Barbering is a Diploma program offered by Champ's Barber School in Lebanon, PA. The program takes 1,250 clock hours — rolling enrollment, flexible start dates to complete, with a total tuition of $18,900.
Program Overview
The Barbering programme is 1,250 clock hours and is the only programme Champ’s Barber School offers. The catalog states the hours follow "the Pennsylvania State Board requirement", and the school’s stated goal is that each student completes the course, passes the State Board Examination and obtains entry-level employment in the barber profession.
Sixty-one per cent of the programme is hands-on. The curriculum table splits every subject into lecture and hands-on hours and totals 490 lecture against 760 hands-on — and the hands-on hours are worked on the clinic floor with paying clients.
Cutting and shaving are 775 of the 1,250 hours. Haircutting and styling alone is 535 hours, and shaving and straight razor a further 240. For a barbering programme that is the right shape, and the straight-razor allocation is unusually large.
You can check the price against a published rate. The catalog states tuition "is calculated by a flat fee of $15.12 per hour" over 1,250 hours — which is $18,900 exactly, the printed tuition.
What sets this Program apart
It publishes the price as a rate, not just a total — and the arithmetic checks out. The catalog states the cost of attendance "is calculated by a flat fee of $15.12 per hour. Our total program hours are 1250 hours". $15.12 × 1,250 is $18,900, exactly the printed tuition. Very few schools in this field show their working, and it means you can check any quote you are given against a published rate.
The curriculum is split into lecture and hands-on hours, subject by subject. The catalog prints a sixteen-row table giving Lecture Hours, Hands-On Hours and a total for each subject, coming to 490 lecture and 760 hands-on. Most schools publish one number per subject; this one tells you how much of each subject you spend on the floor.
Three locations, and it is candid about which is the original. The school opened in Lancaster City, added Lebanon in 2021 — describing itself as the only barber school in Lebanon, PA — and York in 2023. NACCAS records the same shape: Lancaster is the accredited school and the other two are accredited as additional locations of it.
It publishes the size of each building. Lancaster is approximately 2,166 square feet, Lebanon 3,344 and York 3,219, each with a client and student reception area, a clinic floor, a theory classroom that doubles as the student break area, two restrooms as Pennsylvania law requires, and a dispensary.
Admission is selective and in person. "Admission to Champ’s Barber School is on a selective basis. A personal interview and visit to the school are required of all prospective students." There is no admission by form alone.
Licensed cosmetologists get a defined head start. A Pennsylvania-licensed cosmetologist may transfer 555 hours of credit into the 1,250-hour barbering programme — a specific published figure rather than a case-by-case promise, though the licence must be a valid Pennsylvania one.
It states what it does not offer. The catalog says plainly that the school does not offer ATB (ability-to-benefit), so a high school diploma or GED is genuinely required, and that it does not require vaccinations to enrol. Both are the kind of thing prospective students otherwise have to ring up and ask.
Admission Requirements and Process
Admission to Champ’s Barber School is on a selective basis. A personal interview and visit to the school are required of all prospective students. No prior hair-cutting experience is needed to be successful at Champ's Barber School; your only requirements are an earnest desire to learn, a commitment to the process, and have a teachable spirit.
General Requirements
- State Minimum AgeStudents must meet the state minimum age requirement to enter school (if applicable).
- Interview and School VisitA personal interview and visit to the school are required of all prospective students, including completion of an interview with a member of the local admissions department.
- High School Diploma or GEDProvide a copy of their high school diploma, or its equivalent (GED). Champ’s Barber School does not offer ATB.
- Photo IDProvide a state or federal issued photo ID or birth certificate and photo ID.
- Social Security CardProvide a federal issued social security card. Non-US residents must submit either an Alien Registration Card or a recognized Visa (I-94).
