
| Lincoln Land Community College | Springfield | Baking and Pastry Certificate (Certificate of Achievement): 30.5 credits – about $6,275 |
| McHenry County College | Crystal Lake | Baking and Pastry Management AAS: 61 credits – about $8,766 Baking and Pastry Assistant II Certificate: 27 credits – about $3,889 Baking and Pastry Assistant I Certificate: 16 credits – about $2,306 |
| Moraine Valley Community College | Palos Hills | Baking and Pastry A.A.S.: 64 credits – about $10,752 Baking/Pastry Arts Certificate: 26 credits – about $4,368 |
| National Louis University | Chicago | Baking and Pastry AAS: 90 quarter hours – about $47,817 Accelerated Baking and Pastry AAS: 65 quarter hours – about $34,155 Baking and Pastry Baccalaureate Certificate: 24 quarter hours – about $13,965 |
| Rend Lake College | Ina | Baking and Pastry Arts Occupational Certificate: 28 credits – about $4,256 |
| Richland Community College | Decatur | Baking and Pastry Certificate (220C): 32 credits – about $5,184 |
| Southwestern Illinois College | Granite City | Baking and Pastry AAS (066F): 65 credits – about $10,010 Baking and Pastry Certificate (066E): 41 credits – about $6,314 |
| Triton College | River Grove | Baking and Pastry A.A.S.: 63 credits – about $11,214 Baking and Pastry Certificate: 31 credits – about $5,518 |
| William Rainey Harper College | Palatine | Bread and Pastry Arts Certificate: 26 credits – about $4,492 |
Community college estimates use each college’s published 2026–27 in-district tuition and mandatory fees, which apply to students who live in that college’s district. Out-of-district and out-of-state students pay more, and each profile lists those estimates. National Louis University is private and charges the same rate to all students. Figures exclude course and lab fees, uniforms, knife and tool kits, textbooks, housing, and transportation unless the profile notes otherwise.
Which Illinois Baking Program May Fit You?
Try Professional Baking in About One Semester
Certificates of 10 to 16 credits include Elgin‘s Decorative Pastry and Baker Assistant certificates, Kennedy-King‘s Basic Certificate, and McHenry‘s Baking and Pastry Assistant I.
Stack Certificates Into a Degree
College of Lake County, McHenry County College, Kennedy-King, and Elgin each offer one or more certificates whose courses count toward their baking or pastry associate degree.
Earn an Associate Degree at the Lowest In-District Cost
McHenry County College‘s 61-credit Baking and Pastry Management AAS is estimated at about $8,766 for district residents.
Study in Chicago
Kennedy-King College offers public in-city tuition, while National Louis University is a private option with an evening and weekend certificate.
Train in Central Illinois
Lincoln Land in Springfield and Richland in Decatur both offer baking certificates of about 30 credits.
Train in Southern Illinois or the Metro East
Southwestern Illinois College offers a certificate and AAS in Granite City, and Rend Lake College offers a three-term certificate in Ina.
Keep a Bachelor’s Degree in View
College of DuPage lists a 3+1 agreement with Roosevelt University, and Southwestern Illinois College‘s AAS articulates to SIU Edwardsville.
Certificate or Associate Degree?
Short Certificates
Certificates of about 10 to 17 credits offer a fast, low-cost introduction to baking. Elgin, Kennedy-King, McHenry, College of Lake County, and Joliet all publish options in this range. They focus on core bakeshop skills but may not qualify for every type of financial aid, so students should confirm eligibility first.
Longer Certificates
Certificates of roughly 25 to 41 credits add breads, cakes, plated desserts, chocolate, and often an internship. Southwestern Illinois College’s 41-credit certificate and Elgin’s 39-credit Bakery Supervisor certificate are the most extensive, while Harper, Moraine Valley, Rend Lake, DuPage, Lincoln Land, Richland, and Triton fall between 26 and 32 credits.
Associate in Applied Science Degrees
An AAS combines the full baking sequence with management coursework, general education, and in several programs an internship or capstone. Illinois baking degrees require about 61 to 69 semester credits at community colleges, or 90 quarter hours at National Louis University. Applied degrees primarily prepare students for employment, so students planning a bachelor’s degree should ask how each course will transfer.
Tuition and Additional Costs
Illinois community colleges set tuition by residency. District residents pay the lowest rate, residents of other Illinois districts pay an out-of-district rate, and out-of-state students pay the highest rate at most colleges. Students whose home district does not offer a baking program can ask their own community college about chargeback or joint agreement arrangements, which may lower the cost of attending a program elsewhere in the state.
