Three years ago, I decided that it was time
to turn my genealogy hobby into a more professional venture. While I'm not ready to hang up my own
shingle, I did want to formalize my education.
I looked into several types of courses.
After speaking with Louise St. Denis at the National Institute for
Genealogical Studies, I started their coursework.
The National Institute has several course
offerings in different Tracks. I chose
to study American Records. To earn a
PLCGS (Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies) , I had to
take 40 courses, of which 14 were General Courses, 14 were specifically about
American Records, and 12 were elective courses.
Most courses are 8 weeks long, with one lesson per week and an exam at
the end. I could actually do them at my
own pace, and sometimes would complete 2 or 3 lessons in one week if I had the
time. All courses were completed
online. We were able to interact with others
in the course through messages and monthly online chat sessions.
The Generic courses consisted of topics such
as "Analysis and Skills 1-3", "Methodology 1-6", copyright,
paleography, using the Family History Center, and Genetics. The American
Records courses taught such topics as census records, church records, probate
records, etc. For part of my elective
course-work, I chose to each a Basic Certificate in German Records. This consisted of 4 courses on German
Handwriting, German Locales, German genealogic vocabulary and German Church Records.
Some of my course mates were concentrating
on other areas such as Canadian Records, British Records or Australian
Records. Other electives ranged from
courses on how to use Family Tree Maker or Ancestry.com, and how to plan a
family reunion, to research on specific locales. Some of the elective courses I took were on
Mayflower ancestry, researching 20th century ancestors, and tracing female lines.
I am now able to add PLCGS to my list of
credentials.
Congratulations Kimberly!
ReplyDeletecongrats!
ReplyDeletei've thought of that in the back of my mind, way back, since friend started it years ago via mail corresopndence. she gave up and when i saw the textbook she had to work from, i can kinda of see why. online learning makes it all sound so interesting again. humm.....