Career Tech-Funeral Service - Northwest Mississippi Community College

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The Funeral Service Technology Program at Northwest Mississippi Community College is accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE) 3413 Ashland Avenue, Suite G, St. Joseph, Missouri 64506; (816) 233-3747.

Website: www.abfse.org

The program at the DeSoto Center is designed to prepare students for immediate employment as funeral directors and embalmers. The program offers funeral service education for this unique and highly personalized profession. Recognizing the importance of the care of the bereaved, the department has designed a curriculum not only to educate the student in the care of the deceased, but also in the care of the living. To meet this need, classes are offered in funeral directing, funeral home management, sociology, grief, and death related psychology.

Click here for course listings and details (Major 6085).

Click here to download the application in PDF format

Click here to download the application in word format.

The aims and purposes of the Funeral Service Technology program are:

Provide students with a basic background and understanding of the funeral service profession as it relates to current and projected trends.
Educate students in all phases of funeral service so that they will be skilled in the maintenance of public health, safety, and welfare measures identified with the scientific preparation and care of human remains.
Provide students with skills needed to properly care for persons who are experiencing grief and bereavement.
Promote students’ understanding of the high ethical standards of conduct required in all aspects of mortuary management, financial accounting, and business law, enabling them to make proper business decisions.
Keep students abreast of current issues and developments within the funeral service profession.
Promote and encourage students to go further than “classroom” education by developing an interest in research material in funeral service periodicals, additional texts, videos, and the Internet.

Admissions
As applications and supporting documents are submitted, an applicant review will be conducted by an admissions committee. Applicants meeting all of the minimum requirements may be selected into the new class. Each class has a limited enrollment, and selection is made on a competitive basis. Admission to the college does not guarantee admission into the Funeral Service Technology program.

Specific minimum admission requirements include:

Application for admission to Northwest Mississippi Community College with required high school and college transcript(s)* and ACT scores (to be sent to the Senatobia campus).
Applications to the Funeral Service Technology program (to be sent to Funeral Service Technology Department, 5197 W. E. Ross Parkway, Southaven, MS 38671).
The American College Test (ACT) is required for admittance:

Composite score of 18.
Applicants with less than a composite score of 18 should retake the ACT. (Contact the College for exam dates.)
ACT requirements are waived for applicants who hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Deadlines

Applications and supporting documents for the Fall Semester (August) must be received by June 1. Applicants will be notified by July Applications and supporting documents for the Spring Semester (January) must be received by November 1.
Applicants will be notified by December 1.
Applicants will be accepted and notified when all of the minimum requirements have been approved.

Director: Larry Anderson

Phone: (662) 280-6137

Instructor: Bobby Cleveland

Phone: 662-280-6136

Office location: DeSoto Center

What can I expect from a career in Funeral Service Technology?

Funeral practices and rites vary greatly among cultures and religions. However, funeral practices usually share some common elements—removing the deceased to a mortuary, preparing the remains, performing a ceremony that honors the deceased and addresses the spiritual needs of the family, and carrying out final disposition of the deceased. Funeral directors arrange and direct these tasks for grieving families, taking great pride in their ability to provide comfort to family and friends of the deceased and in providing appropriate services.

Funeral directors, also called morticians and undertakers, arrange the details and handle the logistics of funerals, taking into account the wishes of the deceased and family members. Together with the family, funeral directors establish the location, dates, and times of wakes, memorial services, and burials. They arrange for a hearse to carry the body to the funeral home or mortuary.

Funeral directors prepare obituary notices and have them placed in newspapers, arrange for pallbearers and clergy, schedule the opening and closing of a grave with a representative of the cemetery, decorate and prepare the sites of all services, and provide transportation for the deceased, mourners, and flowers between sites. They also direct preparation and shipment of bodies for out-of-State burial.

Most funeral directors also are trained, licensed, and practicing embalmers. Embalming is a sanitary, cosmetic, and preservative process through which the body is prepared for interment. If more than 24 hours elapse between death and interment, State laws usually require that the remains be refrigerated or embalmed.

How much can I earn?

Median annual wages for funeral directors were $52,210 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $38,980 and $69,680. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $29,910 and the top 10 percent earned more than $92,940.

Salaries of funeral directors depend on the number of years of experience in funeral service, the number of services performed, the number of facilities operated, the area of the country, and the director's level of formal education. Funeral directors in large cities usually earn more than their counterparts in small towns and rural areas.

Reference:
Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Last Updated Thursday, October 06 2011 @ 12:32 PM CDT|2,027 Hits