Published tuition and fees are only a starting point. Baking students should also budget for:
- Course and lab fees, which can add more than $1,000 to a certificate at some colleges
- Chef uniforms and nonslip shoes
- Knife, pastry, or decorating kits
- Textbooks or digital course materials
- ServSafe or other certification exam fees
- Transportation, housing, and living expenses
Illinois residents should also ask about the Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant and federal Pell Grants. Eligibility depends on the credential, since some short certificates are not approved for federal aid.
Programs No Longer Listed
Several baking programs that appeared on older school lists are no longer options. Harry S Truman College no longer lists a baking credential, because the City Colleges of Chicago now offer baking and pastry only at Kennedy-King. The French Pastry School’s website is offline, and we could not confirm that it currently enrolls students. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Art have closed, and Illinois Eastern Community Colleges no longer lists its former baking certificate.
Questions to Ask Before Applying
- Am I an in-district, out-of-district, or out-of-state student, and does a chargeback or joint agreement apply to me?
- Which baking courses run each semester, and can I start in any term?
- What course fees, lab fees, uniforms, and kits are required?
- Is the certificate I want eligible for Pell Grants or MAP?
- Will my certificate credits apply to the associate degree?
- Does the program include an internship, capstone, or student-run bakery?
- How do employers and four-year colleges treat the credential?
College of DuPage
College of DuPage teaches baking in a 16-station commercial bake shop and chocolate room in its Culinary and Hospitality Center, with advanced students producing desserts for the college’s Wheat Café, Waterleaf restaurant, and Culinary Market. It offers a 64–68 credit Baking and Pastry Arts A.A.S. and a 28-credit certificate, both Title IV eligible, and states that it holds ACF certification in Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry Arts. A 3+1 agreement leads from the A.A.S. to a Roosevelt University bachelor’s degree.
See the College of DuPage baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
College of Lake County
College of Lake County offers a three-step baking ladder: a 17-credit Baking and Pastry Assistant Certificate, a 30–32 credit Pastry Chef Assistant Certificate, and a 64–66 credit Baking and Pastry Arts A.A.S., all sharing the same first semester. The Patisserie I–III sequence anchors the program, with electives in yeast breads, cake decorating, and chocolate, and students gain experience at the student-managed Prairie at Brae Loch restaurant.
See the College of Lake County baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Elgin Community College
Elgin Community College offers five baking and pastry credentials, from a 10-credit Decorative Pastry certificate focused on cake decorating and showpieces to a 69-credit Pastry Arts AAS that ends with a 240-hour internship. The Baker and Bakery Supervisor certificates stack into the degree, and Bakery Operations students supply the Spartan Terrace Restaurant and Spartan To-Go outlet.
See the Elgin Community College baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Joliet Junior College
Joliet Junior College offers one baking credential, a 17-credit Baking and Pastry Certificate of Completion laid out over two semesters. After an 8-credit core, students choose 9 credits from 12 baking or pastry electives such as Breads, Cakes, French Pastry, and Showpieces. The certificate is Title IV eligible, and the ACF-accredited Culinary Arts Management A.A.S. is the degree option.
See the Joliet Junior College baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Kennedy-King College
Kennedy-King’s Washburne Culinary & Hospitality Institute, founded in 1936, runs the only baking and pastry credentials in the City Colleges of Chicago system. Students can stack a 14-credit Basic Certificate, a 30-credit Advanced Certificate, and a 62-credit AAS that adds bakery operations and an internship. City Colleges charges a flat $163 per credit for Chicago residents with no separate mandatory fees.
See the Kennedy-King College baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Lincoln Land Community College
Lincoln Land offers a single 30.5-credit Baking and Pastry Certificate that the college lists as a one-year, two-semester program at the Workforce Careers Center in Springfield. Coursework covers bakeshop, pastry, restaurant desserts, cake decorating, and artisan bread along with purchasing and nutrition, and culinary labs carry an extra $73.25 per credit in variable tuition. Students can gain experience at Bistro Verde, the student-run café.
See the Lincoln Land Community College baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
McHenry County College
McHenry County College offers a 16-credit Baking and Pastry Assistant I Certificate and a 27-credit Assistant II Certificate that stack into the 61-credit Baking and Pastry Management AAS. The program centers on six-credit Pastry Skills labs and a Bakery Operations course in which students run the student-run Sweet Scots bakery and coffee shop.
