Genealogy really becomes a full time passion for many people and there are many ways to extend your knowledge. One of the ways is to take genealogy courses. As genealogy is becoming such a popular hobby it has become a part of university courses. I have found three Australian courses at a tertiary level. The courses run from between 3 to 18 months and the ones through the Universities offer you a step towards studying an Arts degree. I wanted to write about the courses as I was curious about what was available. The closest I could get in my Arts and Journalism degrees to subjects in genealogy was to study history. But it seems now that a whole new world of options is starting to evolve.
Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG) in Sydney offers two courses. The Certificate in Genealogical Research taken over 18 months and the Diploma course which can only be done after completing the Certificate. The Certificate course costs $410 and you must be a member of the Society to undertake the course. The Certificate is to extend people beyond basic genealogy and requires using more than online resources; it is only recommended if you have at least 3 years of family history research. There are 8 assignments with 6-8 weeks to complete each assignment. The Diploma costs $660 and submit a synopsis for what you would be researching in the Diploma. An idea of what types of assignments would be covered are in their information leaflet. This course would be suitable to further your understanding by focusing on different aspects in genealogy. After you complete the coursework, you can then be listed in the SAG website. http://www.sag.org.au/events/courses-in-genealogy.html
University of New England (UNE) offers an Advanced Diploma in Local, Family and Applied History. The course runs over 18 months and it is all online. After completion, you are eligible to apply for credit towards a Bachelor of Arts. The course not only looks at family history but local and Australian history. The course not only offers you an outcome with family history but with other jobs involving history study. Click on the program of study in the “course rules and plans” to see the subjects on offer. Not sure if this course is covered by the government under HECS or HELP, but I would assume so. This means that you can have the government pay for the course if you haven’t done tertiary study on the Advanced Diploma level before. https://my.une.edu.au/courses/2015/courses/GDLFAH
University of Tasmania (UTAS) offers a Introduction to Family History course. The course seems to be covered under a HECS scholarship scheme, that applies to this unit of study. If you complete further study in their Arts degree, then fees and HECS would apply differently. The course is around three months long and is specifically geared to genealogy. Although the course is geared towards beginners, I’m sure it’s online delivery and around 5 hour a week commitment would be time well spent. They add a month of free Ancestry subscription and credit towards their Arts program. The unit outcomes seem to cover the best aspects of doing genealogy, from finding the sources, evaluating them and writing them up. http://www.utas.edu.au/arts/introduction-to-family-history
Genealogy is an area where there is always more to learn and study seems to be the only way to keep up. Even these courses have only started to evolve over the last few years. But I think the future will bring more of these subjects into Arts degrees around Australia. I think the beauty of these three courses are that they are very different from each other. Going to their websites and looking into them further would give you more of idea on what course is right for you. Family history doesn’t require you to get a degree, but it makes you seek knowledge in your own way. Studying at tertiary level is just another way to go.
