Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science (CCMS) is a private college in Cincinnati, Ohio that focuses on funeral service education. It is the oldest mortuary college in the United States, tracing its roots to the Clarke School, which held its first class on March 8, 1882. The school was originally called the Clarke School of Embalming and later became the Cincinnati College of Embalming before adopting its current name in 1966.

CCMS offers associate and bachelor degrees in mortuary science.

Key moments in its history:
- Founded by Joseph Henry Clarke, known as the “father of American embalming schools,” with the first class in 1882. The school conducted demonstrations and classes in several cities to promote embalming.
- In 1909, Charles O. Dhonau bought the college, expanded its educational approach beyond memorization, and moved classes to environments offering more hands-on experience, including the Cincinnati General Hospital.
- In 1966, the college was renamed the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science and began partnering with the University of Cincinnati for general studies.
- The late 1960s saw the creation of the Cincinnati Foundation for Mortuary Education to support the college.
- In the 1970s, CCMS expanded its degree offerings through partnerships and moved to the Edgecliff campus area in 1979.
- In 1986, CCMS became the first private mortuary college in the nation to grant a Bachelor of Mortuary Science degree, with full accreditation follow-up in 1987.
- In 1994, CCMS purchased land in Finneytown and moved into a new, modern facility in 1995.

Today, CCMS serves about 144 undergraduate students and remains dedicated to education in mortuary science.