by AGS Member Laura Weber
Like so many at the start of the pandemic, my time at work was a little less while my time at home was a great deal more – a genealogy hobbyist’s dream!
I started to explore opportunities to expand my training and education and in addition to countless webinars, I researched and enrolled in Boston University’s Genealogy Studies Program.
The program consists of two courses: Principles and Certificate. Despite my nearly two decades of genealogical experience, I chose to enroll in Principles. I felt the course would be a good, easy refresher of my skillset while acclimating back into a “classroom” setting. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The Principles Course is seven weeks long in a completely asynchronous environment, which was appealing for this genealogist who still has a day job. However, even with the flexible course schedule, the time commitment to complete the weekly required readings, activities, group discussions posts, and assessments was quite intense.
This course was completely humbling in the best possible way. Yes, there were a couple very brief lessons that stroked my ego, but the majority of the course introduced me to new skills and techniques to properly plan, prove, and source my research. If you aren’t well-acquainted with the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS), this course is absolutely an eye-opener.
As a part of the GPS, this course introduces us to evidence analysis, proper source citations, and transcriptions and abstractions. In addition to GPS, the course includes a module on the basics of genetic genealogy. This particular module was perhaps the most anticipated but least enjoyable for me. This single lesson was somewhat rudimentary compared to the rest of the course. Perhaps the Certificate course will be more fulfilling in regards to genetic genealogy.
Overall, the Principles course at Boston University is a rewarding program that introduces a genealogy hobbyist to professional methodologies.
For additional information, please view the program’s website at https://genealogyonline.bu.edu/.