See the McHenry County College baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Moraine Valley Community College
Moraine Valley offers a 64-credit Baking and Pastry A.A.S. and a 26-credit Baking/Pastry Arts Certificate whose seven courses all count toward the degree. Most baking labs are 4-credit, 8-week courses, and the certificate runs two semesters plus a summer because Artisan Breads is offered only in summer. The degree adds baking science, a Baking/Pastry III capstone, and management coursework.
See the Moraine Valley Community College baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
National Louis University
NLU’s Kendall College of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management, in Chicago’s Loop, is a private option that runs on quarters and charges the same tuition to all students. It offers a 24-quarter-hour, cake-focused Baking and Pastry certificate with evening and weekend options, and a 90-quarter-hour AAS that NLU says is ACF-accredited. Bachelor’s degree holders can take a five-quarter accelerated AAS.
See the National Louis University baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Rend Lake College
Rend Lake College offers a 28-credit Baking and Pastry Arts Occupational Certificate that runs fall, spring, and summer, ending with a summer term of pastry, plated desserts, and chocolate. In-district tuition and the instructional support fee total about $4,256, and the college’s cost sheet adds about $2,055 in course fees and $455 in uniforms and knives. The chocolate course is listed as pending ICCB approval.
See the Rend Lake College baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Richland Community College
Richland’s 32-credit Baking and Pastry Certificate (220C) devotes half its credits to four 4-credit baking labs, including Artisan Breads and Cakes, Pastries and Plated Desserts. The catalog lists American Culinary Federation Education Foundation accreditation for its Culinary Arts program, and 24 certificate credits also count toward the 69-credit Culinary Arts AAS. Course fees and a required $475 uniform and knife kit add roughly $2,345.
See the Richland Community College baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Southwestern Illinois College
SWIC offers a 65-credit Baking and Pastry AAS and a 41-credit Baking and Pastry Certificate, both with an internship and a deep pastry sequence including two levels of cake decorating, advanced decorating, frozen desserts, and experimental baking. The AAS articulates to SIU Edwardsville’s BS in Hospitality and Tourism Administration, and graduates with a prior degree can earn it with as few as 27 program credits. The culinary kitchen is on the Sam Wolf Granite City Campus.
See the Southwestern Illinois College baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Triton College
Triton College’s Jerome J. Drosos School of Culinary Arts runs a public retail bakery in the B Building that also serves as a student lab. It offers a 63-credit Baking and Pastry A.A.S. and a 31-credit two-semester Baking and Pastry Certificate, both ending with a 240-hour cooperative work experience. The degree adds laminated doughs, chocolate, and retail bakery management.
See the Triton College baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
William Rainey Harper College
Harper College offers a single 26-credit Bread and Pastry Arts Certificate within its Hospitality Management program. Seventeen required credits cover quantity bread and pastry, classical baking, cake decoration, sanitation, and menu planning, and students choose nine elective credits from kitchen, service, or management courses. Harper states that certificates of 16 or more credits can qualify for federal or state aid.
See the Harper College baking and pastry profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Illinois colleges offer baking or pastry credentials?
Fourteen Illinois schools currently publish for-credit credentials with baking or pastry in the title: College of DuPage, College of Lake County, Elgin Community College, Harper College, Joliet Junior College, Kennedy-King College, Lincoln Land Community College, McHenry County College, Moraine Valley Community College, National Louis University, Rend Lake College, Richland Community College, Southwestern Illinois College, and Triton College.
What is the shortest baking program in Illinois?
Elgin Community College’s 10-credit Decorative Pastry certificate is the shortest, followed by Elgin’s 11-credit Cook Assistant/Baker Assistant certificate and Kennedy-King’s 14-credit Baking and Pastry Arts Basic Certificate.
Does Illinois offer baking or pastry associate degrees?
Yes. College of DuPage, College of Lake County, Elgin, Kennedy-King, McHenry, Moraine Valley, Southwestern Illinois College, and Triton offer baking or pastry associate degrees, and National Louis University offers a Baking and Pastry AAS on the quarter system.
How much does a baking program cost in Illinois?
For district residents, estimated tuition and mandatory fees range from about $1,486 for Elgin’s Decorative Pastry certificate to about $11,392 for College of Lake County’s Baking and Pastry Arts A.A.S. National Louis University’s private AAS is estimated at about $47,817. Course fees, supplies, books, housing, and transportation can raise the total.
Are these programs available online?
No. The baking and pastry programs on this page are campus-based because they require hands-on kitchen and laboratory training. Some general education courses may be available online, but students should expect to attend campus for technical classes.
Program requirements and costs can change. Confirm all details with the college before applying.