Texas has one of the largest groups of baking and pastry programs in the country. Fourteen public community colleges offer baking or pastry credentials, from Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, and San Antonio to El Paso, McAllen, Corpus Christi, and Tyler, and three private culinary schools in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio offer pastry diplomas and degrees.
Most public programs are built as stacked certificates that lead into a 60-credit Associate of Applied Science, and in-district tuition at several colleges keeps a full baking degree in the range of about $4,000 to $10,000. Private schools cost considerably more but compress training into full-time diploma or degree programs with externships.
Baking and Pastry Programs at a Glance
| School | Location | Programs, Credits and Estimated Costs |
|---|---|---|
| Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, Austin | Austin | Diploma in Pastry Arts: 44 quarter credits – about $22,913 Associate of Applied Science Degree in Pastry Arts: 90 quarter credits – about $40,535 |
| Austin Community College | Austin | Advanced Baking and Pastry Level 1 Certificate: 36–38 credits – about $3,060–$3,230 Baking and Pastry AAS: 60 credits – about $5,100 Baking and Pastry Entrepreneurship Specialization AAS: 60 credits – about $5,100 |
| Central Texas College | Killeen | Baking and Pastry Specialization AAS: 60 credits – about $7,500 Baking and Cake Decorating Certificate: 42 credits – about $5,250 Baking Certificate: 27 credits – about $3,375 Baking Skills Certificate: 18 credits – about $2,250 |
| Collin College | Frisco | Pastry Arts AAS: 60 credits – about $4,030 Pastry Arts Level 1 Certificate: 24 credits – about $1,612 ESC – Advanced Pastry Arts Level 3 Certificate: 12 credits – about $808 |
| Culinary Institute Lenotre | Houston | AAS in Baking and Pastry Arts: 100 quarter credits – about $50,805 Elite Diplôme in Baking and Pastry Arts: 57 quarter credits – about $31,199 |
| The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio | San Antonio | Baking and Pastry Arts AAS: 67 credits – about $85,320 |
| Dallas College | Dallas | Bakery/Pastry A.A.S.: 60 credits – about $5,940 Bakery/Pastry Specialist Certificate: 40 credits – about $3,960 Bakery/Pastry Foundations Certificate: 16 credits – about $1,584 |
| Del Mar College | Corpus Christi | Baking/Pastry AAS: 60 credits – about $7,085 Cook/Baker Level II Certificate: 32 credits – about $3,807 Cook/Baker Occupational Skills Award: 12 credits – about $1,417 |
| El Paso Community College | El Paso | Culinary Arts and Related Sciences-Pastry AAS: 60 credits – about $8,160 Pastry Certificate of Completion: 36 credits – about $4,896 |
| Grayson College | Denison | Enhanced Pastry Arts Certificate: 12 credits – about $1,226 |
| Houston City College | Houston | Pastry Arts AAS: 60 credits – about $5,094 Pastry Arts Certificate (C2): 41 credits – about $3,478 Baker Certificate (C1): 17 credits – about $1,449 |
| Odessa College | Odessa | Baking Level I Certificate: 18 credits – about $2,376 Baking Level II Certificate: 15 credits – about $1,980 |
| San Jacinto College | Houston | Pastry Chef Specialty AAS: 60 credits – about $4,980 Pastry Chef Specialty Certificate of Technology: 39 credits – about $3,237 |
| South Texas College | McAllen | Culinary Arts AAS, Specialization: Baking and Pastry Arts: 60 credits – about $9,840 Commercial Baking Certificate: 24 credits – about $3,936 |
| St. Philip’s College | San Antonio | Baking and Pastry Arts AAS: 60 credits – about $7,454 Baking Principles Level 2 Certificate: 32 credits – about $4,004 Artisan Breads & Specialty Desserts Level 1 Certificate: 23 credits – about $3,014 Baking Principles Level 1 Certificate: 20 credits – about $2,606 Cake Decorating Level 1 Certificate: 18 credits – about $2,364 |
| Tarrant County College | Arlington | Baking and Pastry Level 1 Certificate: 29 credits – about $2,146 |
| Tyler Junior College | Tyler | Culinary Arts: Baking and Pastry AAS: 60 credits – about $6,224 Advanced Baking and Pastry Certificate: 45 credits – about $4,798 Basic Baking and Pastry Certificate: 22 credits – about $2,352 |
Community college estimates are for in-district students and use each college’s 2026–27 tuition and mandatory fees (or the latest posted) across the published semester plan; out-of-district and out-of-state estimates appear in each profile. Private school figures are published program prices: Escoffier’s include a uniform and toolkit, the CIA’s include board, and Lenotre’s include required fees but not supplies. Figures exclude lab fees that colleges do not itemize, knife kits, textbooks, housing, and transportation.
