In order to apply for the PMP® Exam you will have to evidence “35 contact hours of formal education on project management”. The PMI explains this as follows in the PMP® Credentials Handbook:
- Verify at least 35 contact hours of specific instruction that addressed learning objectives in project management.
- The course work must be completed at the time you submit the application.
- The course hours may include content on project quality, scope, time, cost, human resources, communications, risk, procurement and integration management.”
- Note that “one contact hour” is equivalent to one actual hour (60 minutes) of training or instruction received”, as per the PMI.
There is an important difference between Contact Hours and PDUs (Professional Development Units). A PMP exam candidate requires 35 contact hours to be able to apply for the exam. After becoming PMP, You require 60 PDUs every three years to keep the certification active. Here is a useful link on how to easily plan and get PDUs after becoming PMP (for the benefit of PMPs reading this post) http://www.squidoo.com/pmp-how-to-get-my-60-pdus#module21123292
R.E.Ps or Registered Education Providers of PMI can give you PDUs for attending their training programs after you are a PMP. But as you saw in the link above, you can get PDUs without spending any money. The point is, what you need for writing PMP is, 35 contact hours and not PDUs.
The good news is that the PMI does not require that you receive your 35 contact hours from a PMI Registered Education Provider (REP). The PMI’s PMP Credentials Handbook states that you can receive your training and contact hours from any of these training providers:
- Employer/company-sponsored programs
- Training companies or consultants, that may or may not be R.E.P
- Distance-learning companies, including an end-of-course assessment
- University/college academic and continuing education programs (those hours you spent learning project management)
The following do not satisfy the education requirements:
- PMI chapter meetings, unless spent conducting a learning activity
- Self-study (e.g., reading books)
The advantages of attending a PMP boot camp against web-based learning methods are obvious. There are tons of assets available for PMP in the internet nowadays. But if you wade through them, it takes time and only adds to the confusion. What you need is a mentor to guide you through the PMP journey and that is what you get when you sign up for a training program like ours. We line up 5 senior PMs who are PMPs to help you understand and assimilate PMBoK easily with real life examples. You also get a wonderful certificate like this one awarding you the 35 contact hours required to apply for PMP exam.
The reason I am clarifying the difference between PDUs and contact hours is – Many PMP training institutes that got the PMI R.E.P status advertise that you need 35 PDUs to write PMP and that is misinformation. BTW, I am not putting down the R.E.P status. Those who got it, fulfilled the required criteria and paid 1500$ in the first year and 1000$ / year to PMI to keep the status. But if you are a PMP aspirant and not a PMP yet, you don’t need PDUs. If you want top class training for PMP and 35 contact hours, Come to MS Academy PMP boot camp.
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