Schools such as Valencia Community College (valenciacc.edu) and the Art Institutes (artinstitutes.edu), for example, offer online associate degrees in hospitality and culinary management. Associate degrees take about two years to complete. Valencia's food service and restaurant management degree includes courses that teach estimating food needs, planning menus, purchasing procedures, managing catering jobs and banquets, analyzing and managing food and labor costs and hiring and training staff in the hospitality and food service industries. The Art Institutes' program includes courses devoted to entrepreneurship. To receive the degree, students must also complete a 407-hour internship through Valencia.
Classes for bachelor's degrees expand on general education and introductory food service information. Johnson and Wales University (jwu.edu) offers a culinary arts and food management degree online for students who have already obtained an associate degree. South University (southuniversity.edu) programs include a business administration bachelor's degree that includes hospitality management as a content specialization. Coursework in these programs includes food service operations management, human resources, marketing, menu analysis and beverage management.
ECPI College of Technology (ecpi.edu) allows students to get a bachelor's degree in food service management online in just two and a half years. Besides management courses, classes from ECPI's program also teach food preparation fundamentals. Program graduates must complete an externship.
Students who already have a strong background in food service, preparation or management may benefit more from postgraduate courses, such as those offered in the Master of Science degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition through the University of Illinois (Illinois.edu), for example. Unlike many online courses, this program utilizes live class sessions, allowing students to ask questions of lecturers and receive immediate feedback from instructors and other students. University of Illinois course offerings include sports nutrition, food processing, food chemistry, flavor chemistry, diet and cancer, food microbiology and food safety and sanitation.
Although students must apply for admission to the college and may need to choose a major, many of these online programs allow students to take courses in any order. Few courses have prerequisites, especially those at the associate and bachelor's degree levels. Various other schools, including City Vision College (cityvision.edu), offer introductory classes to food services that give general information about kitchen processes, food service management, sanitation and safety practices, purchasing and menu planning.