Three Indiana colleges report culinary programs in the federal CIP 12.05 family, and all three are public. Average net prices run from $7,258 to $11,668 a year after grants. That’s a shorter list than older culinary guides show, and there’s a reason: Indiana’s private culinary schools have closed. The Art Institute of Indianapolis shut down with the rest of the Art Institutes chain in September 2023, and Harrison College closed in 2018. What remains is affordable, public, and in Ivy Tech’s case, accredited by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation.
Every number below comes from the College Scorecard and IPEDS federal data, retrieved July 2026, and program details are verified against each school’s own site. Net price is what students actually paid after grants, a more reliable figure than published tuition.
| School | City | Type | Tuition/yr | Net price/yr | Enrollment | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivy Tech Community CollegeLowest average net price in the state: $7,258/yr after grants. | Indianapolis | Public | $5,154 | $7,258 | 58,267 | Baking & Pastry Culinary Arts |
| Vincennes University | Vincennes | Public | $7,126 | $11,225 | 3,657 | Culinary Arts Culinary Management |
| Indiana University-IndianapolisReports culinary/restaurant management as its program in this family. | Indianapolis | Public | $10,762 | $11,668 | 13,830 | Culinary Management |
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Standout Culinary Programs in Indiana
Ivy Tech Community College: statewide, ACF-accredited
Ivy Tech is Indiana’s culinary workhorse, an ACF Education Foundation–accredited School of Culinary Arts offering a Culinary Arts AAS and a separate Baking and Pastry AAS, plus technical and short-term certificates in culinary arts, baking & pastry, catering, and beverage management. Culinary Arts is taught at six campuses: Indianapolis, Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Muncie, South Bend, and Lake County (East Chicago). At $7,258 average net per year it’s also the cheapest culinary path in the state. The Indianapolis hospitality program additionally holds ACPHA accreditation.
Vincennes University: the bistro-kitchen associate degree
Vincennes offers a Culinary Arts A.S. (Career/Tech) with a choice of two tracks, Traditional Culinary Arts or the Pastry and Bakeshop degree, built around quantity food production, haute cuisine, menu planning, and food-facility supervision coursework. Students run the public-facing Thursday Night Bistro and place into internships at venues from Disney to French Lick Resort. Average net price: $11,225 a year.
Indiana University Indianapolis: the management route
IU Indianapolis (formerly IUPUI) reports culinary/restaurant management completions (CIP 12.0504) rather than chef training. The work runs through the School of Health & Human Sciences’ Tourism, Event, Hospitality & Sport Management department, including a B.S. with a hospitality concentration and a 2+2 pathway that accepts Ivy Tech’s hospitality associate degree. Choose this route if you want to run food businesses rather than work the line. Average net price: $11,668 a year.
What Culinary School Actually Costs in Indiana
Indiana is one of the cheaper states in the country to train as a cook, because every current program is public. Published in-state tuition runs from $5,154 at Ivy Tech to $10,489 at IU Indianapolis. The fairer comparison is average net price after grants: $7,258 at Ivy Tech, $11,225 at Vincennes, $11,668 at IU Indianapolis. Stack that against the Culinary Institute of America in New York, where net price runs roughly $36,000 a year, and the trade-off gets clear fast. An Indiana associate degree plus two years of real kitchen wages can cost less than one year at a marquee private culinary school. Out-of-district and out-of-state students pay more, so use the tuition toggle in the table above.
Schools You Might Be Searching For
Older lists of Indiana culinary schools included names that no longer exist. The Art Institute of Indianapolis closed in September 2023 when the Art Institutes chain shut its remaining campuses. Harrison College, including its Indianapolis culinary program (The Chef’s Academy), closed in September 2018. Le Cordon Bleu closed all of its U.S. campuses by 2017; the nearest was in Chicago. Purdue University‘s White Lodging–J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management is well regarded, but it reports its programs under hospitality management codes rather than culinary arts, so it belongs on a hospitality shortlist rather than a chef-training one.
Indiana Culinary School FAQs
How many culinary schools are in Indiana?
3 Indiana institutions report culinary programs (CIP 12.05 family) to the U.S. Department of Education: 3 public. The count covers degree- and certificate-granting schools in the College Scorecard as of July 2026.
How much does culinary school cost in Indiana?
Average net price, what students actually pay per year after grants, ranges from $7,258 to $11,668 across Indiana culinary schools, with a median of $11,225. Published tuition is often higher; net price is the more accurate number.
What is the cheapest culinary school in Indiana?
Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis has the lowest average net price at $7,258 per year. Community college district residents can sometimes pay less than the published in-state rate.
Which Indiana schools offer baking and pastry programs?
1 Indiana school reported baking & pastry (CIP 12.0501) completions in the latest federal data, including Ivy Tech Community College.
Can I study culinary or restaurant management in Indiana?
Yes, 2 schools report culinary/restaurant management (CIP 12.0504) programs: Vincennes University, Indiana University-Indianapolis.
Culinary Schools in Nearby States
School list, tuition, net price, and enrollment from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS completions data (CIP 12.05 family), retrieved July 2026. Program names, campuses, and accreditation verified against each school’s own website, July 2026. Closure records from school announcements and news reports.