Boston University Certificate Program in the Culinary Arts

Boston University's culinary program is part of Metropolitan College, the BU school for part-time learners. Julia Child, Jacques Pépin and Rebecca Alssid founded its Professional Culinary Arts Program in 1989. It's a semester-long, career-focused course that meets in the daytime during fall terms. Chef Chris Douglass is the lead culinary instructor. You can take the courses for credit, and they can count toward BU's Master of Arts in Gastronomy.

Students cook in a professional kitchen with 16 six-burner Vulcan ranges, convection ovens and fryers. A separate demonstration kitchen, the Groce Pépin Culinary Innovation Laboratory, has five overhead cameras. It also holds the desk where Julia Child wrote many of her cookbooks.

There are shorter options too. Cook Like a Pro: Mastering Culinary Essentials is a hands-on class for beginners that covers seasoning and choosing ingredients. Culinary Arts 1 Online takes seven weeks and mixes video lessons with weekly one-on-one sessions with Douglass. Culinary Arts 2 Online picks up from there. The calendar lists Flavors of Anatolia with Ana Sortun on November 19, 2026. The school has a 5-star Google rating from one review.