Overview
Edgewood University offers a Master of Science degree in Thanatology, the study of dying, death, loss, and grief. We also offer 12-credit master's and post-master's certificates in Thanatology. The programs are flexible, fully online, and delivered asynchronously.
The MS in Thanatology prepares graduates for employment or volunteer work in a variety of settings where care for the dying and/or grieving are important including hospices; hospitals; faith communities; non-profit organizations; family, children and teen grief centers; funeral homes; and academic settings. The program expects students to bring and further develop excellent critical thinking and writing skills, resulting in graduates who are competent practitioner-scholars.
The program philosophy is that dying, death, loss, and grief are primarily human experiences with medical aspects, and not merely medical events that affect humans. The curriculum is designed to prepare individuals to create, implement, and provide non-medical support services for the dying and the bereaved, in collaboration with relevant healthcare professionals.
The Association for Death Education and Counseling, the primary professional association for the discipline, has identified and articulated a comprehensive list of the domains essential to competency in thanatology: The Essential Body of Knowledge. This program’s curriculum is grounded in the Body of Knowledge, with an orientation toward cultivating individuals who excel within the field.
Earning a Master of Science in Thanatology can lead to a range of rewarding and worthwhile careers in death and grief, including but not limited to:
Bereavement Program Coordinator
Grief Counselor
- Hospital Bereavement Support
- Funeral Director
- Faith Community Bereavement Program Development
- Healthcare Professionals
- Active-Duty Military and Veteran Support Personnel
- Non-Profit Family Grief Centers and Grief Camps
- K-12 Educators and School Counselors
- Organ and Tissue Procurement Organizations
- Death Education in Colleges and Universities
- Death Education in Businesses and Communities
The teaching philosophy we use across the curriculum is transformational and constructivist, an approach in which students learn through active engagement and ultimately construct their own knowledge. We use learner-focused teaching and mindfully incorporate cross-cultural and international perspectives because we know that attitudes regarding death are shaped by a variety of cultural crucibles that include language, family, the arts, media, previous experience, and many other things we encounter throughout life. In each course, we strive to develop effective communities of learners.