A Suggested Curriculum for Associate Degree Culinary Arts Programs Jean L. Hertzman ABSTRACT. The curriculum is the foutidation of any academic program. Associate degree culinary arts programs (ADCAPs) are a relatively new segment of higher education, thus very little academic literature exists about these programs. This study applies mixed methodology to determine a suggested curriculum for ADCAP. The researcher compares current cur- riculum requirements derived from content analysis of degree worksheets to the opinions of culinary educators and industry chefs regarding the importance of teaching specific professional and general education subjects obtained through a survey using Dillman's (2000) Tailored Design Method. The resulting 67 semester credits suggested curriculum includes 49 credits of professional courses and 18 credits of general education courses, as well as work experience and internship requirements. KEYWORDS. Culinary education, curriculum, associate degree programs INTRODUCTION Associate degree culinary arts programs (ADCAP) are a relatively new segmetit of higher education. The first culinary school in the United States, the Restaurant Institute of Connecticut (now the Culinary Institute Jean L. Hertzman, PhD, CCE is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Culinary Arts Management Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Address correspondence to: Jean L. Hertzman, Harrah College of Hospitality, University of Nevada, Beam Hall 359, Las Vegas, NV (E-mail: jean.hertzman® unlv.edu). Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, Vol. 6(4) 2008 Available online at http://www.haworthpress.com © 2008 by The Haworth Press. All rights reserved. 256 doi : 10.1080/15428050802516036