Find Missing Men on Your Family Tree | YDNA for Genealogy Course | YDNA Class
YDNA testing can reveal deep geographic origins and genetic connections dating back much further than the 5 generations revealed by autosomal DNA. This YDNA masterclass teaches you the skills to understand what your YDNA is telling you–and to use YDNA testing effectively to answer specific questions about paternal lines.
What’s the YDNA for Genealogy Course all about? Watch this introduction by Diahan Southard.
The YDNA for Genealogy Course is just $297 (USD; payment plans available)
Enroll now for Session running October 2 – October 23, 2023
Who should take this course?
Anyone trying to identify a biological father or paternal ancestor, including distinguishing between paternal ancestral candidates who share a common surname.
What topics will be covered?
Overview of YDNA: Getting started
How YDNA inheritance works
How YDNA can help your family history research
Creating a YDNA testing plan appropriate for your questions
Deep ancestry: YDNA haplogroups
Understanding haplogroup names
Haplogroup information at 23andMe, Living DNA, FTDNA
Using haplogroups for genealogy
YDNA matching
Introduction to your YDNA profile at FTDNA (all tutorials have been updated to reflect FTDNA’s recent site changes)
Your YDNA match list
YDNA matches with no shared surname
Using YDNA combined with autosomal DNA
Next steps for YDNA matching (join project, targeted testing, etc)
YDNA surname projects
Joining and getting to know your surname project
Finding patterns in the YDNA
YDNA case study practice
Big Y 700
When to use Big Y
Big Y matching
Big Y next steps
Here’s what people are saying about the YDNA Course
I had searched high and low for good YDNA information and was always disappointed. This class surpassed my expectations by so much! My biggest win is my new understanding of haplogroups and haplotrees. It is wonderful now to be able to follow upstream and downstream on my haplotree….If you want to get the most out of the YDNA test, you need to take this class.
My dad’s paternal grandfather was illegitimate and I have no clue who his father was. A clue came up [in the Course] which may break down [this] long-standing brick wall. This is fantastic! I now have something to work with to try to discover my GGGfather. Thank you!
The Course was great: love the pacing, the style, the humour, and the down-to-earth advice. My biggest win was digging into the family project info and actually making use of those big tables of data–and finding connections between matches I hadn’t made sense of before!
I want to thank Diahan for a wonderful course. I received a PhD in Biochemistry in 1982, long before any of this type of analysis was possible, and my career spanned all of the breakthroughs that have allowed us to do these genetic analyses. So, I understood the science behind these data, and had a strong grasp of the genetic principles since I taught them for over 30 years. However, I learned a great deal in this course, and I greatly enjoyed and appreciated all the course videos....I love the analogies you used and the creative images for displaying complicated ideas. I often talked to my students about making “mind pictures” and Diahan did a great job of helping with this. I also appreciate Diahan’s emphasis of both the paper and the genetic genealogy — both are needed, but I do not think everyone who has a DNA test done understands this. I also enjoyed all the homework, especially the ones where I had to engage with pen and paper to help complete them.
My paternal great grandfather and one of my maternal great-great grandfathers were brick walls. The former came out of nowhere and left very little information about himself. The latter was born four years before the couple who raised him were married. My brother did a YDNA test and I paid to upgrade it to BigY-700. A maternal cousin also did the BigY-700 test. Both gave me access to their results. And this course taught me how to understand those results. In both cases, I found out what surnames to search under because neither one matched what we had from the records. Using autosomal DNA matches, I believe I have found people who may be the cousins I need to locate our biological ancestors.
And it wouldn’t have happened without Diahan’s great instruction. There are very few easy answers in DNA research, but when you learn from someone who knows the science, you avoid so many pitfalls, rabbit holes, distractions, and confusions. I’m very glad I signed up for this course and I look forward to checking the YDNA results every so often, and using autosomal DNA matches, and doing genealogy with all of this new information to break down these two brick walls.
What do I get with this course? What is the format?
For the 3 weeks of interactive instructive, plan to spend 2-3 hours per week on in-depth, self-paced, online instruction and practice. (Some people may work more quickly than others, and some may want to dive deeper. That part is up to you.) You’ll experience:
About 6 total hours of pre-recorded video tutorials (average 2 hours per week)
Classwork and homework that provide hands-on experience with real-life case studies
Quizzes, polls, and a discussion board moderated by experts
Live wrap-up Q&A session via Zoom at the end
Enrollment in a class cohort that allows students to interact with one another at their preferred level
Full-length, printable professionally-created workbook with classwork, homework, and research log (PDF format) becomes a useful reference guide for you later
Digital download edition of the handy YDNA Quick Reference Guide by Diahan Southard
Do I need to have access to a YDNA test to take this Course?
It’s best (but not required) that you already have access to a YDNA sample at Family Tree DNA.* (The cost and ordering of DNA testing itself is not included in the course.) These can be your own (if you are a genetic male) or someone else’s (if you’re a genetic female and/or you’re exploring a paternal line other than your own). If you’re using someone else’s test results, be sure you have their permission and the login access.
However, while there are times in class when you will be looking at and working with your own DNA results, this is a hands-on learning experience from which you can learn all you need to know without even having your own YDNA results. We will provide several case studies from which homework assignments will be given that do not require your own YDNA test results. And because you will have access to the Course permanently, you’ll be able to come back and review what you need to.
Are there any prerequisites for the YDNA Workshop?
We don’t recommend this course if you’re brand new to DNA testing. We’d like to see you if you’ve got at least a little bit of experience working with or learning about DNA matches. Taking the DNA Skills Workshop first is not required, but we recommend you take it at some point as part of your overall DNA research training. Some Academy students who have taken both the YDNA Course and the DNA Skills Workshop suggest taking the Skills Workshop first.
Preferably, you will have a research goal or question in mind when you take the course, but it’s not required. Sometimes you’ll discover a research question or goal as you begin learning.
What technical requirements are necessary? Is there a textbook?
This course takes place online. During these weeks, you’ll need a reliable internet connection for streaming the video learning sessions and for additional learning on your own time. You’ll need access to your DNA test results on whatever testing site you’re using. You’ll receive a unique PDF YDNA workbook and additional reference materials that support your learning.
Read about Course enrollment and refund policies, including our money-back guarantee.
Your instructor
This Course has been created by Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard, a globally-renowned genetic genealogy educator, to give you a progressive, confident and thorough learning experience. Throughout the Course, Diahan and her expert team will be checking your progress on the discussion boards.
Why take the next YDNA course?
The sooner you start learning to use YDNA, the sooner you’ll put that test to WORK answering your family history questions, whether they are about your own YDNA lineage or another male line for which you can get a YDNA test from a qualifying descendant. We only open sessions of the YDNA for Genealogy Course now and then, and they tend to fill up, so if you’re interested, it’s a good idea to claim your seat now (or get on the wait list if it’s not open).
Learn! Or your money back
If after 6 months from the start date of the YDNA & Genealogy Course, if you have fully participated (meaning you have watched and marked “complete” each video tutorial, completed the classwork and homework, and have asked for help on the discussion boards), but still do not understand the concepts being taught, we will refund the full cost. Read our refund policy.