A final follow-up on my posts Genealogy Education and Certification (1) and Genetic Genealogy Education and Certification (2). Both of those posts are a good place to start, since FIGG uses both documentary as well as genetic genealogy, and having a strong foundation in those skills is necessary before developing proficiency in FIGG. I would especially recommend learning about unknown parentage searches, such as here (3) on my blog or through an organization such as DNA Adoption (4), since the techniques for FIGG are essentially the same as those used in reuniting adoptees with their biological family.

Again, I’d like to start by talking about the difference between certification and getting a certificate. A certificate is proof of education. A certification is proof of competence. Generally one pursues education (a certificate) and experience and then shows that they have achieved proficiency by obtaining a certification. As I mentioned in my previous post, there is no certification for genetic genealogy, and a certification for documentary genealogy does not necessarily mean that someone is capable when it comes to genetic genealogy. At the time of this writing there exists no certification for FIGG. While there is a group who is attempting to establish a certification (5) for the field, it remains to be seen whether this will be accepted as the standard. Certification is vital for this field, especially as jurisdictions begin to regulate and legislate the use of FIGG. In particular, the state of Maryland (6) has written a law that specifies that “The Office of Health Care Quality shall establish…a licensing program for individuals performing genetic genealogy.”

Here I want to mention the Facebook group Genetic Genealogy and Society (7). It was established to discuss all things tangential to genetic genealogy that were seen as outside of the purview of Genetic Genealogy Tips & Techniques (8). When news of the arrest of Joseph DeAngelo (the Golden State Killer) broke, discussion of the use of genetic genealogy by law enforcement became so inflamed that it was banned from the Tips and Techniques group. Genetic Genealogy and Society was formed in 2019 to allow for this and other important discussions and has done an amazing job of moderating these hot topics. I am grateful not only for this discussion space but also because a thread about FIGG education was incredibly timely for this post.

Full disclosure: I recently graduated with a certificate in Forensic Genetic Genealogy from the University of New Haven (9). It is a 10 month, 4 course certificate, which includes forensics, genetic genealogy, documentary genealogy and a practicum. I really enjoyed working my way through this program, and I highly recommend it. It really opened my eyes to FIGG’s place in the wider forensic world. While the cost and time commitment means it is not something that is accessible to everyone, the fact that it is offered by a recognized educational institution means that it is trustworthy, which is not something you can say about all FIGG educational offerings. When people ask me about the program, they are concerned about the science. As someone with a non-science background, I can say that as long as you watch the lectures and do the assignments, this is not a problem. While some of the readings are a little technical, overall they were understandable and the discussion they afforded was the basis of most of the evaluation. Everyone is surprised when I tell them that people struggled the most with the genealogy course, but citations are complex and time-consuming, especially if you’ve never done them before.

Another offering is the The Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Certificate Program (11) at Ramapo College. It is another recognized educational institution and it will be partnering (12) with a well-established organization, the DNA Doe Project. The DNA Doe Project has also begun offering apprenticeships (13).

A Canadian option for learning about FIGG is Humber College’s The Use of Genetic Genealogy and its Application in Current and Historical Investigations (14). I believe there will be more programs coming given their partnership with Othram (15).

Other courses offered by established professionals in the field include Forensic Genealogy for Law Enforcement (16) and United Data Connect (17). While Verogen’s webinars (18) on FIGG may not be useful in terms of gaining a credential, they can be a good place to start.

Conferences can also be a good way to network and gain knowledge. I4GG (19) features Cece Moore and other guest speakers. Ramapo college is offering their first conference, known as RIGG (20), in July 2023. And established conferences such as ISHI (21) and ISFG (22) are now offering workshops and talks about FIGG. I had the opportunity to attend ISHI33 in person and not only was it wonderful to meet many of my colleagues who I had previously only seen online, the talks were also very interesting.

I want to end this piece by talking about how to get into FIGG, because this is a question I am often asked. Interestingly, at a recent FIGG roundtable discussion, many of the practitioners described being in the right place at the right time. However, they were also ready to jump on the opportunities when they arose because they had the education and skills necessary. This has been my experience as well. This is especially true as the field becomes more saturated. The person with the most education and experience will have a significant advantage over someone who has merely been working on their family tree. It’s often said that “hard work puts you where good luck can find you.” Having serious genealogical credentials and experience working with unknown DNA (such as working with adoptees) will only benefit you as you seek to get your foot in the door.

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1. Jennifer Wiebe, “Genealogy Education and Certification,” Jennealogie (https://maltsoda.wordpress.com/2019/10/10/genealogy-education-and-certification/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
2. Jennifer Wiebe, “Genetic Genealogy Education and Certification,” Jennealogie (https://maltsoda.wordpress.com/2023/02/02/genetic-genealogy-education-and-certification/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
3. Jennifer Wiebe, “Solving for Myself,” Jennealogie (https://maltsoda.wordpress.com/2022/11/02/solving-for-myself/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
4. “Classes,” DNA Adoption (https://dnaadoption.org/classes/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
5. David Gurney et al., “The need for standards and certification for investigative genetic genealogy, and a notice of action,” PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36257095/ : accessed 8 February 2023). The full text of the paper can be found: David Gurney et al., “The need for standards and certification for investigative genetic genealogy, and a notice of action,” Forensic Science International 341 (December 2022), 111495.
6. “Article – Criminal Procedure §17–104 (a) (2)” Maryland General Assembly (https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcp&section=17-104&enactments=False&archived=False : accessed 8 February 2023).
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9. “Forensic Genetic Genealogy Online Graduate Certificate,” University of New Haven (https://www.newhaven.edu/lee-college/graduate-programs/certificates/forensic-genetic-genealogy/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
10. “The Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Certificate Program,” Ramapo College of New Jersey (https://www.ramapo.edu/igg/certificate-program/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
12. “DNA Doe Project, Ramapo College Partner on NJ Doe Cases,” Forensic (https://www.forensicmag.com/593424-DNA-Doe-Project-Ramapo-College-Partner-on-NJ-Doe-Cases/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
13. “DNA Doe Project recently selected its first group of 8 apprentices,” DNA Doe Project (https://dnadoeproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/DDP-apprenticeship-exam-answers-2022.pdf : accessed 8 February 2023).
14. “The Use of Genetic Genealogy and its Application in Current and Historical Investigations” Humber (https://communityservices.humber.ca/future-students/explore/continuous-professional-learning/micro-credentials/genetic-genealogy.html : accessed 8 February 2023).
15. “Humber College an Othram Partner to Create and Measure Social Impact of Unsolved Cases on Families and Community,” Humber (https://humber.ca/today/media-releases/humber-college-and-othram-partner-create-and-measure-social-impact-unsolved-cases : accessed 8 February 2023).
16. “Course Offerings,” Forensic Genealogy for Law Enforcement (http://fg4le.com/course-offerings/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
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18. “Webinars,” Verogen (https://verogen.com/resources/webinars/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
19. I4GG (https://i4gg.org/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
20. “The Ramapo Investigative Genetic Genealogy Conference (RIGG),” Ramapo College of New Jersey (https://www.ramapo.edu/igg/conference/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
21. ISHI (https://www.ishinews.com/ : accessed 8 February 2023).
22. “International ISFG Conferences, ” ISFG (https://www.isfg.org/Meeting accessed 8 February 2023).