The Certificate in Funeral Directing is issued to students who complete the college level curriculum of funeral service arts. It is designed to teach students the skills and abilities essential for employment as a funeral director. It is the students’ responsibility to verify that the Certificate program is recognized in the state for which they are seeking licensure. This academic program is designed to meet specific state or professional needs. It is not accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education. Students graduating from this program will not have the academic credential for licensure in states where graduation from an ABFSE accredited program is required.
Graduates of this program will be able to prepare, other than by embalming, a dead human body for final disposition. They will learn how to conduct funeral service ceremonies of various religious, fraternal, military, traditional, humanistic, and non-traditional customs. Additionally, they will be able to conduct funeral arrangement conferences with families, conduct necessary paperwork in funeral home management, and be aware of proper workplace safety guidelines for funeral service personnel. Graduates of this program may find entry-level employment as an apprentice/intern/provisional licensee with funeral homes, cemeteries, pre-need sales, and affiliated funeral service companies.
As a part of this academic program, students will also become certified crematory operators through the Cremation Association of North America (CANA). This training is provided online and is embedded in the Cremation and Modern Funeral Service course.
To earn the Certificate in Funeral Directing, students must complete 48 quarter credit hours of specialized and related coursework (three, eleven-week quarters). This program may be completed in 9 months. A clinical component is not required for this program.
The Certificate in Funeral Directing program is ONLY available via online instruction. Courses taken online follow the same academic term and length, rigorous academic coursework, and admission requirements as those on campus. The online course instructional delivery will follow the on-campus classroom instruction so that all students, regardless of modality, are learning the same information at the same time.
This program is NOT delivered in a self-paced or correspondence method approach. In general, online course topics/lessons are presented on a weekly basis. All online courses will have at least one weekly assignment to assess the material presented that week. Students may go through material and complete assignments according to their own schedule; provided that weekly deadlines are met. In most instances, it is neither required for students to log in at a specific time nor interact with instructors and/or other students in real-time. However, regular participation and substantive online interaction are strictly required.
All quizzes and exams will be delivered through the school’s Learning Management System (LMS) – Canvas. To ensure exam security and academic honesty, a third-party remote proctoring service is utilized. This involves the use of a webcam, microphone, and high-speed/reliable internet. However, CIFS reserves the right to require that exams be administered in a proctored setting.
We are devoted to raising the standards of the funeral service profession by preparing students as funeral directors and embalmers. Begin your career path at Commonwealth Institute today!