- Cosmetologist Transfer HoursLicensed Cosmetologists applying the State Board of Barbering transfer of 555 hours of credits to the Barbering program must be in possession of a valid Pennsylvania Cosmetology…
Application Process
- 1Contact AdmissionsTo inquire for more information please give us a call or fill out our contact information form. Get in touch with our admissions team to learn more on how we could help you achieve your next goal.
- 2Complete a Pre-Enrollment ApplicationComplete a Pre-Enrollment Application with the admissions office.
- 3Interview and Visit the SchoolA personal interview and visit to the school are required of all prospective students. Complete an interview with a member of the local admissions department.
- 4Complete the FAFSATo get a head start on your enrollment, fill out the FAFSA form. Champ's Barber School has admission team members in place to help students complete the form correctly and accurately to reduce the chance of error. Review your Student Aid Report, submit any verification documentation if needed, and receive an Award Letter outlining the Financial Assistance available to you.Fill Out the FAFSA
- 5Sign the Enrollment AgreementComplete and sign an Enrollment Agreement and provide your required documents: social security card, photo ID, and high school diploma or GED.
Program Schedule
Barbering is 1,250 clock hours, which the catalog states "follows the Pennsylvania State Board requirement".
Enrollment is rolling. The school states on its own application page that it has "rolling enrollment and can be flexible with your start date" — so there is no fixed cohort you have to wait for.
Hours are counted strictly, and to the minute. Students sign in and out on a hand scanner; if it fails, hours must be signed by a teacher. Time is "tallied as straight time (we do not round the hours to the nearest quarter)", and students receive credit for all time recorded. Doors lock at 9:05 for AM theory.
Attendance is made up, not written off. The catalog states all unexcused hours must be made up by the student, with a make-up form completed. The school also warns it may drop a student who appears to be "stealing hours".
Graduating. To graduate you must complete 100% of the required programme hours, achieve a minimum written grade average of 70%, pass a final written and practical examination, and achieve a minimum grade of "A" on the final practical evaluation. Practical work is marked against a written rubric that administration issues to every instructor at hire and trains them on.
Required Courses
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Campus Location
Why Accreditation Is Important
Attending an accredited school means its training has been reviewed against independent standards that protect students.
This school: Champ’s Barber School is accredited by NACCAS and follows the Pennsylvania State Board of Barber Examiners requirement. NACCAS lists Lancaster (048122-00) as Accredited — first accredited 2008, renewal May 2029 — and Lebanon (B48122-01) and York (B48122-02) under Additional Location Accreditation, as additional locations of the Lancaster school rather than separately. All three carry Barbering at 1,250 hours.
- A reliable indicator of educational quality
- Reviewed against independent standards
- Recognized by employers and licensing boards
Accreditations
Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid Information
What this programme costs. The catalog’s Program Cost of Attendance block lists a $100 school registration fee, a $1,600 kit and book fee and $18,900 tuition — $20,600 in total.
The tuition is published as a rate, and it reconciles exactly. The catalog states the cost of attendance tuition rate "is calculated by a flat fee of $15.12 per hour" across 1,250 hours. $15.12 × 1,250 = $18,900, the printed tuition to the dollar. That is a useful check: if you are quoted a different figure, ask which rate and how many hours it is built from.
How current these figures are. This is the newest catalog the school publishes and it was uploaded to its website in April 2026, but the document’s own running footer reads "Updated October 2024, Vol. 8" on every page — so the content is the October 2024 revision. No expiry date is stated anywhere in it. Confirm the tuition with the school before you enrol rather than treating a two-year-old revision as a quote.
Costs the school lists but does not charge. The catalog separately estimates room and board at $5,824 and transportation at $1,008 as additional costs related to attendance. These are living costs used for financial-aid budgeting, are not paid to the school, and are not part of the $20,600 above. The catalog also notes students "may have additional costs relating to attendance based on their own personal living situations".
Financial aid. The school participates in federal student aid: the catalog sets out Pell Grant and Direct Loan handling, Direct Parent PLUS Loans, Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculations and post-withdrawal disbursements, and states its Title IV academic year runs January to December. It states that if a return of federal aid leaves a balance, the school will notify the student by mail or email within 30 days of determining the withdrawal, and that where a credit balance is owed the student it will provide a refund cheque within 14 days.
