Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, known as The W, teaches pastry at the bachelor’s level. Its Culinary Arts Institute offers a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts with a Pastry Arts Concentration, a 120-credit degree in the 2026–27 Undergraduate Bulletin. Students complete a full culinary core and general education along with four bread, pastry, and cake courses.
The institute was established in 1996 and moved into a new Culinary Arts building in 2023. The university describes a two-story, 40,000-square-foot facility with several commercial kitchens, including a full baking kitchen with a chocolate room and a demonstration kitchen equipped for filming. The W does not list a baking or pastry certificate or associate degree.
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| School | Mississippi University for Women (public university) |
| Location | Columbus, Mississippi; Culinary Arts Institute on the main campus |
| Credential | Culinary Arts Major, Pastry Arts Concentration, BS |
| Total credits | 120 semester hours, including 30 in the concentration |
| Typical length | Four years of full-time study |
| Format | Campus-based kitchen labs |
| Internship | Required; 6 credits within the concentration |
| Catalog year | 2026–27 Undergraduate Bulletin |
Baking and Pastry Program Options
The Culinary Arts Institute sits in the College of Business and Professional Studies. The 2026–27 bulletin lists three concentrations within the Culinary Arts BS: Culinary Management, Event Management, and Pastry Arts. Only the last is pastry-titled.
Culinary Arts BS, Pastry Arts Concentration
The Pastry Arts Concentration totals 120 semester hours. The bulletin divides them into the 38–39 hour Enlight Core Curriculum, a 43-hour Culinary Arts Core, 9 additional hours toward the Bachelor of Science requirements, and 30 hours in the concentration. Both introductory pastry courses list Food Preparation I as a prerequisite or corequisite, and each advanced course requires its introductory counterpart.
Related Culinary Options at The W
Students in the other two BS concentrations may choose Introduction to Breads and Pastries or Introduction to Cakes as electives, but those concentrations are not pastry credentials. The bulletin also lists a Culinary Arts Minor and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Administration with a Culinary Arts Concentration. The BAS is a 121-hour completion route that accepts 40 hours of career and technical credit from a finished AAS in culinary arts or hospitality.
Curriculum and Baking Courses
The bulletin describes the bread, pastry, and cake courses as producing French and American products from scratch, by hand. Concentration requirements include:
- CA 375 Introduction to Breads and Pastries (3 credits)
- CA 385 Introduction to Cakes (3 credits)
- CA 475 Advanced Breads and Pastries (3 credits)
- CA 485 Advanced Cakes (3 credits)
- CA 415 Food Styling (3 credits)
- CA 350 Internship (6 credits in this concentration)
- Accounting and Finance for Culinary Ventures or Financial Accounting
- Business Law for Culinary Managers or The Legal Environment of Business
- One 3-credit business, culinary, or food and nutrition elective
The Culinary Arts Core adds ServSafe, Food Preparation I through III, World Cuisines, Dining Room Services, Demonstration Techniques, Nutrition, Science of Food, Menu/Recipe Development, and marketing. Food Preparation I, a 4-credit lab course, includes the basics of baking. Only 12 of the 120 credits come from courses with bread, pastry, or cake in the title, so this degree suits students who want pastry skills inside a broad culinary and business education.
Tuition and Additional Costs
For Fall 2026 and Spring 2027, full-time undergraduates taking 12–19 credit hours pay $4,523.50 per semester. That figure includes a $50 capital improvement fee and a $150 technology fee. Out-of-state students pay an additional $500 per semester. Part-time students pay $376.96 per credit hour, and hours above 19 cost $360.30 each. The estimate below uses the four-year length the university publishes, or eight full-time semesters of about 15 credits:
| Program | Credits | Estimated in-state tuition and fees | Estimated out-of-state tuition and fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culinary Arts BS, Pastry Arts Concentration (8 semesters) | 120 | $36,188 | $40,188 |
These figures cover full-time tuition with the capital improvement and technology fees at 2026–27 rates. They do not include housing, meals, books, supplies, lab fees, summer terms, or later rate changes. Full-time commuters with at least one on-campus class are also charged a $140 commuter meal plan each semester, which would add $1,120 over eight semesters. Rates are on the 2026–27 tuition and fees page.
The institute’s prospective students page says students in food preparation courses must supply their own knives, books, and uniforms, all sold at the campus bookstore, by the first week of class. It does not publish prices for those items. Food Styling requires students to build a styling kit. Textbook rental through WBooks+ is optional at $23 per credit hour.
Admissions and Financial Aid
Students apply to the university, not to a separate culinary program. Freshman admission is based on the Mississippi College Preparatory Curriculum plus grades and test scores. The freshman requirements page lists several routes, including a 3.2 GPA on the curriculum, a 2.5 GPA or top-half class rank with an ACT score of 16, or a 2.0 GPA with an ACT score of 18. Applicants submit an application, official transcripts, and ACT or SAT scores. Transfer applicants generally need a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
As a bachelor’s degree at a public university, the program is eligible for federal and state aid for students who qualify. Culinary majors can also apply for departmental scholarships, which have their own GPA and class-standing criteria.
Career Preparation and Transfer Considerations
Culinary arts majors complete a 6 or 12 credit-hour internship after the junior year. The bulletin lists hotels, restaurants, catering services, bed and breakfast operations, publishing firms, and food manufacturers among possible sites, in the U.S. or abroad. ServSafe training is built into the core.
Mississippi University for Women is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The university does not state American Culinary Federation accreditation for this degree. Community college students should ask how their credits apply, since the university’s standard transfer rules exclude vocational and technical coursework except through the BAS route.
Which MUW Pathway May Fit You?
| Pathway | May fit students who want |
|---|---|
| Culinary Arts BS, Pastry Arts Concentration | A four-year degree with advanced bread, pastry, and cake courses plus food styling and business basics |
| Culinary Arts BS, Culinary Management or Event Management Concentration | A different career focus with the option of an introductory bread or cake elective |
| BAS in Business Administration, Culinary Arts Concentration | A bachelor’s completion route after a culinary or hospitality AAS from a community college |
| Culinary Arts Minor | Some kitchen coursework alongside another major |
Questions to Ask Before Applying
- In which semesters are the four bread, pastry, and cake courses offered, and how many seats does each lab have?
- What do the required knives, uniform, and food styling kit cost at the bookstore?
- Are lab or course fees charged for culinary and pastry courses, and how much are they?
- Can the internship be completed in a bakery or pastry kitchen, and who arranges the site?
- Which of my community college credits would count toward the BS, and would the BAS be a shorter route?
Program details and costs can change. Confirm current requirements with Mississippi University for Women before applying.