An analysis of student bucket lists in death and dying courses: data from three U.S. Universities

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article describes and analyzes the use of a bucket list assignment in three undergraduate university Death and Dying courses as a way to teach students about death, while also learning about this generation’s aspirations and anxieties related to dying. The Death and Dying professors at three different universities, each using a similar assignment, require students to create their own bucket lists, or a list of things they want to complete before they die. Analyses of 146 lists, containing a total of 2,210 list items, revealed similarities across these different student populations, primarily in their focus on travel, spending time with loved ones, and an interesting lack of concern for end-of-life preparations. The results of this study have implications for death education and health care providers, supporting previous scholarship on death anxiety and death transcendence.