Mississippi has three schools with baking or pastry credentials: East Mississippi Community College and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, which teach the state’s Baking and Pastry Arts Technology curriculum, and Mississippi University for Women, which offers a Pastry Arts Concentration within a culinary arts bachelor’s degree.
Three other community colleges on this page teach culinary arts programs that include a baking course but award no baking credential. They are listed separately below and labelled as culinary programs with baking coursework.
Baking and Pastry Programs at a Glance
| School | Location | Programs, Credits and Estimated Costs |
|---|---|---|
| East Mississippi Community College | Columbus | Baking and Pastry Arts One Year Certificate: 30 credits – about $4,460 |
| Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College | Gulfport | Baking and Pastry Arts Technology AAS: 60–62 credits – about $9,800 Baking and Pastry Arts Technology Diploma: 45 credits – about $7,350 Baking and Pastry Arts Technology Certificate: 30 credits – about $4,900 |
| Mississippi University for Women | Columbus | Culinary Arts BS, Pastry Arts Concentration: 120 credits – about $36,188 |
Estimates use each school’s 2026–27 Mississippi resident tuition and mandatory fees over its published plan, before financial aid. They exclude program and course fees, books, uniforms, tools, housing, and living costs. East Mississippi’s $250 per semester program fee and Mississippi Gulf Coast’s $30 per credit technical course fee are not included. Out-of-state estimates appear in each profile.
Culinary Programs With Baking Coursework
These colleges do not offer a baking or pastry certificate or degree. Their Culinary Arts Technology programs include one baking course, so they may suit students who want general kitchen training with an introduction to baking.
| School | Location | Culinary Credentials, Credits and Estimated Costs |
|---|---|---|
| East Central Community College | Decatur | Culinary Arts Technology Career Certificate: 30 credits – about $5,290 Culinary Arts Technology Technical Certificate: 45 credits – about $7,935 Culinary Arts Technology AAS: 62–63 credits – about $10,580 Baking coursework: 1 course, 3 credits |
| Hinds Community College | Jackson | Culinary Arts Technology Career Certificate: 34 credits – about $4,600 Culinary Arts Technology Technical Certificate: 49 credits – about $6,900 Culinary Arts Technology AAS: 64 credits – about $9,200 Baking coursework: 1 course, 4 credits |
| Northeast Mississippi Community College | Booneville | Culinary Arts Technology AAS: 63 credits – about $7,660 Culinary Arts Technology Certificate: 30 credits – about $3,830 Baking coursework: 1 course, 4 credits |
Estimates use each college’s 2026–27 Mississippi resident tuition and mandatory fees over two, three, or four semesters. East Central’s figures include a $450 per semester course material fee charged to all full-time students. Northeast Mississippi’s figures are tuition only; every student there also pays a program fee each semester, $595 for Culinary Arts Technology. Hinds’s semester counts are assumed because its catalog gives no sequence.
Which Mississippi Baking Program May Fit You?
Earn a One-Year Baking Certificate
East Mississippi Community College in Columbus offers a 30-credit Baking and Pastry Arts certificate over two semesters. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gulfport offers a 30-credit certificate as the first step of its program.
Earn a Baking Diploma or Associate Degree
Mississippi Gulf Coast stacks its certificate into a 45-credit diploma and a 60–62 credit Baking and Pastry Arts Technology AAS, the only baking associate degree in the state.
Earn a Bachelor’s Degree
Mississippi University for Women in Columbus offers a Pastry Arts Concentration within its 120-credit Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts.
Study Culinary Arts With Some Baking
East Central Community College, Hinds Community College, and Northeast Mississippi Community College teach Culinary Arts Technology programs with one Principles of Baking course. They do not award a baking credential.
Certificate, Associate Degree, or Bachelor’s Degree?
Certificates and Diplomas
Mississippi’s career-technical programs are built in steps: about 30 credits for a certificate and 45 for a diploma or technical certificate. In Baking and Pastry Arts Technology, the first semester shares courses with culinary arts before moving into pastry, bread, and dessert labs.
Associate Degree
An AAS adds about 15 credits of general education to the technical courses. Mississippi Gulf Coast is the only college that awards one in baking and pastry.
Bachelor’s Degree
Mississippi University for Women’s concentration adds bread, pastry, and cake courses, food styling, and an internship to a full culinary arts core. It is a four-year degree at university tuition rates.
Tuition and Additional Costs
Mississippi community colleges charge full-time students a flat tuition rate per semester. For 2026–27 that rate is $1,800 at Mississippi Gulf Coast, $1,880 at East Central, $1,900 at East Mississippi, $1,915 at Northeast Mississippi, and $2,000 at Hinds, before fees. Out-of-state students pay an added charge that ranges from $500 to about $1,850 per semester. Mississippi University for Women charges $4,523.50 per full-time semester, plus $500 for out-of-state students.
