Program / Cosmetology
Hair, color, skin, nails. The full license.
The cosmetology program covers the full state-board scope: hair cutting and coloring, chemical services, skin care, basic nail services, and salon business. 1,500 clock hours. Daytime cohorts run 14 months at 30 hours per week. Evening and weekend cohorts run 22 months at 18 hours per week.
Curriculum split
Theory and practical run in parallel from week three on.
About 380 hours of theory in the classroom, 1,120 hours of practical work in the academy’s student salon serving the public at reduced prices. Theory and practical run side by side from week three forward, not back-to-back. Students start with mannequin work and step up to live clients in week six.
- Theory hours380 (classroom upstairs)
- Practical hours1,120 (student salon, real clients)
- Mannequin phaseWeeks 1–5
- First live clientWeek 6, instructor at your shoulder
- Independent floor timeAfter the first 10 supervised cuts
Live clients, week six
The first cut on a real head is the longest week of the program.
Mannequin work for five weeks, then the cape goes on a paying client. Instructors sit in for the first ten haircuts on the floor and check every step until you’re cleared to work independently. Most students remember the first one for the rest of their career.
Cost & aid
Tuition is the tuition.
Total tuition: $18,400. Books and kit add another $1,800. Federal financial aid is available — we’re Title IV eligible, and roughly 70 percent of students receive Pell grants. The remainder is covered by no-interest payment plans tied to the program length. No “limited-time scholarship” theater, no inflated sticker price softened by a coupon at the end of the tour.
- Tuition$18,400
- Books + kit$1,800
- Title IV eligibleYes — FAFSA in the application packet
- Pell grant recipients~70% of the cohort
- Payment planNo-interest, across the program length
What graduates do
Where the work goes.
Most graduates work in salons within four months of completing hours. About 15 percent open booth-rental businesses inside two years. A handful go on to manage salons or move into platform-artist work for product brands.
The career fair we host twice a year brings 22 to 28 salons in to recruit. Renee runs the prep block for it: portfolio, interview, day-rate negotiation. Janelle T., who runs placement, follows up with every graduate at 30 days, 90 days, and one year so the employment numbers on the website match the people actually on the floor.