The Funeral Service Technology degree program at East Mississippi Community College is accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE), 992 Mantua Pike, Suite 108, Woodbury Heights, NJ 08097 (816) 233-3747, website: www.abfse.org. The curriculum is a two-year program of study leading to an Associate of Applied Science degree in Funeral Service Technology. The graduate, with successful achievement on the National Board Examination and/or State Board examination and completion of one-year apprenticeship, is qualified to practice as a licensed Funeral Director/Embalmer in the State of Mississippi. The graduate, with successful achievement on the National Board Examination, may become eligible for licensure in other states contingent upon completion of the particular requirements of each.
Students may initially enroll in the Funeral Service Technology program only at a Fall Semester. However, a student may enroll in any remedial or appropriate academic courses during a previous semester. The Block Class Schedule of the Funeral Service Technology program allows a full-time student to attend classes on campus only two (2) days per week. Students who are employed with a funeral home establishment, or who work at another job, may be able to utilize the Block Class Schedule in order to permit them to attend classes and continue working. Students who prefer to remain on campus all week may take the Funeral Service Technology classes under the Block Class Schedule while taking their academic classes under a traditional class schedule or online.
Admission to the Funeral Service Technology Program at East Mississippi Community College requires all applicants to have acquired either a GED or high school diploma. The program further requires all applicants to have achieved either a score of 17 or higher on the ACT or alternate placement test. Please see the program advisor or a counselor for additional information regarding testing times, locations and minimum scores. To complete the program, students must complete all Funeral Service Technology courses with a minimum grade of “C.”
A student who has taken one or more Funeral Service Technology courses, but who withdraws from the program and does not return for a three (3) years or six (6) semesters excluding summer semesters, must re-enroll under the current Funeral Service Technology curriculum at the time of re-enrollment and must re-take all required Funeral Service Technology courses.
Coursework that is taken at any accredited funeral service program and is transferred for credit to EMCC will be evaluated and considered for acceptance in meeting the curriculum of the Funeral Service Technology program. However, no course in Comprehensive Review or a similar course designed for preparation for the National Board Examination as administered by the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards will be accepted for transfer credit.
STATEMENT OF PROGRAM AIMS AND OBJECTIVES - The program in Funeral Service Technology has as its central aim recognition of the importance of Funeral Service personnel as (1) members of a human services profession; (2) members of the community in which they serve; (3) participants in the relationship between bereaved families and those engaged in the funeral service profession; (4) professionals knowledgeable of and compliant with federal, state, provincial/territorial, and local regulatory guidelines in the geographic area where they practice as well as (5) professionals sensitive to the responsibility for public health, safety, and welfare in caring for human remains. The Funeral Service Technology Program has the objectives of (1) to enlarge the background and knowledge of students about the funeral service profession; (2) to educate students in every phase of funeral service and to help enable them to develop proficiency and skills necessary for the profession, as defined in the Preamble of the accreditation standards of the ABFSE; (3) to educate students concerning the responsibilities of the funeral service profession to the community at large; (4) to emphasize high standards of ethical 85 conduct; (5) to provide a curriculum at the post- secondary level of instruction; and (6) to encourage student and faculty research in the field of funeral service.
National Board Examination pass rates, graduation rates, and employment rates for this and other ABFSE-accredited programs are available at http://www.abfse.org. To request a printed copy of this program’s rates, go to Funeral Service Technology Office, Room 27A, Hawkins Building, Scooba Campus or by email at odickerson@eastms.edu or by telephone (662) 476-5101.
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