Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College runs Baking and Pastry Arts Technology as its own program at the Harrison County Campus in Gulfport, separate from Culinary Arts Technology. The 2026–27 catalog stacks three credentials inside it: a 30-credit certificate, a 45-credit diploma, and an Associate of Applied Science degree of 60–62 credits.
Pastry depth is the main reason to look closely here. The third semester adds separate four-credit courses in advanced cakes and patisserie and in chocolates, confections, and sugar artistry, and the college announced in February 2024 that the program earned a five-year reaccreditation from the American Culinary Federation. Details below come from the 2026–27 College Catalog and MGCCC’s tuition and fee pages.
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| School | Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College |
| Location | Harrison County Campus, Gulfport, Mississippi |
| Credentials | Baking and Pastry Arts Technology Certificate; Diploma; Associate of Applied Science |
| Credits | 30; 45; or 60–62 |
| Catalog sequence | Two semesters; three semesters; or four semesters |
| Technical course fee | $30 per credit hour |
| ACF accreditation | Five-year reaccreditation announced by the college in February 2024 |
Baking and Pastry Program Options
All three credentials appear on one Baking and Pastry Arts Technology catalog page and on the college’s program page. Each one contains the semesters before it.
Baking and Pastry Arts Technology Certificate
The certificate covers semesters one and two, 15 credits each, for 30 credits. It pairs kitchen fundamentals and a five-credit Principles of Baking course with the first three pastry labs and a nutrition course. No general education is required.
Baking and Pastry Arts Technology Diploma
A third 15-credit semester brings the total to 45 credits, and the catalog lists 1,290 clock hours for the program at this point. This semester holds the advanced cake, chocolate, and sugar courses, a restaurant and catering operations course, and three credits of supervised work experience.
Associate of Applied Science Degree
The AAS adds a fourth semester of 15–17 credits: English, a humanities or fine arts elective, a social or behavioral science elective, a math or natural science elective, and a computer applications course.
Curriculum and Baking Courses
The 2026–27 catalog lists these technical courses in the first three semesters:
- Semester one: Sanitation and Safety (3 credits), Principles of Baking (5), Culinary Principles I (4), and Introduction to Culinary Arts (3)
- Cookies, Mignardise and Frozen Desserts (4 credits)
- Classic Pastry, Pies and Tarts (4 credits)
- Artisan Breads and Viennoiserie (4 credits)
- Nutrition (3 credits)
- Diploma and AAS: Advanced Cakes and Patisserie (4 credits)
- Diploma and AAS: Chocolates, Confections Sugar Artistry (4 credits)
- Diploma and AAS: Restaurant/Catering Operations (4 credits) and Supervised Work Experience in Baking and Pastry Arts (3 credits)
The college’s program page says chocolate work is woven through the program, using fondant, marzipan, modeling chocolate, and gum paste.
Tuition and Additional Costs
The 2026–27 catalog charges Mississippi residents a flat $1,800 per fall or spring semester for 15–21 credit hours, or $180 per credit hour for 1–14 hours. Out-of-state students pay an added $500 per full-time semester, or $50 per credit hour part time. Each semester also carries a $150 registration fee and a $200 technology fee, and a $20 per credit hour resource fee covers textbooks on the college’s book service. MGCCC’s fee list sets the technical course fee for Baking and Pastry Arts Technology at $30 per credit hour.
The estimates below follow the catalog’s 15-credit semesters and count the AAS at 60 credits. They cover tuition and the fees charged to all students, so the technical course fee is listed separately after the table.
| Program | Credits | Estimated in-state tuition and fees | Estimated out-of-state tuition and fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate of Applied Science (4 semesters) | 60–62 | $9,800 | $11,800 |
| Baking and Pastry Arts Technology Diploma (3 semesters) | 45 | $7,350 | $8,850 |
| Baking and Pastry Arts Technology Certificate (2 semesters) | 30 | $4,900 | $5,900 |
These totals cover tuition, the registration and technology fees, the resource fee, and the out-of-state fee where it applies. An AAS student who takes 62 credits would pay about $40 more in resource fees. The $30 per credit hour technical course fee is extra: $900 for the 30-credit certificate and $1,350 for the 45 credits of program courses in the diploma and the AAS. That AAS figure assumes the fee is not charged on the general education semester, which the fee list does not spell out. Also not included are academic lab fees of $25–$50 on some general education courses, the $25 per credit hour fee on certain Mississippi Virtual Community College online courses, workbooks and other materials outside the book service, and transportation.
MGCCC does not publish uniform, knife, or tool costs for the program. Current rates are on the tuition and fees page.
Admissions and Financial Aid
MGCCC describes itself as an open admissions college that accepts students on a rolling basis, and the catalog lists no separate application for Baking and Pastry Arts Technology. The application steps are to complete the online application, submit transcripts, send test scores or other relevant records, apply for financial aid, attend an orientation session required of first-time students, and register. The catalog does not state entry terms for the program, so ask whether the semester-one courses are offered in spring.
The college does not state aid eligibility for each of the three credentials. Students who plan to stop at the certificate or diploma should confirm with Financial Aid that a Pell Grant or state aid can be used for that award.
Career Preparation and Transfer Considerations
According to the catalog, the program prepares students for work as a baker, chocolatier, cake designer or decorator, research and development chef, or food stylist. The catalog also says the BPT courses offer the opportunity for certification through the American Culinary Federation, and the program page says students prepare for the ServSafe exam. The college’s accreditation announcement dates from 2024, so confirm current status.
The four semester-one courses are the same ones that open MGCCC’s Culinary Arts Technology program on the same campus, and Nutrition appears in both plans. An AAS is a workforce degree, so anyone planning a bachelor’s degree should have an advisor review which credits a university will accept.
Which MGCCC Pathway May Fit You?
| Pathway | May fit students who want |
|---|---|
| Baking and Pastry Arts Technology Certificate | Two semesters of baking fundamentals, cookies, pastry, and bread with no general education |
| Baking and Pastry Arts Technology Diploma | The advanced cake, chocolate, and sugar courses plus supervised work experience in one more semester |
| Associate of Applied Science | All of the technical coursework and a degree with general education and computer applications |
Questions to Ask Before Applying
- Which semesters can a new student start the baking sequence?
- Is the $30 technical course fee charged on general education credits in the AAS semester?
- What uniform, knives, and pastry tools are required, and what do they cost?
- Where is the supervised work experience completed, and how many hours does it involve?
- What is the program’s current ACF accreditation status and term?
Program details and costs can change. Confirm current requirements with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College before applying.