Culinary Arts Diploma

The DMACC Culinary Arts program has been designated the Iowa Culinary Institute, signifying the world-class prominence of the program. The Culinary Arts program is accredited by the American Culinary Federation.

The Culinary Arts program prepares students to enter culinary positions with hotels, restaurants, clubs or institutions. Some select jobs in dining room service, catering or management. By the end of the program, graduates will have taken courses in food preparation, nutrition, menu planning, purchasing, garde manger and baking. International cuisine, restaurant management and advanced culinary cuisine are practicum courses and a valuable part of the training. These courses are management designed and offer students practical knowledge of the restaurant industry.

*In order to facilitate student success, the Culinary Arts program offers a learning community where students complete HCM 320 - Intro to Hospitality Industry  and SPC 101 - Fund of Oral Communication  (speech) together. Students are required to enroll in the learning community during their first or second semester and will receive details about this when they attend orientation and registration after being admitted to the program. Only students who completed speech at DMACC prior to entering the Culinary Arts program or by transferring credit from another college or university will be permitted to fulfill this requirement with an option course other than SPC 101 .

Semesters A and B are the first two semesters of the program. For the first two semesters, students are divided into groups A and B. Students in group A take the courses listed below under Semester A their first semester and then complete Semester B in their second semester. Students in group B take the courses listed below under Semester B their first semester and then complete Semester A in their second semester. All students complete the same courses in Semesters 3, 4 and 5.

Upon successful completion of semesters A through 5, students will receive a Culinary Arts AAS degree. Students with a shorter-semester educational goal may receive a diploma upon completion of semesters A, B and 3. The first three semesters must be completed before enrollment is allowed in semesters 4 and 5.

Wait List Class Recommendations

While a student is on the wait list for the Culinary Arts program, it is highly recommended that they complete the following courses:

1. MGT 145 - Human Relations in Business 
2. SPC 101 - Fund of Oral Communication   or SPC 126 - Interpersonal & Small Group Comm 
3. COM 703 - Communication Skills  or ENG 105 - Composition I  or any other AAS Communications class
4. BUS 112 - Business Math  or MAT 772 - Applied Math  or any other AAS Math course

These courses apply toward requirements needed to complete the Culinary Arts degree.

For more information about the Culinary Arts program, please visit our website at www.dmacc.edu/programs/culinary.

Location: Ankeny

Program Entry Requirements

1. Complete an application for admission.
2. Satisfy the assessment requirement.
3. Attend any required information/registration session.

Students start Fall or Spring semester.

(Most classes in this program meet in the daytime hours, but a few will involve some evenings and weekends.)

Graduation Requirements

To earn a Culinary Arts AAS degree or diploma, a student must complete all coursework as prescribed and maintain a 2.0 grade point average.