As the holder of a Project Management Institute (PMI) credential (except CAPM) you are required to earn a specified number of Professional Development Units (PDUs) to maintain that credential. PMI has developed six categories of PDUs in which one can obtain credits. In this series of PDU Tips  we review all six categories and give you our insights. We are moving on to Category B, “Continuing Education,” which is one of the three “Educational Categories.”

PDU Category B covers the completion of academic courses provided by a college or university that is not one of PMI’s Registered Education Providers (R.E.P.s). The course work must be related to the specific credential (PMP, PgMP, PMI-SP, or PMI-RMP) in which the PDUs are to be applied.

PDU Category B also covers educational experience such as employer provided training, Webinars, other professional membership (non PMI) meetings, and any other training provided by a non R.E.P. accredited organization.

In essence: Any project management training and consequent PMP PDU that you receive from an organization that is not a PMI R.E.P. falls into Category B. Very often training companies use this rule and offer online webinars that include project management training and some marketing allowing you to earn one free PDU.

For each hour of instruction in the areas of project management, program management, project scheduling, or project risk one hour of professional development can be claimed and awarded as a PDU.

When claiming PDUs for Category B, only the portion of the course, training, or meeting that directly relates to the credential which it is being applied to can be claimed. For example, if an employer sponsored training is an hour long but only had a half hour of training related to project management then only 0.5 PDUs can be claimed toward the PMP credential.

There is no limit on the number of PDUs that can be reported for Category B. All 60 PDUs needed to maintain the PMP or PgMP credentials or 30 for the PMI-SP or PMI-RPM credentials over the three year cycle can be claimed in Category B.

To claim a PDU for an academic course provided by a college or university that is not one of PMI’s REPs a grade report or official transcript showing a passing grade for the course is required. To claim a PDU for any other non-PMI REP training experience a proof of registration, proof of attendance, details that outline the course material reviewed, and the qualifications of the instructor such as a syllabus are required.