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So Excited to Get Started with Genealogical Studies!!!

I called each of the programs that I was considering and talked through my interests and my concerns. The National Institute for Genalogical Studies suggested I take a couple of courses with them to try it out. If I decided to do the complete program, they would apply the money and credits to that. Could hurt to try it, so I signed up for a few courses.

With NIGS, you can purchase classes individually or in packs. The larger the pack, the greater the discount on the per-class cost. All of the required course materials for these classes were provided, though some classes have a book that needs to be purchased in advance, either from NIGS or Amazon. These are books that every genealogist should have on their shelves, so they are a great investment.

Here is my course schedule for October 1-November 18:
Methodology 1 (basic level required class)
Methodology 2 (basic level required class)
Research: Grandmothers, Mothers & Daughters-Tracing Women (elective)
US Land Records (elective)

The courses are independent study. Some of the assignments are public, which means they are submitted to a discussion board of other students and you can read and learn from the experience of others. Some assignments are private. After you submit your assignment, you get a recorded response from the instructor with the correct answer so you can compare it with your own. At the end of each course there is an open book final exam where you get a percentage grade.

This program would be difficult for someone who can not type or get help with submitting typed assignments. Most of the assignments were pretty short, but a couple included trascribing records and were quite lengthy.

The assignments were short, so if you can find time to do all the course reading, then you won't have trouble finishing a couple of classes in the 6 week time period.

My plan is to complete Certificate in Genealogical Studies-American Records, which includes 28 Compulsory credits and 12 Elective credits. This includes 9 Compulsory courses at the Basic and Intermediate Levels and 10 compulsory courses at the Advanced Level.

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