Baking students should also budget for:
- Program, technical course, and lab fees, which most colleges charge on career-technical programs
- Uniforms, knife and pastry tool kits
- Food safety certification
- Textbooks and supplies
- Housing, transportation, and living expenses
Programs No Longer Listed
Coahoma, Copiah-Lincoln, Holmes, Jones, Meridian, and Mississippi Delta community colleges teach Culinary Arts Technology programs without a baking-titled credential. Itawamba, Northwest Mississippi, Pearl River, and Southwest Mississippi community colleges have no culinary or baking program.
Questions to Ask Before Applying
- Does the program award a baking and pastry credential, or is baking one course within culinary arts?
- Which courses are offered each semester, and can I finish in the published number of terms?
- What program fees, lab fees, uniforms, and tool kits are required, and what do they cost?
- Is the certificate eligible for federal financial aid on its own?
- Will my certificate courses count toward the diploma or associate degree?
- How do the credits transfer to a bachelor’s program?
East Mississippi Community College
East Mississippi Community College teaches a 30-credit Baking and Pastry Arts career certificate at Lion Hills Center in Columbus, the college’s golf club and event venue, which has a commercial kitchen. The two-semester plan shares its first semester with Culinary Arts Technology and then moves into pastry, bread, and frozen dessert labs. The college also lists a $250 per semester program fee, which is not included in the estimate.
See the East Mississippi Community College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College offers Baking and Pastry Arts Technology as a stand-alone program at its Harrison County Campus in Gulfport, with a 30-credit certificate, a 45-credit diploma, and a 60–62 credit AAS that stack by semester. The third semester adds advanced cakes and patisserie, chocolates, confections and sugar artistry, and supervised work experience. The college announced a five-year American Culinary Federation reaccreditation for the program in February 2024. A $30 per credit hour technical course fee applies to program courses and is not included in the estimates.
See the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Mississippi University for Women
Mississippi University for Women’s Culinary Arts Institute in Columbus offers a Pastry Arts Concentration within its 120-credit Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts. The concentration adds introductory and advanced bread, pastry, and cake courses, food styling, and a 6-credit internship to a full culinary core. The university does not list a baking certificate or associate degree.
See the Mississippi University for Women baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
East Central Community College
East Central Community College does not offer a baking or pastry credential. Its Culinary Arts Technology program in Decatur stacks a 30-hour Career Certificate, a 45-hour Technical Certificate, and a 62–63 hour AAS. The program of study requires one baking course, the 3-credit CUT 1133 Principles of Baking, and the catalog lists a Retail Commercial Baking exam among the program’s certifications.
See the East Central Community College culinary arts profile for the baking courses, costs, and admissions details.
Hinds Community College
Hinds Community College does not offer a baking or pastry credential. Its Culinary Arts Technology program at the Jackson Campus Academic/Technical Center stacks a 34-hour Career Certificate, a 49-hour Technical Certificate, and a 64-hour AAS. Baking is limited to one course, the 4-credit CUT 1134 Principles of Baking, which is part of all three.
See the Hinds Community College culinary arts profile for the baking courses, costs, and admissions details.
Northeast Mississippi Community College
Northeast Mississippi Community College does not offer a baking or pastry credential. Its Culinary Arts Technology program in Booneville awards a 63-hour AAS over four semesters and a 30-hour Certificate over two, and the catalog says students graduate with ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification. Both plans include one baking course, the 4-credit CUT 1134 Principles of Baking, in the second semester.
See the Northeast Mississippi Community College culinary arts profile for the baking courses, costs, and admissions details.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Mississippi schools offer baking or pastry programs?
Three schools award a baking or pastry credential: East Mississippi Community College, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and Mississippi University for Women. East Central, Hinds, and Northeast Mississippi community colleges teach culinary arts programs with one baking course and no baking credential.
Does Mississippi offer a baking and pastry associate degree?
Yes. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College offers a 60–62 credit Baking and Pastry Arts Technology AAS.
What is the shortest baking program in Mississippi?
The 30-credit certificates at East Mississippi Community College and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College each take two semesters.
How much does a baking program cost in Mississippi?
For Mississippi residents, estimated tuition and mandatory fees are about $4,460 for East Mississippi’s certificate and about $4,900, $7,350, and $9,800 for Mississippi Gulf Coast’s certificate, diploma, and AAS, before program fees. Mississippi University for Women’s bachelor’s degree is about $36,188.
Is a culinary arts program the same as a baking program?
No. A culinary arts program trains students mainly in savory cooking and kitchen management and may include one or two baking courses. Students who want a credential in baking and pastry should choose a program with baking or pastry in its title.
Program requirements and costs can change. Confirm all details with the school before applying.