Pmi Pdu

How PMPs Obtain PDUs

The Project Management Institute (PMI) sets rigorous standards for the certification of project managers as Project Management Professionals (PMPs). To show PMI’s desire for the highest quality in the performance of project management professionals and to make sure that certified professionals maintain or improve their competence, PMI requires that such PMPs meet the requirements of what the institute refers to as Continuing Certification Requirements.

PMI PDU refers to the requirements that have to be met by a PMP to retain certification. A PMP is required to acquire 60 PDUs (Professional Development Units) after every three years to retain certification. PDUs are obtained in a variety of scenarios.

There are five ways in which PMPs obtain PDUs. First, a PMP could obtain PDUs by engaging in formal education. Any PMP who enrolls for a course in project management in a college or university is can claim up to fifteen PDUs for a semester lasting fifteen weeks.

Apart from formal education, a PMP could also claim PDUs by engaging in activities that directly or indirectly enhances his or her knowledge of project management. One sure way to obtain a substantial number of PDUs is to write a book on project management. This is by far the easiest way to obtain a substantial number of PDUs as the author is allowed to claim up to 40 PDUs.

Working as a project manager is another way of swelling the number of PDUs that a PMP can claim. A project manager who performs that function for a period of one thousand five hundred hours can claim up to 15 PDUs.

PMPs who are also teachers of project management have an easy way of obtaining PDUs. For teaching any course in project management, the PMP can claim up to 10 PDUs. Making a speech during PMI meetings such as dinner parties entitles a PMP to as many as 5 PDUs.

A PMP can also claim PDUs by engaging in what PMI refers to as Self-directed Learning. Reading a book on project management is included in this category and a PMP can claim up to 15 PDUs for reading a book.

PDUs can also be claimed by PMPs who attend the programs offered by PMI’s Registered Education Providers (REPs). The number of PDUs that a PMP can claim for contact with a REP varies depending o the activity engaged in and the time taken.

The final source of PDUs for PMPs is voluntary service offered by the PMP to the local chapter of PMI. Voluntary services can get the PMP as many as 10 PDUs – if the PMP is an elected official or 5 PDUs if the PMP is a regular volunteer. By granting PDUs for local PMP interactions, PMI hopes to increase the level of networking among PMPs.