Baking & Pastry Arts
About this program
Breathtaking wedding cakes expertly decorated and ready to steal the show. Rich and stunning pastries baked to perfection. At Penn College, we take pride in the craft. To bake is to create. To design something inspired. We perfect skills and master methods. Understand theory and apply it in practice. Technique is topped off with leadership lessons and the know-how to manage a bakery of your own.
Next steps...
You're on your way to becoming a tomorrow maker.
This program has reached capacity and is now on a waitlist for Fall 2025. You can still apply for this major. You will not begin technical coursework in your first year if it remains on a waitlist.
This program has been recognized as an Exemplary Program.
Exemplary Programs symbolize the highest educational standards recognized by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation Accrediting Commission (ACFEFAC). The award is presented to programs that have proven full compliance with all ACFEFAC accreditation requirements in the last visiting team report along with excellent management of the program.
20
Average Class Size
97%
Overall Placement
3
Complete in as Little as 3 Semesters
Careers
- Head baker
- Pastry chef
- Bakery entrepreneur
- Bakery operations manager
- Mid-level positions in baking & candy making
Courses
At Penn College, we believe your educational experience should go beyond specialized skills. Real-world ready means taking a broader approach that builds communication skills, inspires collaboration, and encourages exploration of arts, history, and science.
Specialization requires in-depth knowledge and high-level proficiency. Students learn and apply major-specific concepts, skills, and methods.
- Purchasing (FHD117)
- Sanitation (FHD118)
- National Sanitation Certification (NSC)
- Introductory Baking (FHD137)
- Cakes & Decorations (FHD138)
- Professional Bakery Production (FHD214)
- Foundations of Professional Cooking (FHD101)
- Careers in Hospitality (FHD104)
- Menu Planning & Cost Control (FHD125)
- Cake Decorating II (FHD264) or
- Introduction to the Modernist Kitchen (FHD151)
- Nutrition Concepts (FHD216)
- Principles of Chocolate Works (FHD141)
- Facilities Planning (FHD268)
- Classical & Specialty Dessert Presentation (FHD270)
- Cakes, Pastries & Desserts (FHD276)
- Baking & Pastry Arts Internship (FHD279)
- Directed Baking Business Elective (BKB)
- Bakery Operations & Product Development (FHD326)
- Grand Pastry Display (FHD290)
- Customer Service & Retail Baking Operations (FHD327)
- Advanced Breads (FHD215)
Perspectives are points of view, offering a variety of ways of understanding, interacting, and influencing the world. Students identify, explain, and utilize the approaches used by academics and professionals to study, analyze, or understand problems, and offer solutions.
Virtual Tour
Baking & Culinary
Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the kitchens used for instruction and Le Jeune Chef, our on-campus casual fine dining restaurant. The live labs give students an opportunity to put their talent on the table and work with real customers.
Facilities
Baking & Pastry Arts Lab
Put your techniques to the test in our expansive lab—outfitted with world-class equipment like the MIWE Condo four-deck oven with integrated loader.
Facilities
Le Jeune Patissier at the Market
Develop products from conception to the final sale in the Advanced Baking & Pastry Operations class. Students create items from their menu, then sell their products at Le Jeune Patissier at the Market - a small retail space on campus, open to the public.
