DNA Education

We help you decode your DNA and make it fun to find your family and their stories.

You have questions about using DNA for family history? We have answers.
Have you taken a DNA test yet?
YES
What’s next?
NO
Which test?

Everyone deserves to know who they are and
where they came from. DNA can help!

But DNA can be…

Stop wondering. Stop spinning your wheels.

It’s time to find our what your DNA test is really telling you.

 

We do DNA education right!

We have taught more than 10,000 DNA courses.

To make DNA discoveries accurately and confidently, you need instruction designed for the way adults learn best.

You need our proven SPIN process:

  • Study with expert teachers who break the science down into everyday language and step-by-step instruction–and give you time to process what you learn
  • Practice on guided activities, with exercises and repetition so you can master new concepts
  • Implement what you learn with your own DNA results, and get
  • Next Steps based on your discoveries and goals–so you can keep building on your knowledge and skills!

We use this process in our Courses and Workshops. We also offer get-started solutions you can use to advance your learning independently: our popular DNA Testing Company Tours and Your DNA Guide–the Book.

Learn about Our DNA Courses

Our teaching methods WORK! Here’s what people say about Your DNA Guide courses.

“If you’re just starting your AncestryDNA journey, I would highly recommend starting it here [with our AncestryDNA Tour]. I think you’ll find this course well worth the price and time you invest in it. I really enjoyed her straightforward and fun demeanor she displays as she teaches.”

-Barbara Hutchinson

“I was really impressed with the FamilyTreeDNA Tour I just finished! I thought it was going to be an easy overview of all the buttons to push on the site. But it was truly an in-depth look. Thank you!”

-Candice Steelman

“I have helped 13 other people solve their family tree mysteries using the steps in Your DNA Guide–the Book. Hands down it is amazing :)”

-Christine

“All that you covered in the Finding Living Relatives Course helped me to figure out who [two of my mystery matches] actually ARE, to find them online, etc. and to get further in the hunt with respect to them…. I have chosen to message both…and your coaching about wording to do so was VERY HELPFUL!!”

-Kris L.

 

“Thank you for the WATO Course. I have been trying to work with WATO for awhile and the [other] courses I’ve taken on WATO don’t come close to the understanding and usability that I’ve gained in a few short days just by taking your course.”

-Clay Brenke

“After taking the Shared Matches Matches Course…it took me all of 3 hours to find [my cousin’s] biological mom–I couldn’t have done it without what I learned in the Shared Matches of Matches course!”

-Meredith Johanson

“While trying to solve my own family mystery, I learned one of my father’s close matches was adopted. I followed all the steps from the [DNA Skills Workshop] course and in 24 hours had solved the mystery of who BOTH of his parents were! Woohoo! This was amazing!”

-Jo Roth

“I found my 3x great grandparents! The DNA Skills Workshop helped me identify a distant match whose family tree is packed with Polish records that are not online anywhere—and the tree identified my missing ancestors.”

-Ann Greitzer

“The YDNA for Genealogy 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!”

-Greg

“Hands down, Diahan Southard’s Endogamy & DNA course is the best resource I have found for really learning how to dig into understanding endogamy, its impact on your autosomal DNA matches, and how to account for it when working those matches.”

– Colleen Robledo Greene, MLIS, genealogy educator

“I used your methods to knock down two brick walls that everyone else had worked on for 50+ years and had finally given up on. When I solved one brick wall, the second one was a lot easier….I can never thank you enough.”

-Bill Scroggin

“For about 4-5 years now I’ve been trying to wrap my head around DNA….You make it all so simple – so easy. I felt like you were holding my hand and whispering, ‘You can do it, Susie . . . I know you can do this!’”

-Susie Haenisch

“Your ability to communicate DNA information in plain English makes you unique and I greatly appreciate that as I am not science oriented.”

-Ruth Ann Hager

What You’ll Get with a Your DNA Guide Education

Get clear explanations you can actually understand

Follow step-by-step plans for exploring your questions

Gain the confidence to know you are doing it right

We’ve given 300,000+ free DNA learning experiences

to students in 40+ countries. We have one for you, too!

How to DO the DNA with Us

You COULD spend hours learning things about DNA
that won’t actually help answer your questions.

Not with us! We help you figure out what you want to know–and how to use DNA to get from here to there.

We save you time, money and frustration while helping you gain insights into your roots.

Get started! Explore DNA for family history with our free webinars and mini-courses

GO

Learn your way around Ancestry, MyHeritage, 23andMe and FTDNA test results–just $39

GO

Learn to use DNA to find unknown relatives with Your DNA Guide–the Book from $17

GO

Master specific DNA skills and tools with hands-on Courses and Workshops from $97

GO

As Seen On

About Your DNA Guide

Our company founder, Diahan Southard, has been helping people use DNA to explore their roots for over 25 years. She started her career at the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, which created the DNA database that became AncestryDNA. After witnessing the power of DNA for family history–and the difficulties people face in using it effectively–she launched a pioneering career in DNA education.

Diahan teaches genetic genealogy to audiences around the world. She appears on popular genealogy podcasts and is a DNA columnist for Family Tree Magazine. At Your DNA Guide, she created the signature SPIN learning process (Study, Practice, Implement, Next Steps) that fuels new skills, confidence, and discovery. Her teaching style makes DNA exciting, relevant, and accessible–even for non-scientists. Read more about us.

“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.”

Ralph Ellison, The Invisible Man

What should you do next with your DNA test results?

Get our free email series with 5 steps you can take now to put your DNA to work exploring your family history questions.

Yes, Please!