Welcome to the Culinary Institute of America
  • Frequently Asked Questions for Parents

  • Frequently Asked Questions for Parents

  • Before coming to campus, students should complete a FAFSA, have a physical exam with their doctor, complete required medical forms, complete a housing application for New York or California, and order their uniforms. For more detailed information visit the I’m Accepted What’s Next? page or review the Admitted Student Portal with your son/daughter.

    As with any college campus, parking is always a challenge. At the New York Campus, we don’t encourage students to bring a car to campus during their first year. The CIA in New York provides two main transportation options for students who do not have a car on campus—Weekend Bus Service and zipcar.

    Weekend Bus Service
    Every Saturday during the school year, the college provides a bus that travels along the main thoroughfare (Route 9). It picks up students at the college and makes stops at various shopping plazas before making its way back to the college. Students can ride this bus for $1 each time or they can purchase a semester-long pass for $5 at the Student Recreation Center in the Student Commons, which is good for unlimited use of the bus on the weekends.

    zipcar
    The college has partnered with zipcar to provide students with access to a vehicle on an hourly basis. Students sign up for an account through the zipcar website for $15 and can reserve a car to use any time for as little as $7.50 per hour (gas and insurance is included in the price). This can be very helpful when students want to go to the mall, go on a day trip to nearby cities and towns, or just go grocery shopping. We encourage students to sign up for their account before they arrive on campus, as it can take up to 10 business days to receive the required Key Fob necessary for access to the rental cars.

    • Each campus has different activities for new students and their parents. For specific information see the
      orientation schedule
      associated with your son or daughter’s campus.

    Please Note: If you are planning on doing anything with your son or daughter after they have moved into their room, we suggest that you do so before 5 p.m. or after 9 p.m. so that they do not miss any of the important activities planned for them on that day.

    Please follow the links below to see what a typical room looks like based on the residence hall that your son/daughter has been assigned to:

    For more information visit New York Residence Halls or California Residence Halls. If you have any other questions regarding living on campus, please feel free to e-mail us at reslife@culinary.edu and someone will get back to you as quickly as possible.

    In accordance with State Fire Safety Regulations and our own school policies which are designed to make our residence halls as safe as possible, we do not allow any furniture to be brought in to the residence halls from the outside. Your son/daughter will have the following pieces of furniture in their room:

    • An extra-long (XL) twin bed
    • A student desk with chair and built-in bookcase
    • A dresser
    • A built-in closet or a stand-alone wardrobe

    For more information, please follow this link.

    Too many items in the room can prevent egress and access during an emergency, which is against State Fire Code. Private storage companies are located near each campus where students can rent storage units of various sizes.
    The residence halls close down two times each year; summer break (last week of July and the first two weeks of August) and winter break (starting the weekend before Christmas and ending after January 1). The actual dates can be viewed on the Academic Calendar. When the college is closed for these two breaks, your son/daughter must leave the campus, but they do not have to move their belongings from their room. The only time(s) that your son/daughter needs to move their belongings out of their room is when they leave for externship and when they graduate from either the associate or bachelor’s degree programs.
    Students are expected to be out of the residence halls no later than 10 a.m. the day after their last class. Typically this means that they need to be checked out of their room by 10 a.m. on Saturday.

    For many of our students, sharing a room with someone may be a new experience. It can be both challenging and rewarding. While we believe it is an important opportunity for students to learn to resolve issues on their own, we are always available to help and support the resolution of any issues or concerns. If your son/daughter tells you they are having problems with their roommate, we suggest you start by doing the following:

    • Ask them if they have tried talking to their roommate about the problem. You might be surprised to learn how many students never share their concerns with their roommate.
    • Suggest they speak with their Resident Assistant (RA) or Residence Director (RD). Most of the time, concerns can be resolved during a conversation between the roommates. Our Residence Life staff is trained to help facilitate those conversations and help students resolve their issues.
    • If attempts have been made to resolve the situation and it simply does not seem to be working, your son/daughter may request a room change by going to the RA/RD office, located within their residence hall, and speaking with the RD responsible for their building.

    Please note: Due to our constant flow of students leaving and arriving on campus every three weeks, a room change can often take up to six weeks to take place. And that change is based on whether or not we have a room available.

    The primary objective of the offices within Student Affairs and Academic Affairs is to ensure that your son/daughter will graduate from the CIA and go on to pursue a successful career. To achieve that objective, there are numerous resources available. Aside from the individual faculty and chefs your student will be working with every day, we suggest that your son/daughter make connection with the following resources:

    RA/RDs
    Within each residence hall the Office of Residence Life employs resident assistants (RAs) and residence directors (RDs). RAs are student leaders who serve as valuable resources for all students. They are full-time students so they can answer a lot of questions about the various classes and instructors on campus. RDs are full-time professionals with college degrees who are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the residence hall and can help students connect with all of the proper resources on campus.

    The Library Learning Commons
    Professional staff, services, and resources are available to students looking for help to advance their skills and get the most from their CIA education. Services include:

    • Individual and group study areas that are perfect for studying or collaborating
    • Tutoring services
    • Guidance with writing, math, and other academic courses
    • A custom-designed kitchen space for practicing knife cuts and piping skills
    • Availability of mentors
    • Disability services
    • Learning, study, test-taking, and time management strategies
    • Library research assistance
    • Workshops

    Whatever a student needs, our friendly staff is available to help. The Library Learning Commons is on the fourth floor of the Conrad N. Hilton Library.

    If your son/daughter needs resources beyond those provided by The Library Learning Commons, the staff there will connect them with proper additional resource.

    As parents/students, it is important for you to be educated about available campus resources.

    At the CIA, we understand sending your student to college can be a challenging and stressful time in any parent's life. While here at the CIA, your student will encounter many opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom to become involved in the campus community.

    For further medical information, specific to the campus your student is attending, visit our New York, California, or Texas pages.

    We encourage you to allow your student to seek out information on the various departments to receive assistance.

  • 100% of CIA students get real-world experience during externships—there are more than 2,000 approved sites!