#OnlyAtCIA

#onlyatcia represents the many ways in which the world’s premier culinary college is unlike anywhere else.

Food is your life—and it’s ours, too. Here’s what makes CIA different.

From our passionate, food-centric community and close connections to opportunities you can’t find anywhere else, the #onlyatcia experience is truly one a kind.

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Becoming the Best of the Best

Regardless of your experience and career aspirations, you have the opportunity to explore a future in food and discover a world of possibilities at CIA. Learn how to hone your skills and master your passion with guidance from some of the top experts in the world.

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World’s Best Career Fair

Three times a year, more than 150 of the very best food, beverage, and hospitality employers attend our New York campus career fair looking to hire interns and soon-to-be graduates. It’s part of why CIA students average 3 job offers at graduation!

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A bowl of ramen noodle soup is garnished with sliced soft-boiled eggs, green onions, and pieces of pork. Black chopsticks rest on the edge of the bowl, and a frothy glass of beer is in the background. Other dishes are slightly blurred in the background.

Shaping the Future of Food

CIA students, alumni, and faculty help shape the future of food through our innovative academic programs, global conferences, and thought leadership initiatives.

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Program Highlights

Why Study at CIA?

If you’re serious about a career in food and hospitality, CIA is truly the best place to begin your journey! There are many reasons why you should join our community, and we’ve documented our top 10 in a helpful list. We think you’ll agree—at CIA it all adds up.

Discover the Top 10 Reasons

Innovative Courses That Will Transform Your Experience

In addition to providing essential culinary skills and knowledge, we also offer exciting, unconventional courses that allow you to uncover new interests and dive deeper into the food world. Here are just a few of the unexpected courses that CIA students take.

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Non-Commercial Foodservice and High-Volume Production

Get ready to move! Create sustainable, plant-forward dishes as you prepare meals at The Egg for large numbers of hungry CIA students.

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Project in Applied Food Studies

Do you have a great food-centric idea? This course allows you to explore experiential research projects so that you can make your vision a reality.

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Seafood Identification and Fabrication

Learn how to select, prep, and store freshwater and saltwater fish, shellfish, crustaceans—you name it.

Chat With a Student

Are you curious about what it’s really like to attend CIA? We’ve got you covered. Our students are ready to answer the questions you haven’t asked anyone else, share their own personal experiences, and give you genuine advice—because they’ve gone through it, too.

A group of eleven diverse students smiling and hugging a large bee mascot dressed in a yellow and black costume with "CIA" on its chest. They are standing on an outdoor terrace with a river and green hills in the background.

Two women in white chef coats are smiling and picking herbs in a lush garden with various plants and greenery. A stone building and more greenery are visible in the background, indicating a sunny and pleasant outdoor environment.

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Student Life

Food is your community.

We’re proud to provide a comprehensive college experience with a culinary twist. At CIA, you have the unique opportunity to earn a food-focused degree in a traditional campus setting that offers residential dorms, athletic events, extracurricular activities, and intramural sports. From friendly, on-campus cooking competitions to a variety of student organizations, we have so much to offer. You never know where your CIA journey will take you, or who you’ll meet along the way. Are you ready to become part of the CIA family?

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CIA Alumni

They’re not only accomplished food professionals—they’re influential global leaders who are making a difference.

“You have legends here. What I love about CIA is that the professors that have been teaching here 25, 30 years…they evolve with the times.”

Roy Choi ’98 Chef, Restaurateur, Author

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“Going to CIA is like having a passport to the entire world. You can go anywhere. I can’t recommend CIA highly enough. The chefs you’ll be learning from are some of the best in the world…it’s the best school in the world.”

Duff Goldman ’98 Owner Charm City Cakes

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