National Louis University teaches baking and pastry through the Kendall College of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management on its Chicago campus in the Loop. Unlike the state’s community colleges, NLU runs on quarters and charges one private tuition rate regardless of where a student lives.
The 2026–27 NLU catalog lists two baking credentials: a 24-quarter-hour Baking and Pastry Baccalaureate Certificate with evening and weekend options, and a 90-quarter-hour Baking and Pastry AAS. Students who already hold a bachelor’s degree can take an accelerated AAS that waives general education and finishes in five quarters instead of seven.
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| School | National Louis University |
| College | Kendall College of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management |
| Location | Chicago campus, 18 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois |
| Credentials | Baking and Pastry AAS (traditional or accelerated); Baking and Pastry Baccalaureate Certificate |
| Credits | 90 quarter hours (AAS); 65 quarter hours (accelerated AAS); 24 quarter hours (certificate) |
| Length | 7 quarters; 5 quarters; 3 quarters |
| Accreditation | AAS accredited by the ACF Education Foundation, according to NLU |
Baking and Pastry Program Options
Both credentials appear under the Kendall College section of the NLU catalog, next to the Culinary Arts AAS, a Professional Cookery certificate, and bachelor’s degrees in culinary and hospitality management.
Baking and Pastry AAS
The Baking and Pastry AAS takes seven quarters and 90 quarter hours: 25 in general education and 65 in the major. The major includes 41 quarter hours of lab courses, a six-quarter-hour internship, and business courses such as Financial Management, Foodservice Purchasing, and Supervision in Food Service.
The accelerated version keeps the same 65-quarter-hour major and swaps Exploring the Hospitality Industry and College Success for six quarter hours of culinary, baking, or hospitality electives. NLU’s AAS program page states that the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation accrediting commission accredits this degree.
Baking and Pastry Baccalaureate Certificate
The Baking and Pastry certificate requires 24 quarter hours, all taken at NLU. Students typically take eight quarter hours per quarter for three consecutive quarters, according to the program page. The coursework leans toward cakes and small business: Foundations of Cakes and Small Business Entrepreneurship sit alongside pastry, bread, and breakfast pastry labs.
Curriculum and Baking Courses
The catalog lists these baking and pastry courses, with the certificate’s courses also appearing in the AAS:
- Foundations of Professional Baking and Pastry, and Pastry Science
- Pastry Techniques (5 quarter hours)
- Breakfast Pastries and Artisan Breads
- Foundations of Cakes
- Advanced Pastry: Mousses, Doughs, Plating and Sauces (AAS)
- Chocolates and Confectionery, and Advanced Wedding Cakes and Sugar Artistry (AAS)
- Dining Room Service and Dining Room Production (AAS)
Core baking labs require a C or better. Students also take Sanitation, which offers the ServSafe food manager exam, plus a short sequence of Professional Growth and Development courses.
Tuition and Additional Costs
NLU prices Kendall’s credentials by program, not by residency. The 2026–27 Kendall tuition schedule sets the certificate at $560 per quarter hour plus a $175 student fee per term. For the AAS, full-time students taking 12–19 quarter hours pay a banded $6,556 per term plus a $275 student fee. Part-time AAS students pay $534 per quarter hour.
The estimates below use the published lengths of three quarters for the certificate, seven for the AAS, and five for the accelerated AAS. They assume every AAS term falls in the full-time band:
| Program | Quarter hours | Estimated tuition and fees (all students) |
|---|---|---|
| Baking and Pastry AAS (7 quarters) | 90 | $47,817 |
| Accelerated Baking and Pastry AAS (5 quarters) | 65 | $34,155 |
| Baking and Pastry Certificate (3 quarters) | 24 | $13,965 |
These totals include tuition and the student fee only. An AAS term below 12 quarter hours is billed per quarter hour, which would change the total. Books, transportation, living costs, and any individual lab or class fees are not included.
The schedule estimates the uniform and tool kit at $819 for certificate students and $1,000 for AAS students. It also lists a $700 insurance charge that students can waive with proof of their own coverage, and an optional $130 U-Pass for transit each term.
Admissions and Financial Aid
Kendall uses NLU’s undergraduate admission requirements: an application, a high school diploma or equivalency transcript, and official transcripts from any college attended. First-year and transfer applicants need at least a 2.0 GPA. Applicants below that may be considered as high-potential students. The accelerated AAS is open only to students who already have a bachelor’s degree.
For both the certificate and the AAS, NLU’s tuition tables list maximum Pell Grant and Illinois MAP Grant amounts, subject to eligibility. MAP is only available in the fall, winter, and spring terms. File the FAFSA early and ask the Office of Student Finance how aid applies to an eight-quarter-hour certificate load.
Career Preparation and Transfer Considerations
Kendall pitches the certificate at students, graduates, and people starting or growing a cake business. The AAS names pastry chef, chocolatier, food stylist, and research and development pastry chef as possible roles. AAS students work a 300-hour internship at a Chicago restaurant or bakery, and their products are served in the campus café and in The Dining Room, NLU’s restaurant.
The catalog says certificate credits can apply toward Kendall’s AAS or bachelor’s degrees. Because the certificate must be completed entirely at NLU, students transferring in from another culinary program should ask which credits Kendall will accept before enrolling.
Which Kendall at NLU Pathway May Fit You?
| Pathway | May fit students who want |
|---|---|
| Baking and Pastry Certificate | Cake, pastry, and bread training on an evening or weekend schedule, with a small business course |
| Baking and Pastry AAS | A seven-quarter ACF-accredited degree with an internship and foodservice management courses |
| Accelerated Baking and Pastry AAS | The same major in five quarters, for students who already hold a bachelor’s degree |
Questions to Ask Before Applying
- Which quarters does the certificate start in, and when do evening and weekend sections run?
- Will every AAS quarter fall in the 12–19 quarter-hour band, or will some be billed per quarter hour?
- Which lab or class fees apply to baking courses?
- How much Pell or MAP aid is available at an eight-quarter-hour load?
- How many certificate credits count toward the AAS or a bachelor’s degree?
Program details and costs can change. Confirm current requirements with National Louis University before applying.