College Success Rate

(1) Choose a college that will give you the greatest possible chance for success.

Select schools with strong graduation rates.

• When investing in your education, you need to consider the outcomes. Are you likely to graduate? Will you get a job? The CIA's overall graduation rate is an impressive 83%. For those associate-degree graduates who choose to continue on to the BPS program in their junior year, 91% received their degree. CIA rates exceed the national averages for two-year private colleges (50%) and four-year private colleges and universities (54%).* Johnson & Wales in comparison most recently reported an overall graduation rate of 58%. Your CIA degree gives you a competitive "leg up"—76% of surveyed employers indicated they prefer to hire CIA graduates.
  
  * (Source: Source: 2011 ACT National Collegiate Retention and Persistence to Degree Rates Report; 2011 CIA Employee Survey Report; IPEDS Data Center)

Look for opportunities for long-term career success with attractive salaries.

• CIA graduates work for top employers and have extraordinary career and salary growth—in their first five years, they tend to increase their salaries 50% and advance to higher positions. Plus, a 2002 survey of CIA alumni showed their median salaries to be 25–67% higher than median industry salaries reported by the National Restaurant Association for 2001–2002.

Look for large, successful alumni networks that provide mentoring and help for career advancement.

• It's often the case that what you know and who you know are important. That's why the size and influence of the CIA's alumni network are so important to your future. Our more than 37,000 successful graduates are employed in virtually every segment of the foodservice industry, and hold leadership positions-vital whether you're looking for your first job, striving to advance your career, or just need some advice.

Nationally recognized, highly regarded schools provide you with access to national and international career opportunities. Regional schools do not offer these benefits.

• It's definitely to your advantage to earn your credentials at a school that is known and respected throughout the culinary world. Industry employers, a great many of whom are CIA alumni, know our college and its reputation for excellence and professionalism. Having The Culinary Institute of America on your résumé will open doors of career opportunity that just are not available otherwise.