Diploma in Techniques de thanatologie

Techniques de thanatologie is a three-year technical DEC at Collège de Rosemont preparing students to support bereaved families through every step following a death. Training combines science, human relations, and administration across three complementary areas: accompanying grieving families and advising on funeral arrangements and burial choices; practising thanatopraxy techniques such as embalming, restoration, and cosmetic care; and learning the day-to-day management of a funeral home. Learning progresses gradually, moving from college laboratories, including a dedicated thanatopraxy lab, viewing room, and consultation room, to preservation and presentation techniques practised using body donations, and finally to placements (stages) in funeral businesses for authentic work experience; graduates are not authorized to work in autopsy rooms. The program also builds intercultural competencies for working with families of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, and for collaborating with health, social-service, and religious professionals. Admission requires a secondary school or vocational diploma with a physics prerequisite. It suits students drawn to a service-oriented, interdisciplinary career combining technical funeral-care skills with grief support, such as thanatopractor, funeral counsellor, or funeral home director.