Which Texas Baking Program May Fit You?
Start With a Short Certificate
Credentials of about 12 to 24 credits include Del Mar‘s Cook/Baker Occupational Skills Award, Dallas College‘s Bakery/Pastry Foundations Certificate, Houston City College‘s Baker Certificate, Odessa College‘s Baking Level I, Central Texas College‘s Baking Skills Certificate, St. Philip’s College‘s Level 1 certificates, and South Texas College‘s Commercial Baking Certificate.
Earn a Longer Baking Certificate
Certificates of about 29 to 45 credits are offered at Tarrant County College, Austin Community College, El Paso Community College, San Jacinto College, Dallas College, Houston City College, Tyler Junior College, and Central Texas College, among others. Most of these courses also count toward the same college’s AAS.
Earn a Baking and Pastry AAS
Eleven public colleges offer a 60-credit baking or pastry associate degree. The lowest in-district estimates are at Collin College (about $4,030), San Jacinto College (about $4,980), Houston City College (about $5,094), and Austin Community College (about $5,100).
Train Full Time at a Private Culinary School
The Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio offers a 67-credit Baking and Pastry Arts AAS, Escoffier Austin offers a pastry diploma and AAS, and Culinary Institute Lenotre in Houston offers a baking and pastry AAS and diploma. All three include externships.
Focus on Cakes and Decorating
Central Texas College‘s Baking and Cake Decorating Certificate and St. Philip’s College‘s Cake Decorating Level 1 Certificate put cake work at the center of the program.
Plan to Open a Bakery
Austin Community College offers a Baking and Pastry Entrepreneurship Specialization AAS that pairs pastry training with small business courses.
Add Pastry After a Culinary Degree
Grayson College‘s 12-credit Enhanced Pastry Arts Certificate is open to students who have completed its Culinary Arts AAS.
Look for ACF Accreditation
Austin Community College, Collin College, Dallas College, Del Mar College, Houston City College, San Jacinto College, St. Philip’s College, and Escoffier Austin all state that their baking or pastry programs are accredited by the American Culinary Federation.
Certificate or Associate Degree?
Certificates and Skills Awards
Texas certificates range from 12-credit occupational skills awards to Level 2 certificates of 30 to 45 credits. Short certificates are a quick way to start, but some may not qualify for federal financial aid on their own, so confirm eligibility before enrolling.
Associate of Applied Science Degrees
Public baking and pastry AAS degrees require 60 credits and usually take four or five semesters, including general education. At most colleges, certificate courses stack directly into the degree.
Private Diplomas and Degrees
Private culinary schools offer full-time diplomas and degrees with fixed schedules and externships. They charge flat program prices, often several times the cost of a community college degree, so compare the total cost and aid options carefully.
Tuition and Additional Costs
Texas community colleges charge by residency. In-district students pay the lowest rate, other Texas residents pay an out-of-district rate, and out-of-state students pay more. Among the public colleges on this page, in-district tuition and fees run from about $67 to about $164 per credit hour, and several colleges add special program tuition or course fees for baking labs.
Baking students should also budget for:
- Knife kits, baking tools, and uniforms
- Lab or course fees for baking classes
- A food handler card or food manager certification
- Textbooks and course materials, unless included in tuition
- Transportation, housing, and living expenses
Programs No Longer Listed
Lone Star College no longer lists culinary or baking programs in its credit catalog. The Le Cordon Bleu campuses in Austin and Dallas closed in 2017, and the Art Institutes campuses in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio closed in 2023. Other colleges, including Texas State Technical College, Lee College, Amarillo College, and South Plains College, offer culinary credentials with baking courses but no baking-focused credential.
Questions to Ask Before Applying
- Is the certificate or degree eligible for federal financial aid?
- Which campus holds the baking labs, and which semesters can new students start?
- What lab fees, uniform costs, and tool kits are required?
- Will my certificate credits count toward the AAS later?
