“I want to learn, but I have family and work obligations that make traditional class schedules impossible.”
The traditional education model—show up at a specific time, in a specific place, or fail the course—simply doesn’t work for most adult learners. That’s why the International Institute of Genealogical Studies designed our programs around your life, not the other way around.…
Everyone has a story worth preserving. The elderly veteran who landed at Normandy. The immigrant grandmother who built a new life in a foreign land. The entrepreneur who turned a small idea into a family business. The teacher who influenced thousands of students over four decades. These stories—rich with wisdom, emotion, and historical significance—disappear every day simply because no one took the time to record them.
Enter the personal historian: a professional who helps individuals and families preserve their life stories, memories, and legacies for future generations. If you love both genealogy and storytelling, becoming a personal historian might be your perfect career path.
Defining the Personal Historian Profession…
The surge in popularity of DNA testing and online family tree platforms transformed genealogy from a quiet hobby into a booming industry with hundreds of career options. With this growth comes a rising demand for skilled professionals who can navigate complex records, analyze conflicting evidence, and deliver accurate, compelling family histories. If you’re considering turning your passion for the past into a rewarding career, the most critical decision you’ll make is where to receive your education. How do you choose the right genealogy school?…
“The Genealogist’s Guide to Family History Interviews” a new release! Uncover your family’s legacy, discover hidden stories with questions designed to spark deep, meaningful memories. Capture a lifetime of history before it’s lost. This collection of prompts helps you conduct professional-grade interviews whether your research is personal or for clients. Choose the format that works best for your research style: Spiral Bound, 3 Hole Punch, or eBook. Perfect for the hobbyist or the professional genealogist. …
You don’t need to go $100,000 into debt to pursue your passion for genealogy. You need expert instruction, recognized credentials, and practical skills—and that’s exactly what a genealogy trade school delivers.…
First, let’s clarify what makes something a “trade school.” A trade or vocational school is an educational institution, operating post high school or college, that provides specialized instruction to prepare students for a specific job or profession.…
We love to hear from our students! Many of our students share positive comments and reviews online about our courses and instructors. This week we received a 5 Star review from one of our students, Judith T., that is so heartwarming we decided to share it. Judith has been studying genealogy with IIGS for over 20 years. She has also purchased several mentoring sessions with our instructors. This is what Judith’s review says: “Outstanding experience with mentoring sessionsI have now purchased four 30-minute mentoring sessions with three different instructors at IIGS. They were a great value and met the highest professional standards. To ensure I got the most from each session, I wrote down and submitted my questions beforehand. In every instance, my questions were thoroughly answered. All mentors were knowledgeable , had prepared in advance, and each offered suggestions and links for further self-exploration. I am strictly a family historian and my searches have taken me around the globe. Whether it was reviewing my work to ensure I hadn’t missed important sources, figuring out obscure land records, learning how to navigate a complex database, or helping prepare a research plan for an offshore trip, in each case my experience was exceptional. I have since met and worked with professional genealogists in other institutions, and my experience with the mentors at IIGS ranked among the very best. My investment and experiences were excellent.“ Thank you, Judith, for the great review! At IIGS we strive to give our students an excellent…
The update for “Canadian: Military Records” has just been released! The course has been rewritten and updated by Drew von Hasselbach, PLCGS. Drew is a mentoring professor for our Canadian Records Certificate and our German Records Certificate. Military records constitute a major source of genealogical material in Canada. Emphasis during this course is on the correlation between personnel records, land transactions, and nominal roles from the period of New France to the Korean Conflict. Upon course completion of this six-module course, students will gain the ability to trace an ancestor’s military history. This involves searching through various record groups at Library and Archives Canada and provincial archives. The search can commence from a nominal role and extend to land acquisition or pension records, including those of individuals who opposed the government. The course also discusses using other sources such as medal registers, battalion histories, and militia pay lists. What You Will Learn: Throughout the course you will discover where to find records from various sources. These include pension records, service files, and military college records. You will be exploring major and minor battles on both Canadian grounds and overseas. Beginning with Pre-Confederation conflicts, the course continues with the formation of the Permanent Force, the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, and the rebellions of the Canadas. You will continue with 19th. Century conflicts which include the Fenian Raids, the Red River Rebellion, and the North-West Rebellion of 1885. Government sources, land grants, and archival records are where you will ancestral information. Within…
A vast number of immigrants came to North America from various areas in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. …