Culinary Institute of America
About
The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a private culinary school with its main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singapore. The college, which was the first to teach culinary arts in the United States, offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees, and has the largest staff of American Culinary Federation Certified Master Chefs. The CIA also offers continuing education for professionals in the hospitality industry as well as conferences and consulting services. The college additionally offers recreational classes for non-professionals. The college operates student-run restaurants on its four U.S. campuses.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 8.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 8 Title IV programs, 4 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 4 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing4 · 50.0%
- No Data4 · 50.0%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
Action history · 4
- Apr 2021Grant Substantive Change: OtherMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Jan 2020Approved for Distance EducationMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Jan 2019Grant Substantive Change: DegreeMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Jun 2017Renewal of AccreditationMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 1,241 students received $7.6M in Pell grants, alongside $32.9M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 1,067 borrowers who entered repayment, 13 (1.2%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Culinary Institute of America
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus10
Includes 5 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
- Careme Townhouse1 fireCookingDamage $0-$99
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Culinary Institute of America vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Culinary Institute of America selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectCulinary Institute of America | 63% | — | 3,147 | $31,864 | — |
Cornell University | 95% | 8.8% | 26,793 | $32,337 | R1 Research |
Drexel University | 78% | 79.4% | 21,153 | $38,428 | R1 Research |
Florida International University | 74% | 54.7% | 54,723 | $9,133 | R1 Research |
Institute of Culinary Education | — | — | 589 | — | — |
Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte | 34% | 79.9% | 1,184 | $28,901 | Baccalaureate |
Johnson & Wales University-Online | 0% | 91.0% | 2,839 | $21,611 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Johnson & Wales University-Providence | 50% | 88.4% | 4,303 | $32,478 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
New York University | 88% | 9.2% | 56,832 | $35,035 | R1 Research |
Pace University | 60% | 75.9% | 13,634 | $31,046 | Doctoral/Professional |
Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science | 46% | 76.5% | 948 | $24,583 | Baccalaureate |
SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill | 52% | 84.0% | 1,988 | $17,980 | Baccalaureate |
SUNY College of Technology at Delhi | 38% | 89.0% | 3,056 | $17,387 | Baccalaureate |
University of Central Florida | 78% | 40.1% | 69,713 | $10,650 | R1 Research |
University of Nevada-Las Vegas | 51% | 96.2% | 32,911 | $10,011 | R1 Research |
Walnut Hill College | — | 42.7% | 175 | $33,578 | — |
| Peer group median | 56% | 78.0% | 3,725 | $28,901 |
Reports & documents (1)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
Grants & funding (1)
Federal grant awards and open funding opportunities awarded to this institution.
Notable alumni of Culinary Institute of America (10)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Anthony BourdainCulinary Arts
- Duff GoldmanCulinary Arts
- Michael MinaCulinary Arts
- Grant AchatzCulinary Arts
- Michael ChiarelloCulinary Arts
- Richard BlaisCulinary Arts
- Anne BurrellCulinary Arts
- Rocco DiSpiritoCulinary Arts
- Geoffrey ZakarianCulinary Arts
- Roy YamaguchiCulinary Arts
Frequently asked questions about Culinary Institute of America
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Culinary Institute of America.
What is the graduation rate at Culinary Institute of America?
How many students attend Culinary Institute of America?
What is the average net price at Culinary Institute of America?
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Where is Culinary Institute of America located?
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