- Does the program include an internship, externship, or student-run bakery?
- Do I qualify for in-district tuition?
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, Austin
Escoffier’s Austin campus is a private career school accredited by the Council on Occupational Education and regulated by the Texas Workforce Commission. It offers an on-campus 30-week Diploma in Pastry Arts and a 60-week AAS in Pastry Arts, both with required industry externships and ACF programmatic accreditation as stated by the school. Prices are flat program totals of $22,913 and $40,535, including uniform, toolkit, and an optional technology fee.
See the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, Austin baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Austin Community College
ACC teaches baking and pastry at its Highland Campus, which has five lab kitchens and a stand-alone restaurant. The 2026–27 catalog lists a 36–38-credit Advanced Baking and Pastry Level 1 Certificate, a Baking and Pastry AAS, and a Baking and Pastry Entrepreneurship Specialization AAS; the catalog states ACF accreditation for the certificate and the Baking and Pastry AAS. In-district tuition and fees are $85 per credit hour, frozen for a 13th year.
See the Austin Community College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Central Texas College
Central Texas College in Killeen offers four stackable baking credentials: Baking Skills (18 credits), Baking (27), Baking and Cake Decorating (42), and the Baking and Pastry Specialization AAS (60). The longer options add two levels of cake decorating, wedding cakes, and advanced pastry, and the AAS has catalog-listed articulation agreements with Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Midwestern State, and other bachelor’s programs.
See the Central Texas College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Collin College
Collin College teaches Pastry Arts through its Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Education on the Frisco Campus, with a 60-credit AAS, a 24-credit Level 1 Certificate, and a 12-credit Advanced Pastry Arts Enhanced Skills Certificate. The college states that its culinary and pastry programs are ACF-accredited, and AAS graduates are eligible for the Certified Pastry Culinarian credential. Pastry Arts requires departmental acceptance and a mandatory orientation.
See the Collin College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Culinary Institute Lenotre
Culinary Institute Lenotre, a private ACCSC-accredited career college in north Houston founded by French pastry chef Alain Lenôtre, offers a 100-quarter-credit AAS in Baking and Pastry Arts and a 57-quarter-credit Elite Diplôme in Baking and Pastry Arts. Both are built on four 10-week pastry labs with morning, afternoon, or evening shifts and end with an externship that can be taken abroad.
See the Culinary Institute Lenotre baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio
The CIA’s San Antonio branch campus at Pearl offers a 67-credit Baking and Pastry Arts AAS, the Texas version of the 64-credit AOS taught in New York and California, with four on-campus semesters and a paid externship semester. The CIA is a private college accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and authorized in Texas by the THECB. Published 2026–27 charges are $21,330 per campus semester.
See the The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Dallas College
Dallas College offers a stackable bakery ladder: the 16-credit Foundations Certificate, the 40-credit Specialist Certificate, and the 60-credit Bakery/Pastry A.A.S., which the catalog lists as ACF accredited. Hands-on labs run at El Centro and the Culinary, Pastry and Hospitality Center in Dallas, and the Specialist Certificate requires a semester working in a bakery. In-county tuition of $99 per credit includes learning materials.
See the Dallas College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Del Mar College
Del Mar College teaches baking in its Hospitality and Culinary Institute on the Oso Creek Campus, and its Baking/Pastry programs hold ACFEF Exemplary accreditation. Options are a 60-credit Baking/Pastry AAS, a 32-credit Cook/Baker Level II Certificate, and a 12-credit Cook/Baker Occupational Skills Award, with required cooperative education in the longer programs.
See the Del Mar College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
El Paso Community College
EPCC offers a 60-credit Culinary Arts and Related Sciences-Pastry AAS, and the first three semesters of that plan earn a 36-credit Pastry Certificate of Completion. The sequence includes a course in Mexican Breads and Pastries alongside laminated dough, plated desserts, and quantity bakeshop production. All Texas residents pay the same resident rate.
See the El Paso Community College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Grayson College
Grayson College offers pastry as a follow-on to its ACFEF-accredited Culinary Arts AAS: the 12-credit Enhanced Pastry Arts Certificate is open only to students who have completed that degree. Its four courses cover breads and rolls, cake decoration, plated desserts, and bakery operations, with lab work at the Culinary Arts Center and the student-run Six Ninety One restaurant on the Denison campus.
