Funeral Service Education
Allied Health & Sciences
Degree awarded: Associate in Applied Science
Program Narrative
Are you interested in:
- Helping Others?
- The Human Biological Sciences?
- Community Involvement?
- A business environment?
Have you considered a career in Funeral Service?
The funeral service professional:
- Provides support to the bereaved during initial stages of grief.
- Arranges and directs funeral ceremonies.
- Performs the transfer of the deceased from the place of death.
- Prepares the body according to the wishes of the survivors and requirements of the law.
- Sells funeral related services and merchandise.
- Establishes pre-arranged/pre-financed funeral accounts.
- Secures information for legal documents.
- Files death certificates and other legal papers.
- Assists survivors with details for filing claims for death benefits.
- Helps individuals adapt to changes in their lives following a death through post-death counseling and support group activities.
Why should you enter funeral service?
- You are a caregiver who desires to serve others.
- You believe ceremony is an effective way of expressing feelings.
- You are open-minded about ways in which people of different faiths and cultures express their feelings and practice their beliefs.
- You are interested in the technical sciences.
- You exhibit sensitivity and compassion for those with whom you are in contact.
- You are interested in learning all aspects of a business.
Funeral Service Education provides you with a comprehensive understanding of all phases of funeral service necessary to serve the bereaved in a professional and ethical manner. The need for funeral directors and embalmers will escalate over the next twenty years and the earning potential has never been better.
Mission Statement
Our mission as Northampton Community College Funeral Service Education is to educate students in the fundamental skills, knowledge, and practice of funeral service. We strive to create a supportive learning environment which fosters communication, critical thinking, self-discipline, and compassion. The program embraces the college's mission, vision and values, and is committed to providing an unexcelled educational experience that is inclusive and diverse.
Funeral Service Education Aims and Objectives
The Funeral Service Education Program has as its central aim recognition of the importance of funeral service education personnel as:
- members of a human service profession,
- members of the community in which they serve,
- participants in the relationship between bereaved families and those engaged in the funeral service profession,
- professionals knowledgeable of and compliant with federal, state, and local regulatory guidelines,
- professionals sensitive to the responsibility for public health, safety and welfare in caring for human remains.
Objectives of the Funeral Service Education Program:
- To enlarge the background and knowledge of students about the funeral service profession.
- To educate students in every phase of funeral service, and to help enable them to develop the proficiency and skills necessary in the profession, as defined above.
- To educate students concerning the responsibilities of the funeral service profession to the community at large.
- To emphasize high standards of ethical conduct.
- To provide a curriculum at the post secondary level of instruction.
- To encourage research in the field of funeral service.
Program Features
Northampton's Funeral Service Education is designed to meet the educational requirements for licensure set forth by the Pennsylvania State Board of Funeral Directors. Students have the option of participating in clinical embalming laboratories on campus or in field study at a funeral home. The Funeral Service Education core is offered in two sequences, Traditional (for high school applicants) or Accelerated (for college transfer students). Funeral Service Education core courses (courses prefixed with FUNS) may be taken only by those admitted to the traditional or accelerated sequence.
- All students of Funeral Service Education sit for the National Board Examination of the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards prior to graduation.
Upon graduation you will be awarded an Associates in Applied Science degree and will be eligible to begin your 12-month Resident Internship. Our graduates have experienced a high level of placement within the profession.
Northampton Community College is a member of the University Mortuary Science Education Association, and is accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE), 3414 Ashland Ave., Suite G, St. Joseph, MO 64506, 816-233-3747. The annual passage rate of first-time takers on the National Board Examination (NBE) for the most recent three-year period for this institution and all ABFSE accredited funeral service education programs is posted on the ABFSE web site (www.abfse.org).
Students are admitted to the program in the Summer and Fall sessions of each year and are encouraged to participate in the social and community service activities of Sigma Phi Sigma- The Funeral Service Education Student Association. Funeral Service Education core courses are offered during the day.
Program Admission Requirements
Acceptance is competitive and you will need to be academically prepared before being accepted into one of the two sequences. If you are not academically prepared, we may consider you for the Pre-Core Funeral Service Education program.
