Exterior view of Somerville High School, showing the modern brick-and-glass building from below with its covered entrance and tall windows.

Somerville, Massachusetts

Somerville High School

81 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA 02143
Visit website 617-629-5250
Program price
Price unavailable
Schedule
Schedule unavailable
Program length
1,000 hoursGrade 10–12 sequence following grade 9 career exploration
Next start
Not available

About the program

Somerville High School’s cosmetology pathway combines academic study with 1,000 hours of cosmetology instruction. The grade 10–12 sequence covers hair styling and cutting, coloring and other chemical services, skin care, makeup and nails. Salon management and job-readiness skills are also included.

Students begin with career exploration in grade 9 before applying for a specific technical program. Cosmetology students also take Human Anatomy and Physiology through the Science Department; Biology is the prerequisite for that science course.

What you get

The cosmetology course prepares students for the Massachusetts State Board examination and includes 1,000 hours of instruction. Completing that training is a step toward licensing, not an automatic professional license.

The high-school diploma is a separate school qualification, awarded after students meet the prescribed course of study and other graduation requirements. The school also describes CTE as a certificate program, but a specific cosmetology completion-certificate title is not confirmed.

Schedules & start dates

Cosmetology takes up more of the school timetable as students progress:

  • Grade 10: one class block.
  • Grade 11: two class blocks.
  • Grade 12: four class blocks, including applied math.

These are school class blocks, not hours per week. The pathway sits alongside high-school academic requirements.

Class schedule not available

Cost & financial aid

Program price

Price unavailable

Federal financial aid

Eligibility not confirmed

How to enroll

Entry requirements

This is a high-school pathway, with the usual route starting in grade 9 career exploration. Students must be promoted to the grade they plan to enter. Somerville residents have priority; nonresidents and vocational transfer students can apply under the school’s CTE admissions rules. Homeschooled applicants must enroll full-time.

For an oversubscribed grade 10 program, resident students who completed exploration and earned at least 60% in their first-choice program enter a lottery. An application does not guarantee a cosmetology place. Later-grade entry is more limited; grade 11 requests receive individual review.

Application steps

  1. Begin with course selection. Grade 8 students register for grade 9 exploration through their school counselor, subject to promotion.
  2. Apply for a technical program. During grade 9 exploration, students select grade 10 CTE and apply for a specific program. Applications are available online, in the counseling department and in the CTE office, with language assistance available.
  3. Review the placement result. Oversubscribed programs use a lottery; students receive an offer or a waitlist place. Openings are filled from the waitlist.

Late applications are considered only for programs with available seats.

Explore career and technical education

Program oversight & accreditation

Program oversight
Public high-school CTEHow Massachusetts oversees cosmetology programs
Accreditation
Not confirmed

Sources

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