See the Grayson College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Houston City College
Houston City College, formerly Houston Community College, offers a 17-credit Baker C1, a 41-credit Pastry Arts C2, and a 60-credit Pastry Arts AAS at Central Campus. The AAS is accredited by the ACFEF Accrediting Commission and includes a Baking for Special Dietary Needs course. Both certificates appear on the college’s financial-aid-eligible list.
See the Houston City College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Odessa College
Odessa College offers two short baking certificates, each laid out as two eight-week terms: Baking Level I (18 credits) covers breads, pies and tarts, plated desserts, and advanced pastry, and Baking Level II (15 credits) covers cake production, decorating, wedding cakes, and bakery management. The college’s Culinary Arts AAS is a separate cooking-focused degree.
See the Odessa College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
San Jacinto College
San Jacinto College teaches pastry only at its North Campus Cosmetology and Culinary Center in Houston. The ACFEFAC-accredited Pastry Chef Specialty pathway stacks a 39-credit Certificate of Technology into a 60-credit AAS. San Jac’s flat per-credit tuition includes all fees, with no separate lab or course fees.
See the San Jacinto College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
South Texas College
South Texas College offers a 24-credit Commercial Baking Certificate and a 60-credit Culinary Arts AAS with a Baking and Pastry Arts specialization, taught by a culinary department based on the Pecan Campus in McAllen. Every certificate course is also in the degree plan, so the certificate stacks directly into the AAS. STC charges a flat per-credit rate with no separate mandatory fees.
See the South Texas College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
St. Philip’s College
St. Philip’s College is the only Alamo Colleges District school with baking and pastry credentials, taught in the THCA Building on its MLK Campus. It offers a 60-credit Baking and Pastry Arts AAS plus Baking Principles Level 1 and 2, Artisan Breads & Specialty Desserts, and Cake Decorating certificates. The program page reports ACF exemplary accreditation through June 30, 2029, and ACF-member graduates receive the CPC credential.
See the St. Philip’s College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Tarrant County College
TCC teaches its baking program at the Southeast campus in Arlington. The 29-credit Baking and Pastry Level 1 Certificate includes two cake decorating courses, breads and rolls, pies and tarts, advanced pastry, and a Quantity Bakeshop Production capstone. Several courses overlap with the ACF-accredited Culinary Arts AAS.
See the Tarrant County College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Tyler Junior College
Tyler Junior College stacks three baking credentials on its Central Campus: a 22-credit Basic Baking and Pastry Certificate, a 45-credit Advanced Baking and Pastry Certificate that includes it, and a 60-credit Baking and Pastry AAS that contains both. All three require a separate selective admissions application, and classes run as daytime cohorts capped at 24 students, with a cooperative education course in the advanced sequence.
See the Tyler Junior College baking profile for curriculum, costs, and admissions details.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Texas schools offer baking or pastry programs?
Seventeen schools currently list baking or pastry credentials: Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, Austin; Austin Community College; Central Texas College; Collin College; Culinary Institute Lenotre; The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio; Dallas College; Del Mar College; El Paso Community College; Grayson College; Houston City College; Odessa College; San Jacinto College; South Texas College; St. Philip’s College; Tarrant County College; and Tyler Junior College.
What is the shortest baking program in Texas?
Del Mar College’s Cook/Baker Occupational Skills Award and Collin College’s Advanced Pastry Arts certificate each require 12 credits. Grayson College’s 12-credit Enhanced Pastry Arts Certificate is for students who have already finished its Culinary Arts AAS.
Does Texas offer baking and pastry associate degrees?
Yes. Eleven public colleges offer 60-credit baking or pastry AAS degrees, and the Culinary Institute of America, Escoffier Austin, and Culinary Institute Lenotre offer private associate degrees.
How much does a baking program cost in Texas?
At public colleges, in-district estimates range from about $808 for Collin College’s 12-credit advanced pastry certificate to about $9,840 for South Texas College’s AAS. Private programs range from about $22,913 for Escoffier Austin’s pastry diploma to about $85,320 for the CIA’s San Antonio AAS.
Are these programs available online?
No. The programs on this page are taught on campus because they require hands-on kitchen labs. Escoffier offers online pastry programs through its Boulder campus, but its Austin programs are in person.
Program requirements and costs can change. Confirm all details with the school before applying.