Esthetics

The full-time day schedule runs Tuesday to Saturday, 8:45 am to 4:30 pm with a 45-minute break, 35 hours a week, for about 18 weeks. The remaining 2026 starts are October 6, November 3 and December 1; the Institute runs a class only when it reaches a minimum number of students, and otherwise lets you switch classes or wait for a later start. Your pool of absent hours is 60. Satisfactory progress is evaluated at 300 actual hours, and you must finish within 660 scheduled hours.

Cost of the programme. The catalog's 2026 calendar-year prices for Esthetics total $15,745: $11,400 tuition, a $3,200 kit fee, $195 Maryland sales tax, an $800 technology fee, the $125 enrollment fee and the $25 application fee. The kit includes the iPad and e-books; you may supply your own kit items of like kind and quality, and prices are subject to change.

Federal and state aid. The Institute participates in Federal Pell Grants, William D. Ford Direct Loans and Parent PLUS loans; file the FAFSA with school code 016012, and continuing students refile by October 1. Maryland Tolbert Grants of $500 go to students at private career schools with financial need, and scholarships are available from agencies and private organizations. The catalog states that VA benefits are not eligible for use on hybrid programmes, while the website lists VA benefits (Chapter 31 only) for this programme; ask the financial aid office. You keep satisfactory progress with 90% attendance and a 75% grade average; a student who falls short goes on warning, can appeal within 10 days and may continue on probation with an academic plan.

Other charges. Accounts must be paid in full by the time you have been offered 80% of the programme's hours. Late payments cost $25 for every 10 days late, and a student 10 days behind may not attend. Card payments carry a 3.5% convenience fee (3.9% when keyed in), and a returned check costs $35. Changing programme or start date after enrolling costs $150, your second and later schedule changes cost $200 each, re-entry costs $125, and hard-copy textbooks cost $200 a set. A replacement name tag is $4, a student card $10, a cut lock $20 and extra transcripts $10. Payment may be by cash, card, check, money order, cashier's or certified check, scholarship or Title IV funds, with an Institute promissory note for any cash-pay balance.

Cancelling and refunds. Cancel in writing within seven days of signing and everything is refunded; cancel after that but before starting and you get back everything except the application fee, the enrollment fee or both. Once classes begin, the Maryland Higher Education Commission schedule applies to tuition, based on scheduled hours: a 90% refund before 10% of the programme, 80% up to 20%, 60% up to 30%, 40% up to 40%, 20% up to 50%, and none after half. The application, enrollment and technology fees, the kit and Maryland sales tax are non-refundable after classes start. Refunds are paid within 30 days (40 days for VA students), after any return of Title IV funds.

The catalog lists esthetician, makeup artist, sales representative and salon or spa manager or owner, and in education and other fields educator, state board member or inspector, consultant, paramedical esthetician, school owner and freelance or film and fashion makeup artist.

Licensing. Completing the programme prepares you for the Maryland State Board examination for the esthetician licence. To graduate you need 90% attendance, a 75% grade average, all programme hours and a passing final written and practical exam, with your account paid in full; you then receive a diploma. The Institute will not complete state board applications until academic and financial obligations are met, and criminal convictions may affect licensing.

Published outcomes. The catalog reports the Institute's 2024 NACCAS rates as 92.86% graduation, 92.31% placement and 100.00% licensure, for all programmes together; the website's NACCAS rates page shows older figures (71.64%, 97.92% and 100.00%). Placement is not guaranteed, but the curriculum covers resumes, cover letters and interviewing, a Career Coach meets students one-on-one, and the Institute runs Industry Days and an annual Industry Panel with employers.

The Institute. Aveda Institute Maryland is owned by International Cosmetology Inc. and partnered with Aveda on July 1, 2017. It occupies a free-standing, climate-controlled 6,600 square foot building at 227 Archer Street in downtown historic Bel Air, with a clinic floor run like a salon and spa, a dispensary, an Aveda retail store, a guest reception area, student and staff lounges, lunchrooms and lockers. Classes never exceed 15 students per educator. The Institute has its own parking lot (the first seven spaces are for guests), with street parking, public lots and the Hickory Avenue garage nearby and Harford County Transportation buses into Bel Air. It does not operate housing but can help students find roommates. Its catalog also lists a 600-hour on-campus Massage Therapy programme, which has no start dates, so it is not listed here.

How hybrid classes work. Theory is delivered asynchronously through Learn Aveda modules on the iPad in your kit, with the Zoom app, on your own internet service; participation is documented through completed assignments, module engagement and educator feedback. Practical training on models and guests is always in person, your distance work is assessed in person after each 10% of the modules, and a comprehensive academic and practical final exam comes before graduation. The Institute's Addendum B still describes hybrid delivery as pending approval, while NACCAS already lists these programmes as hybrid. Hours earned by distance education may not be accepted for licensure in other states.

The school day. Classes begin at 8:45 am sharp; late students wait for the 12:30 pm entrance, and hours are clocked by fingerprint or key fob with a 45-minute lunch. Students wear solid black shirts and pants or skirts, the Aveda apron and a name tag, with closed shoes, and may not accept tips or refuse a guest. Every programme has a pool of absent hours; using it up ends your enrollment, and make-up hours do not refill it. The Institute closes July 4, November 26 to 28, December 24 and 25, December 31 and January 1.