Front entrance of Worcester Technical High School, a red-brick building with a rounded upper section and the school name displayed above the doors.

Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester Technical High School

1 Officer Manny Familia Way, Worcester, MA 01605
Visit website 508-799-1940
Program price
Price unavailable
Schedule
Schedule unavailable
Program length
1,000 hours
Next start
Not available

About the program

Worcester Technical High School offers a 1,000-hour cosmetology pathway within its high-school career and technical education program. Training covers hair, skin, nails and makeup, with opportunities to work on paying customers through services such as shampooing, styling, facials and hair coloring.

Students entering ninth grade first explore technical programs before shop placement. Admission to the high school does not guarantee a place in cosmetology; placement depends on exploration scores, preferences and available seats.

What you get

  • High-school diploma: complete Worcester Public Schools’ graduation requirements, including at least 24 school credits and state competency requirements. CTE students have specified course-substitution options; these school credits are separate from the cosmetology clock hours.
  • Cosmetology training: the pathway includes 1,000-hour course completion and identifies OSHA 30 General Industry among its credentials.
  • Professional license: completing school is not the same as receiving a cosmetology license. The program prepares students for the State Board Exam, a separate step toward becoming licensed.

Schedules & start dates

Class schedule not available

Cost & financial aid

Program price

Price unavailable

Federal financial aid

Eligibility not confirmed

How to enroll

Entry requirements

  • High-school eligibility: the standard ninth-grade route is for Worcester residents applying in eighth grade who meet the district’s promotion requirements. Resident students in approved homeschool programs may also apply. The policy names already approved school-choice students, but CTE does not provide a new school-choice entry route.
  • Entering grade 10: WPS ninth-graders on track for promotion may apply to specific programs with openings, unless already enrolled in a CTE program at a comprehensive high school. This does not guarantee that cosmetology will have places.
  • Transferring during grades 10–12: applicants must already be in a comparable CTE program, meet promotion requirements and have an available place in that same program.

Application steps

  1. Apply online for ninth-grade admission. For fall 2027 entry, applications are accepted November 1, 2026–January 8, 2027.
  2. Complete the weighted-lottery process. A completed application provides one entry. Attendance and discipline criteria, and a non-family recommendation about CTE interest, can each add an entry, for up to four. The lottery is February 3, 2027.
  3. Respond to an admission offer within 14 calendar days and meet the district’s promotion requirements.
  4. Complete ninth-grade technical exploration and rank your program choices. Cosmetology placement depends on scores and available seats.

For the separate new grade-10 route, applications open by May 15 for programs with vacancies and are due June 1. These are application dates, not class starts. Comparable-program transfers during the school year go through the WPS Parent Information Center.

Apply for Worcester CTE admission

Program oversight & accreditation

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

Sources

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