High school applicants for the traditional degree sequence (FSED) will need to have completed minimum admission requirements of Biology and Chemistry (with labs) with a grade of C or better. Also, all applicants must have achieved an overall high school G.P.A. of 2.5 or better.
Northampton welcomes transfer students. If you have earned general education credits prior to admission you may be able to complete this program via an accelerated degree sequence (FSAD) in two academic semesters. You may transfer up to 69 semester credits toward the FSAD program, providing you have completed the work at a regionally accredited college/university and achieved a grade of C or better in each course. Students who have completed college level work prior to applying to the accelerated degree program must have a minimum G.P.A. of 2.50 to be considered.
A physical examination and completed medical health form are also required for acceptance.
The application procedure for Funeral Service Education is as follows:
1. Forward completed application with $25 (non-refundable) fee to the Admissions Office.
2. Have official transcripts from all institutions attended (high school and college, if applicable) to the Admissions Office. Your file will not be reviewed until all transcripts are received.
3. Files completed by February 1st will be given primary consideration for acceptance. Applications received after this date will be reviewed on a space available basis only.
The Pre-Core Funeral Service Education program is designed for applicants who do not meet the requirements for the Traditional or Accelerated Sequences. A Funeral Service Education advisor will guide you in selecting the appropriate courses that will prepare you to enter the Funeral Service Education core. When you are ready to pursue the Funeral Service Education core phase (which includes all FUNS courses) you need to submit a Clinical/Core Readiness form to the Admissions Office by February 1st. Priority for core seats will be given to those students with the most general education program courses completed and highest G.P.A.
Contact the Admissions Office at 610-861-5500 for further information.
Program Outcomes
Graduates of the program will:
- Perform the correct embalming technique for each case;
- Educate consumers on all funeral services and merchandise options;
- Plan activities and ceremonies to meet the needs of those who mourn;
- Assimilate decedent information for death certificates, obituaries, prearrangements and other documents;
- Evaluate legal, professional, and ethical issues facing funeral service;
- Complete state and national board examinations requirements
Associate in Applied Science Degree
| Course Code | Course Title |
Credits
|
| First Semester (Fall) | ||
| BIOS 160 | Human Biology |
4
|
| ENGL 101C | English I |
3
|
| FUNS 101 | Principles of Funeral Service |
2
|
| FUNS 102 | Introduction to Funeral Service |
4
|
| MATH ___ | Mathematics Elective (QL) |
3
|
|
16
|
||
| Second Semester (Spring) | ||
| CISC 101 | Introduction to Computers |
3
|
| CMTH 102 | Speech Communication |
3
|
| ENGL 151 | English II |
3
|
| PHIL 111 | On Death & Dying |
3
|
| ----------- | Elective |
3
|
|
15
|
||
| Summer Sessions | ||
| BUSA 152 | Business Law I |
3
|
| CHEM 135 | Chemistry of Life |
4
|
| PSYC 103 | Introduction to Psychology |
3
|
| SOCA 103 | Principles of Sociology |
3
|
|
13
|
||
| Third Semester (Fall) | ||
| BIOS 202 | Microbiology for Allied Health |
4
|
| FUNS 201 | Funeral Home Operations I |
4
|
| FUNS 203 | General Pathology |
3
|
| FUNS 210 | Embalming Theory I |
3
|
| FUNS 212 or | Clinical Embalming I or | |
| FUNS 241 | Field Study I |
1
|
| ------------ | Business Elective |
3
|
|
18
|
||
| Fourth Semester (Spring) | ||
| FUNS 105 | Funeral Directing |
3
|
| FUNS 220 | Embalming Theory II |
3
|
| FUNS 222 or | Clinical Embalming II or | |
| FUNS 242 | Field Study II |
1
|
| FUNS 231 | Funeral Home Operations II |
2
|
| FUNS 251 | US & PA Funeral Law |
3
|
| FUNS 255 | Cosmetology & Restorative Art |
3
|
| PSYC 221 | Responding to the Bereaved |
3
|
|
18
|
||
| Summer Sessions | ||
| ACCT 101 | Financial Accounting I |
3
|
| BUSA ___ | Business Elective |
3
|
| ------------ | Social Science: Societies and Institutions over Time Elective (SIT) |
3
|
| ------------ | Prescribed Elective + |
3
|
|
12
|
||
| Total Credits |
92
|
+ Prescribed Elective options: ACCT 151, BUSA 202, BUSA 221, CISC 104
- For their Social Science: Societies and Institutions over Time (SIT) Elective, students must select a course from the list of approved courses in that category.
