Catering manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a catering manager. Catering managers usually study business, hospitality management, or culinary arts. 57% of catering managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 24% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 8,396 real catering manager resumes to see exactly what catering manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for catering managers are the Johnson & Wales University and the Johnson & Wales University.

There are also many online catering manager courses to help get the education required to be a catering manager.

There are certain catering manager certifications that you should consider. These catering manager certifications include Certified Master Safe Technician (CMST) and ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification.

What education do you need to become a catering manager?

What degree do you need to be a catering manager?

The most common degree for catering managers is bachelor's degree, with 57% of catering managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 24% and associate degree degree at 11%.

Bachelor's, 57%

Associate, 24%

High School Diploma, 11%

Diploma, 3%

Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become a catering manager?

You should major in business to become a catering manager. 22% of catering managers major in business. Other common majors for a catering manager include hospitality management and culinary arts.

Business, 22%

Hospitality Management, 14%

Culinary Arts, 11%

Health Care Administration, 7%

Other Majors, 46%

Most common colleges for catering managers

Catering managers often get their degrees at Johnson & Wales University, University of Phoenix, and Culinary Institute of America. Here are the most common colleges for catering managers in the US based on their resumes.

Catering manager common college	Percentages
Johnson & Wales University	23.62%
University of Phoenix	9.22%
Culinary Institute of America	6.15%
Pennsylvania State University	5.83%
University of Central Florida	5.34%

Show more common catering manager colleges

Best majors for catering managers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	22.1%
2	Hospitality Management	14.4%
3	Culinary Arts	11.2%
4	Health Care Administration	7.0%
5	Communication	5.2%

Show more common catering manager majors

Best colleges for catering managers

The best colleges for catering managers are Cornell University, New York University, and Boston University.

A catering manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for catering managers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become catering managers.

1. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

2. SUNY College of Technology at Delhi

Delhi, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,360

Enrollment

3,142

3. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

4. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

5. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Ponce

Mercedita, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$5,914

Enrollment

4,155

6. University of Akron

Akron, OH • Private

In-state tuition

$11,463

Enrollment

13,676

7. SUNY College of Agriculture & Technology at Morrisville

Morrisville, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,670

Enrollment

2,758

8. SUNY College at Plattsburgh

Plattsburgh, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,369

Enrollment

5,229

9. Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,244

Enrollment

15,557

10. University of Alaska Anchorage

Anchorage, AK • Private

In-state tuition

$8,580

Enrollment

10,482

20 best online courses for catering managers

Advertising disclosure

1. Customer Service, Customer Support, And Customer Experience

4.6

(2,666)

Customer service, customer support, and customer experience training. Loyal clients through world-class customer service...

2. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer

4.7

(18,204)

Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...

3. Customer Service & Support For Customer Service Executives

4.5

(941)

Learn Customer Service Skills & Provide Excellent Customer Support, Customer Experience & How To Manage Upset Customers...

4. Customer Service: 6 Keys To Exceptional Customer Service

4.6

(601)

Master Customer Satisfaction & Astonish Your Customers With A+ Customer Service...

5. Customer Service

4.6

(11,267)

How to Approach New Customers and Maintain Existing Ones...

6. Fundamentals of Logistics, Supply Chain & Customer Service

4.5

(3,822)

Learn Logistics, Supply Chain and Customer Service. 3 Courses in 1...

7. ISO 22000:2018. Food Safety Management System

4.4

(976)

Understand the requirements for a food safety management system applicable for any organization in the food chain...

8. The Customer: Build a Customer Service Strategy (BITE SIZE)

4.5

(10,168)

For you and your team to be successful in providing great customer service, start by putting your customer first...

9. [2023] Customer Service 2.0: Learn Digital Customer Service

4.5

(3,956)

Used by Chase®, Intel®, & more! Learn soft skills, social media customer service, diagnosing user problems, & more...

10. Customer Service: Keep 'em coming back!

4.5

(3,150)

How to give the best customer service in your industry and keep those customers raving about your business...

11. Customer Service Basics: Improve your Service now

4.5

(889)

The basic golden rules to kickstart your service...

12. Food Safety for Managers and Supervisors

4.3

(489)

The Highfield Food Safety Level 3 syllabus presented in two hours of video tutorials. Boost your food safety knowledge...

13. Customer Service Training: Dealing with Difficult Customers

4.5

(1,035)

Learn how to deal with difficult customers Master customer relationship management Gain conflict management skills...

14. SAP Customer Service (CS/SM) - Service Management module

4.4

(960)

Real World SAP CS and SD, Repair Orders, Service Orders, Service Contracts...

15. Customer Service Success: Take Your Skills to the Next Level

4.5

(2,276)

3-in-1 Customer Service Training: Levels 1, 2, 3 Improve Your Soft Communication Skills, Customer Support & Experience...

16. Business Communication Skills: Handling Clients & Customers

4.4

(1,161)

Soft Skills Training Social Skills Business Etiquette Business English Customer Service Training...

17. Your Customer Service Toolbox: Best Practices for Beginners

4.5

(4,101)

Excel as a front-line customer service agent using problem-solving & relationship-building skills, etiquette, and more...

18. Fun food safety and sanitation course

4.6

(539)

The food safety course will help prepare you for safely working in a kitchen and food handler tests like Servesafe...

19. Brilliant Customer Service: How to Impress your Customers!

4.7

(12,891)

Enhance your customer support and truly differentiate yourself from your competition!...

20. OSHA Safety Training: Conducting Safety Meetings

4.5

(958)

A Brief Safety Management Course for Current and Aspiring Safety Professionals...

Top 10 most affordable universities for catering managers

The most affordable schools for catering managers are USF Sarasota-Manatee, suny farmingdale, and brooklyn college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for catering managers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for catering managers.

1. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

3. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

4. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

5. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

6. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

7. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

8. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

9. Lehman College of the City University of New York

Bronx, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,210

Cost of attendance

14,359

10. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for catering managers

The hardest universities for catering managers to get into are Cornell University, New York University, and Boston University.

Some great schools for catering managers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for catering managers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

2. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

3. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

5. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

7. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,520

8. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

9. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

Admissions rate

39%

SAT average

1,367

10. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for catering managers

The easiest schools for catering managers to get into are Life University, university of north texas at dallas, and oklahoma wesleyan university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a catering manager without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for catering managers.

1. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

2. University of North Texas at Dallas

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

992

3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

4. Texas Woman's University

Denton, TX • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,059

5. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

6. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

7. LIM College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

1,061

8. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

9. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

10. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

Average catering manager salary by education level

Catering managers with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $60,847 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, catering managers earn a median annual income of $58,956 compared to $53,510 for catering managers with an Associate degree.

Catering manager education level	Catering manager salary
Master's Degree	$60,847
High School Diploma or Less	$51,280
Bachelor's Degree	$58,956
Some College/ Associate Degree	$53,510

Catering manager education FAQs

What is the best college for Catering Managers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.

Search for catering manager jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs