Offered by Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada, Diploma in Funeral Service is a diploma in Applied Professions & Services programme. Tuition for international students is CAD 32,088 per total (CAD 12,489 per total for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Diploma
Field:Applied Professions & Services
Local tuition: CAD 12,489 / total
International tuition: CAD 32,088 / total
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
This diploma, delivered through Mount Royal University's Continuing Education division, prepares students for licensure as funeral directors and embalmers in Alberta. Coursework spans health sciences, restorative art, funeral directing, embalming, business, microbiology, psychology, laws and regulations, and conflict resolution, covering funeral ceremony planning, family support, Alberta funeral regulations, facial reconstruction, restorative techniques, and embalming with infection control procedures. The program can be completed full-time or part-time and includes a supervised practicum and work experience within funeral homes, during which students document the arterial injection embalming of up to 50 individual cases. Additional non-academic requirements apply before students begin practical coursework. It suits individuals seeking professional licensure in death care within a structured academic setting, with graduates pursuing roles such as funeral director, embalmer, instructor, examiner, cemetery manager, autopsy technician, or technical sales.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: The Funeral Service Diploma does not set specific Grade 12 courses or minimum grades; applicants instead demonstrate readiness through funeral-service exposure, satisfied either by completing Mount Royal's Introduction to Funeral Service course or by documenting a minimum of 14 hours of work or volunteer experience in a funeral home. Transcripts are required only when an applicant is using prior coursework to demonstrate English Language Proficiency. Applicants whose first language is not English must still meet Mount Royal's institutional English Language Proficiency requirement; the university's published standard accepts IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 per band, TOEFL iBT 86 with at least 20 per section (or 4.5 overall with 4.0 per band on tests from January 21, 2026), PTE Academic 58 with at least 55 per area, CAEL 70 with at least 60 per band, Duolingo English Test 120, or Cambridge C1 Advanced 176. Admission is considered on a first-come, first-served basis, and admitted students must complete the program's non-academic Post-Admission Program Requirements before starting practical courses such as work experience and the Embalming Practicum.
Application Details
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply directly to MRU: for the Fall 2026 cycle (the most recently published, as MRU had not yet posted Fall 2027 dates) the early-admission window ran 1 October 2025 to 1 February 2026, ongoing admission by space continued to 31 August 2026, and final transcripts were due 1 August 2026; Winter 2026 entry closed 15 December 2025 and Spring 2026 opened 1 October 2025 with documents due 15 April 2026. International applicants must apply by 1 May 2026, with documents due 15 May 2026. Competitive programs such as Nursing, Midwifery and Interior Design fill within the early-admission window and effectively close by 1 February. Admission runs first-qualified, space-available after the early window rather than on one fixed date, and is not described as rolling indefinitely. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
