Funeral Service Education
The Funeral Service Education (FSE) program at Lake Washington Institute of Technology, located in Kirkland, Washington, offers an Associate of Applied Science (AAS). The FSE AAS degree prepares students to achieve entry-level proficiency as embalmers and funeral directors. Funeral service professionals provide counsel, service, and emotional support for those who have experienced the death of a loved one. Students also learn how to manage a successful business in the high-tech global economy.
Careers with a Funeral Service Education Degree
Graduates may find employment in: crematory and cemetery operations, funeral home management in family owned businesses and corporate business. It will also allow for employment in other Health Sciences professions that desire funeral industry experience.
Graduates of the Funeral Service Education program will demonstrate a factual, conceptual, and applied understanding of:
- Funeral service marketing and merchandising
- Business management practices
- Small business management
- Funeral service counseling
- Regulatory compliance
- Cemetery and crematory operations
- Funeral service sciences
Our faculty believe that success in the program requires a commitment of time and energy to your studies. To help with this requirement, the college offers an advisor to assist with planning your path and career goals.
Aims and Objectives
Aims
The FSE program has as its central aim the recognition of the importance of funeral service personnel as:
- Members of a human services profession
- Members of the community in which they serve
- Participants in the intimate relationship between bereaved families and those engaged in the funeral service profession
- Professionals knowledgeable of and compliant with federal, state, provincial/territorial, and local regulatory guidelines in the geographic areas where they practice as well as
- Professionals sensitive to and knowledgeable of the responsibility for public health, safety, and welfare in caring for human remains
Objectives
The program has the following objectives:
- 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 to become functional members of the profession
- To educate student concerning the responsibilities of the funeral service profession to the community
- To emphasize high standards of ethical conduct
- To provide a comprehensive curriculum at the post-secondary level of instruction
- To encourage research in the field of funeral service
Admission Requirements
Associate Degree
Entry into the Funeral Service Education program requires completion of an admissions application for the college and the completion of the admissions packet before enrolling in Funeral Service Education classes toward the Associate of Applied Science degree.
Prerequisites
High school completion or GED or satisfactory completion of nine semester based or 13.5 quarter based post-secondary credits, exclusive of developmental courses.
Funeral Service Education program admissions prerequisites are available in the College Catalog.
Application Deadline & Submission
Deadline
None
Entry Date
2018 Fall Quarter
Admission Requirements
Applicants for admission should contact their respective state boards of funeral service regarding that state board's approval of this particular program of instruction.
Have your high school or previous college directly mail official transcripts to*:
Enrollment Services
Lake Washington Institute of Technology
11605 132nd Avenue NE
Kirkland, WA 98034
*To comply with American Board of Funeral Service Education accreditation guidelines (ABFSE Standard 10.1.2a), the transcripts must be sent directly from your high school, university, or college. No transcripts will be accepted that are received by any other method.
ABFSE Standard 10.1.2.a - "Transcript of high school or college work, received by mail directly from the institution from which the credits were received."
Accreditation
The Funeral Service Education degree program at Lake Washington Institute of Technology is accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE), 992 Mantua Pike, Suite 108, Woodbury Heights, NJ 08097 (816) 233-3747. Web: abfse.org
To be eligible for employment, graduates must also take and pass the National Board Examination.
