Funeral Service and Mortuary Science Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Funeral Service and Mortuary Science maps to BLS occupations averaging about $49,893, with roughly 4,580 workers nationwide in those roles. About 980 degrees completed in recent IPEDS counts; median program completion runs near 58%.
Key Statistics
Funeral Service and Mortuary Science: what the data shows
Common questions about funeral service and mortuary science degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a funeral service and mortuary science degree?
A Funeral Service and Mortuary Science program is classified under NCES CIP 00.1203 in the 00.0012 field family (00.12).
IPEDS counted 980 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of funeral service and mortuary science degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 00.12 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Casino Operations and Services (CIP 00.1206)
- Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services (CIP 00.1204)
- Culinary Arts and Related Services (CIP 00.1205)
- Education (CIP 00.1202)
- Elementary Education (CIP 00.1202)
How long does it take to get a funeral service and mortuary science degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.1203 in our file:
- 439 Bachelor's (19.7% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 1,760 Master's (79.1% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 27 Doctorate (1.2% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in funeral service and mortuary science?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Coordination, Speaking, Service Orientation, Time Management, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a funeral service and mortuary science degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Funeral Service and Mortuary Science to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers | 25,700 | $49,800 |
| Embalmers | 3,420 | $56,280 |
| Funeral Attendants | 30,560 | $34,610 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a funeral service and mortuary science degree worth it?
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $1,181 and median net price is $7,461.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Funeral Service and Mortuary Science and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$1,181 Median In-State Public
$19,800 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Funeral Service and Mortuary Science majors are, on average, $1,181 for in-state public colleges, and $19,800 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Funeral Service and Mortuary Science programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
980 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Funeral Service and Mortuary Science from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Funeral Service and Mortuary Science.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 54,926 |
| 2 | Miami Dade College | FL | 35,001 |
| 3 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | MN | 30,469 |
| 4 | NUC University | PR | 25,881 |
| 5 | American River College | CA | 25,758 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Funeral Service and Mortuary Science programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cypress College | CA | $1,150 |
| 2 | American River College | CA | $1,288 |
| 3 | Amarillo College | TX | $2,136 |
| 4 | Mesa Community College | AZ | $2,358 |
| 5 | Chandler-Gilbert Community College | AZ | $2,358 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Funeral Service and Mortuary Science programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carl Sandburg College | IL | $1,036 |
| 2 | Florida State College at Jacksonville | FL | $2,760 |
| 3 | Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College | KY | $3,537 |
| 4 | Fayetteville Technical Community College | NC | $3,723 |
| 5 | City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College | IL | $3,729 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Funeral Service and Mortuary Science programs.
Graduation Rates
57.53% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
57.13% Average Graduation Rate
109 Institutions Reporting
45.45% - 70.63% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Funeral Service and Mortuary Science programs across institutions.
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 00.12 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Casino Operations and Services CIP 00.1206
- Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services CIP 00.1204
- Culinary Arts and Related Services CIP 00.1205
- Education CIP 00.1202
- Elementary Education CIP 00.1202
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.1203 in the survey year used in our extract (2,226 total across levels below).
- 439 Bachelor's (19.7% of IPEDS total)
- 1,760 Master's (79.1% of IPEDS total)
- 27 Doctorate (1.2% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $49,893. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Funeral Service and Mortuary Science graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers | $54,815 | 25,700 |
| Embalmers | $64,863 | 3,420 |
| Funeral Attendants | $44,079 | 30,560 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$51,971 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Funeral Service and Mortuary Science majors is $51,971.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Funeral Service and Mortuary Science majors.
Occupations by Share
4,580 2023 Workforce
The number of Funeral Service and Mortuary Science graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Funeral Service and Mortuary Science by share of the total number of graduates.
Return on Investment & Value
Debt and earnings fields below come from College Scorecard where present in our degree extract.
Financial value (extract)
$8,972 Median Student Debt
$41,540 Median Annual Earnings (10 years after enrollment)
21.60% Debt-to-Earnings Ratio
Debt is less than 30% of reported ten-year earnings in this extract.
2.2 years Estimated Payback Period (assuming 10% of income)
1291.90% Return on Investment (10-year earnings vs 4-year cost)
Ten-year earnings in this extract exceed four years of median net price.
$29,844 Estimated Total Cost (4 years at median net price)
Financial value comparison for Funeral Service and Mortuary Science degree.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Funeral Service and Mortuary Science in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Funeral Service and Mortuary Science.
Age distribution for Funeral Service and Mortuary Science degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Gender distribution data is not available for this degree program.
Gender distribution of Funeral Service and Mortuary Science degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Race and ethnicity distribution data is not available for this degree program.
Racial and ethnic distribution of Funeral Service and Mortuary Science degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Funeral Service and Mortuary Science are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Funeral Service and Mortuary Science.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Funeral Service and Mortuary Science field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Funeral Service and Mortuary Science majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Funeral Service and Mortuary Science majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Funeral Service and Mortuary Science majors.
About
Funeral Service and Mortuary Science
In 2023, 980 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Funeral Service and Mortuary Science.
CIP Code
00.1203 - Funeral Service and Mortuary Science
What the data shows
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $49,893. The largest mapped role by headcount is Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers (25,700 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $1,181 in-state at public colleges and $19,800 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.