College Diploma - Funeral Director Class 1 (Embalming)

The Funeral Director Class 1 (Embalming) diploma is a 20-month program including a twelve-month supervised internship, leading toward licensing as a Class 1 funeral director in Ontario.

Coursework covers anatomy, pathology and microbiology, embalming theory and practical technique, restorative art, funeral service law and regulation in Ontario, grief psychology and bereavement support, funeral directing and service arrangement, cultural and religious funeral practices across communities, cemetery and cremation practice, funeral home business management, and professional ethics. The extended internship in a licensed funeral home is a regulatory requirement, not an academic option.

Two realities worth stating. The work requires genuine emotional resilience — you are supporting families at their worst moments while performing technical procedures. And in a city as culturally diverse as Toronto, fluency in the funeral customs of different communities is a professional requirement rather than a nicety.

Humber Polytechnic — formerly Humber College — is Ontario’s largest public college and a Designated Learning Institution (DLI O19376943122). The North campus in Etobicoke is its main site, running technology, engineering, health science, business and skilled trades programs in purpose-built labs and shops rather than lecture halls, with three intakes a year and the deepest employer network in the Greater Toronto Area.

Its field maps to CIP 12.0301 (Funeral service and mortuary science). Important: this is a college credential rather than a degree, so it is not exempt from the November 2024 PGWP field-of-study restriction — eligibility depends on this CIP field appearing on IRCC’s eligible list when you apply. Humber publishes a PGWP-eligible program list with CIP codes; check it, and confirm with an Apply Study Visa counsellor before committing. IRCC makes the final decision.