- One General Education course must be taken in a Writing Intensive (WI) section. In addition, writing intensive work is included in various courses in this program; thus completing the program automatically satisfies the program-related Writing Intensive (WI) requirement.
- Computer competencies are included in various courses in this program as well as in CISC101. Thus, completing the program automatically satisfies the computing requirement.
- For their Mathematics (QL) Elective, students must select a course from the list of approved courses in that category.
- Students must earn a grade of "C" or better in all FUNS courses to progress in the program.
- A student must sit for the National Board Examination of the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards prior to graduation.
Associate in Applied Science Degree
| Course Code | Course Title |
Credits
|
| Summer Sessions | ||
| BIOS 160 | Human Biology |
4
|
| ENGL 101C | English I |
3
|
| MATH___ | Mathematics Elective (QL) |
3
|
| PSYC 103 | Introduction to Psychology |
3
|
|
13
|
||
| First Semester (Fall) | ||
| CISC 101 | Introduction to Computers |
3
|
| CMTH 102 | Speech Communication |
3
|
| ENGL 151 | English II |
3
|
| -------------- | Business Elective |
3
|
| -------------- | Elective |
3
|
|
15
|
||
| Second Semester (Spring) | ||
| ACCT 101 | Financial Accounting I |
3
|
| BIOS 202 | Microbiology for Allied Health |
4
|
| BUSA 152 | Business Law I |
3
|
| PHIL 111 | On Death & Dying |
3
|
| SOCA 103 | Principles of Sociology |
3
|
|
16
|
||
| Summer Sessions | ||
| CHEM 135 | Chemistry of Life |
4
|
| BUSA___ | Business Elective |
3
|
| ------------ | Social Science: Societies and Institutions over Time Elective (SIT) |
3
|
| ------------ | Prescribed Elective + |
3
|
|
13
|
||
| Third Semester (Fall) | ||
| FUNS 101 | Principles of Funeral Service |
2
|
| FUNS 102 | Introduction to Funeral Service |
4
|
| FUNS 201 | Funeral Home Operations I |
4
|
| FUNS 203 | General Pathology |
3
|
| FUNS 210 | Embalming Theory I |
3
|
| FUNS 241 or | Field Study I or | |
| FUNS 212 | Clinical Embalming I |
1
|
|
17
|
||
| Fourth Semester (Spring) | ||
| FUNS 105 | Funeral Directing |
3
|
| FUNS 220 | Embalming Theory II |
3
|
| FUNS 231 | Funeral Home Operations II |
2
|
| FUNS 242 or | Field Study II or | |
| FUNS 222 | Clinical Embalming II |
1
|
| FUNS 251 | US & PA Funeral Law |
3
|
| FUNS 255 | Cosmetology & Restorative Art |
3
|
| PSYC 221 | Responding to the Bereaved |
3
|
|
18
|
||
| Total Credits |
92
|
+ Prescribed Elective options: ACCT 151, BUSA 202, BUSA 221, CISC 104
- For their Social Science: Societies and Institutions over Time (SIT) Elective, students must select a course from the list of approved courses in that category.
- One General Education course must be taken in a Writing Intensive (WI) section. In addition, writing intensive work is included in various courses in this program; thus completing the program automatically satisfies the program-related Writing Intensive (WI) requirement.
- Computer competencies are included in various courses in this program as well as in CISC101. Thus, completing the program automatically satisfies the computing requirement.
- For their Mathematics (QL) Elective, students must select a course from the list of approved courses in that category.
- Students must earn a grade of "C" or better in all FUNS courses to progress in the program.
- A student must sit for the National Board Examination of the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards prior to graduation.
Career Potential: Funeral Director, Embalmer, Pre-Need Funeral Counselor