The catalog does not print a federal school code, so none is shown here. Ask the school for it, or look the school up at studentaid.gov, before you file your FAFSA — this listing does not guess one.
Curriculum
The catalog prints a Barber Curriculum Outline of sixteen subjects, each with its lecture hours, its hands-on hours and a total. The columns sum to 490 lecture, 760 hands-on, 1,250 together — and they reconcile exactly, which is rarer than it should be.
Haircutting and styling is 535 hours, far the largest subject and 43% of the programme: 200 lecture and 335 hands-on.
Shaving and straight razor is 240 hours — 100 lecture and 140 hands-on. That is nearly a fifth of the course on the skill that most distinguishes a barber, and it is supported by honing and stropping (25 hours), the maintenance of the razor itself.
The science block is 150 hours: scalp, skin and diseases (50), physiology (50) and sterilization and sanitation (50) — the last weighted 40 of its 50 hours to hands-on practice rather than lecture, which is the right way round for infection control.
Running a shop and finding work takes 125 hours: "The Business of Barbering / PA Laws and Regulations" (50), "Manager-Barber, Shop Management, Orientation, Exams, and career Advising" (50) and "Professional Skills, Ethics, and Barbershop Image" (25). A tenth of the programme on the business, and two of those three blocks are majority hands-on.
The remaining 150 hours are spread evenly at 25 each across shampoo and massaging, hair coloring, facial massages, hair waxing and curling, hair weaving and perms, personal hygiene, and electricity (heat tools and implements).
Required Courses
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Career Outcomes
Licensing. The 1,250-hour programme follows the Pennsylvania State Board of Barber Examiners requirement, and the school states its goal is that each student "satisfactorily complete the course, pass the required State Board Examination, and obtain entry-level employment within the Barber profession".
What the curriculum points you toward. Fifty hours go to "The Business of Barbering / PA Laws and Regulations", another fifty to "Manager-Barber, Shop Management, Orientation, Exams, and career Advising", and twenty-five to "Professional Skills, Ethics, and Barbershop Image" — 125 of the 1,250 hours on running a shop and finding work, which is a tenth of the programme.
No outcome rates are published in this catalog. The October 2024 revision carries no graduation, licensure or placement rate. NACCAS-accredited schools report those figures annually, so the school will have them — ask the admissions office for its most recent NACCAS annual report rates, in writing, before you enrol. This listing does not estimate them.
What to expect as a Champ's Barber School student
Where you learn. Champ’s teaches at three Pennsylvania locations, and the catalog publishes the size of each: Lancaster approximately 2,166 square feet, Lebanon 3,344 and York 3,219. Each consists of a client and student reception area, the clinic floor, a theory classroom that doubles as the student break area, two restrooms as Pennsylvania State law requires, and a dispensary. Equipment, the catalog notes, "is governed by Pennsylvania State Board".
You learn on real customers. The clinic floor is the centre of each building, and the programme’s 760 hands-on hours are spent there.
What you buy. The kit and book fee is $1,600, on top of $18,900 tuition and the $100 registration fee, and it is inside the school’s printed $20,600 total.
How you are assessed. Practical evaluations are graded against a rubric administration provides to every instructor at hire and trains them on, setting out "specific criteria to determine level of competency". Instructors give feedback on completion of each evaluation or assignment. Written work must average 70%, and the final practical evaluation must be graded "A".
Attendance, counted honestly in both directions. Hours are recorded on a hand scanner as straight time with no rounding, so you are credited for exactly what you attend — and equally, all unexcused hours must be made up. Doors lock at 9:05 for morning theory.
If you leave and want to come back. A student who withdrew or was dropped may re-apply after 30 days from the effective withdrawal, returning with their previous hours as transfer hours, with financial aid disbursed according to those hours and their previous ledger balance.