Funeral Service Education

Funeral directors are in need of individuals trained in the many aspects of funeral services including assisting the bereaved, administrative work, understanding the embalming process and helping to plan a service.

Stratford's online funeral service education program can help provide its students with a well-rounded education for work in the funeral services industry.

With the convenience to study at home at your own pace, you could complete this program in as little as six months, or take up to two years if you prefer. Everything needed to complete your studies is included in our one, low tuition price.

Funeral Service Education Module 1
Funeral Service Administration
• The Function of the Funeral Director
• Providing Social, Emotional and Legal Support
• The History of Funeral Services
• Cultural Traditions and Religious Rites
• Non-Religious Funeral Services
• Attitudes and Customs for Cremation
• Methods of Final Disposition
• Legal Requirements and Issues for the Funeral Director
• Communication with the Public, the Coroner, and the Police
• Interactions with the Bereaved
• General Funeral Arrangements
• Administration of the Funeral Home

Funeral Service Education Module 2
The Funeral Service Professional
• Qualities of Successful Funeral Service Professionals
• Duties, Responsibilities and Funeral day Tasks
• An Overview of the Funeral Home
• Taking the Death Call and Removing the Deceased
• An Overview of the Cemetery
• Caskets and Burial Vaults
• Selling Funeral Products
• Writing Death Notices
• Pre-need Sales
• Trends Versus Traditions

Funeral Service Education Module 3
Ethics, Sociology and Grief Counseling
• A Survey of Common Ethical Issues
• The Sociology of Funeral Practices
• The Process of Grief
• The Nature and Process of Mourning
• Helping People in Mourning
• Professional Resources for Helping Mourners in need
• Grief, Ritual and Ethnicity
• Bereavement and Children
• Responding to Problematic Client Behaviors

Funeral Service Education Module 4
Managing the Funeral Home
• The General Price List
• Alternative Price Lists for Special Groups
• Credit Regulations and Management
• The Concept of Discretion
• Managing the Finances
• Managing the Product and the Facility
• Managing Advertising and Public Relations
• Public Relations and Community Participation
• Ordering and Displaying Merchandise

Funeral Service Education Module 5
Embalming
• The Sociology of Embalming
• Ethics in the Care of the Dead
• Legal Considerations Related to Embalming
• The Preparation Room Environment
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Embalming Chemicals and Products
• The Embalming Process
• Pre-Injection, Injection, and Post-Injection Phases of Embalming
• Factors Influencing Embalming
• Organ Donation
• Other Types of Preparation

---

This educational program is an introductory course designed to help students gain knowledge necessary for the vocational application of this subject. Completion of this program does not fulfill the legal requirements of particular provincial licenses or certifications, which may require additional training or apprenticeships. One or more of the course subjects/textbooks may vary as courses are updated.