Direct entry · final BA year · Culinary Arts & Pastry
Associate degree in Culinary Arts? Enter the final year of a BHMS Bachelor of Arts in Culinary Arts — or in Culinary Arts and Patisserie: one academic semester with 300 kitchen hours in Lucerne, one six-month paid internship, and two degrees, from BHMS and Robert Gordon University (UK).
The final year at a glance
In certain cases, you may be required to complete an additional term to fulfill the module requirements.
Who it is for
Associate degree holders in Culinary Arts enter the final BA semester at BHMS directly.
Your program was baking and pastry? Send the transcript — every transcript is reviewed individually. The Patisserie BA shares its final year with Culinary Arts and adds Patisserie Design and Innovation.
Final-year entry runs in February, August and November. Next starts: 16 November 2026, 22 February 2027 and 16 August 2027.
Watch
The head chef explains the culinary programmes and what the kitchens look like. A culinary student shares advice for anyone who wants to cook professionally.
Choose your degree
What you study in Semester 5, as BHMS publishes it.
BA · culinary track
From à la carte to entrepreneurship — a chef’s bachelor with hundreds of hours in professional kitchens.
Your final-year modules · 300 kitchen hours
BA · culinary track
Pastry, chocolate and bakery as a career — creative technique with entrepreneurial insight and industry placements.
Your final-year modules · 300 kitchen hours
Heard in our kitchens
Culinary students and instructors from US community colleges spent summer 2026 at BHMS. Subtitled, about half a minute each.
The numbers
| Tuition, Year 3 | CHF 31'800 |
| Operating costs — health insurance, visa / B-permit, e-campus, internship placement, first airport pick-up | CHF 2'750 |
| Living expenses — shared room and meals, 24-week academic semester | CHF 6'150 |
| Application fee — direct entry, charged in your entry year | CHF 1'000 |
| Uniform & knife set | CHF 500 |
| Total, all-inclusive | CHF 42'200 |
Pay in full 90 days before term: CHF 1'000 off. Living expenses apply to the academic semester only. Fees are reviewed every year and are subject to change. All fee tables
CHF 2'390/month
Gross, Swiss placements — before deductions for room, board and social insurance.
BHMS works with an established network of industry partners to guarantee internship placements. Most positions in Switzerland depend on your German, French or Italian — you can learn them at BHMS. How the internships work
Everything in English.
See it first
Ten days in Lucerne for US community college students, 28 June – 7 July 2027 — CHF 3'300 per student, CHF 2'900 at the group rate. Participation costs are credited toward BA tuition when you continue into a BHMS bachelor’s program.
The 10-day programQuestions
Still deciding? Ask on WhatsApp — or read how direct entry works.
Associate degree holders in Culinary Arts enter the final BA semester at BHMS directly. Every direct entrant is at least 18 and has English at IELTS 5.5 or equivalent. BHMS does not guarantee that academic credits from other institutions will be accepted. Every transcript is reviewed individually — and if it places you in Year 2 instead, you graduate in two years.
Twelve months: Semester 5 is a six-month academic semester in Lucerne with 300 kitchen hours, Semester 6 a six-month paid internship. In certain cases, you may be required to complete an additional term to fulfill the module requirements.
Final-year entry runs in three intakes a year — February, August and November. The next starts are 16 November 2026, 22 February 2027 and 16 August 2027. Tell admissions your target date and they confirm the timeline with you.
CHF 42'200 all-inclusive for Year 3: tuition CHF 31'800, operating costs CHF 2'750, living expenses CHF 6'150 (shared room and meals for the 24-week academic semester) and the CHF 1'000 application fee direct entrants pay in their entry year, plus the CHF 500 uniform and knife set. Pay in full 90 days before term and CHF 1'000 comes off. Fees are reviewed every year and are subject to change.
Yes. Each academic semester is followed by a six-month internship, and BHMS works with an established network of industry partners to guarantee internship placements. Swiss placements pay a gross CHF 2'390 per month, before deductions for room, board and social insurance. Most positions in Switzerland depend on your German, French or Italian — and you can learn them at BHMS.
A Bachelor of Arts awarded by BHMS and by Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, UK — two degrees. The full program is 180 ECTS / 360 UK credits.
Five things: (1) the application form — admissions emails it to you once you start on the Apply page, (2) your CV, (3) a motivation letter, (4) your associate degree transcript, or your latest college transcript if you have not graduated yet, (5) a passport scan. Everything in English. BHMS can issue a provisional letter of acceptance while transcripts are on the way.
Yes — the Swiss Summer Abroad 2027 runs 28 June – 7 July 2027 for US community college students (CHF 3'300; CHF 2'900 at the group rate). Participation costs are credited toward BA tuition when you continue into a BHMS bachelor’s program.
Watch
Next step
Final-year entry for associate degree holders in Culinary Arts.
Every BA is awarded by BHMS and Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen — and each academic semester is followed by a six-month paid internship. Swiss hospitality placements pay a gross CHF 2'390/month. How the internships work
