Most students will utilize the funeral home at which they are employed. If you aren't employed, you should find a funeral director in your location by using the yellow pages or an online search engine. In addition, you could use the search feature on the many state Funeral Directors Association websites. For Iowa it is found on the Iowa Funeral Directors Association website at
www.iafda.org. This website only provides members of the state association, so you could use yellow pages online
www.dexknows.com and get good results too.
After you identify a funeral director and a funeral home, call to schedule an appointment to discuss your interest in the funeral service profession and becoming a funeral director. (You probably did some of this when you completed the Career Exploration Form for admission to the program.) During your meeting, indicate that you have applied for admission to the Mortuary Science program at DMACC and take the list of Professional Experiences for the funeral home-based program with you. You will need to complete these experiences as part of the Mortuary Science course requirements, and the funeral home/funeral director must be willing to provide them to you while you are a student in the program. Be sure to read over the list before your meeting. Many funeral directors in Iowa have worked with DMACC students before and are familiar with our program.
Funeral service is a conservative profession so dress and present yourself in a professional manner. In other words, prepare as if you were going to a job interview. You may want to have a resume' prepared to give to the funeral director during your meeting so they could contact you in the future, especially if they have an opening for a part-time employee. They are busy professionals and a resume' may help them remember you and demonstrate that you are serious about the profession.
Remember, if the funeral home-based option is not a good fit for you, or if you have trouble finding a funeral home with which to be affiliated, we offer the on-campus program too. The learning experiences are built into the on-campus program and it does not require a funeral home affiliation until your last semester, during Practicum.
