PgMP Application Process – Step-by-Step Guide to Fill the Application
- Rohit Gupta
- Aug 15
- 12 min read
Updated: Sep 5
According to PMI, the official certifying body for the PgMP and the PMP certification, professionals who hold the PgMP credential earn, on average, 42% higher salaries than their uncertified peers. PMI’s stats also indicate that 23% of PgMP holders report a salary increase after obtaining the certification.
While PMI awards thousands of PMP certifications each month, now clocking over 1.5 million PMPs globally, the number of PgMP holders remains under 10,000 worldwide.
But the good news is those numbers are climbing fast, with a 28% increase in PgMP certification holders in 2023 alone, signalling a surge of interest among program management candidates.
Further, having assisted hundreds of PMP and PgMP applicants get their applications approved, we’ve seen firsthand that for experienced program managers and for PMP-certified professionals, the PgMP emerges as the natural next step. It’s a strong choice for those asking, ‘What’s next in my career?’
However, attaining the PgMP is significantly more challenging than the PMP, not just because of the exam difficulty, but due to its rigorous application process.
Unlike the PMP, which involves a single application review by PMI, the PgMP application process involves two evaluation stages, one of which is an application review by a panel of certified program managers.
Just this step alone increases the entry barrier to attaining the PgMP certification and is possibly one of the key reasons for the lower number of PgMPs compared to PMPs.
In this blog post, I will explain the entire PgMP application process step by step, help you assess your eligibility for the PgMP exam, and provide tips and suggestions to overcome the challenges faced by hundreds of applicants every year.
Complete Timeline of the PgMP Certification Process
Don’t make the mistake of immediately diving into studying for the PgMP certification right away. Just as a skilled project or program manager would, take the time to research the process for obtaining the PgMP certification.
Not only will this help you be BETTER PREPARED to traverse the PgMP landscape, but it will also help you set a REALISTIC TARGET for when you will acquire the certification.
For your understanding, we have broken down the PgMP certification timelines into two distinct phases: Steps before you earn the PgMP credential and Steps after you earn the PgMP credential.
Phase 1: Before You Earn the PgMP Credential
#1 Application Submission
You’ll begin by completing your PgMP application through PMI’s online system. This includes documenting your program management experience and responsibilities in detail.
You have up to 90 days to submit your application after starting it.
#2. PMI’s Application Completeness Review
PMI will review your application to make sure all required details are present. This initial review usually takes around 10 days, though it may be faster if your documentation is precise and thorough.
#3. Audit Process (If Selected)
Some applications are randomly pulled for audit. If that happens, PMI will request supporting documentation, such as proof of education, signed-off project/program experience by references.
You have up to 90 days to submit the required documents, and PMI typically completes audit reviews within 5–7 business days.
#4. Application Payment
After clearing PMI’s application completeness review and audit, you will need to pay your credential fee to proceed to the Panel Review stage.
#5. PgMP Application Panel Review - Critical Step
Your application is now evaluated by a panel of certified program managers, who assess your PgMP application experience summaries. This in-depth evaluation takes about 60 days.
Follow these PgMP application tips to avoid panel review failure and enhance your chances of success.
#6. Exam Scheduling
Passing the PgMP Panel review stage is going to be a big relief. After this, PMI will allow you to schedule your exam.
You have a one-year window to take it and are allowed up to three attempts.
#7. Preparing/ Passing the Exam & Exam Format
The PgMP exam is a computer-based test (CBT) of 170 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 4 hours.
Most successful candidates report 2 to 3 months of prep time.
Phase 2: After You Earn the PgMP Credential
#1. Credential Maintenance
The good news about PMI certifications is that once you acquire them, you don’t need to retake the exam, provided you maintain the certification.
To remain PgMP certified, you must earn and report 60 PDUs (Professional Development Units) over the next 3 years.
#2. Credential Renewal
Once your PDUs are logged, you can submit your renewal fee to extend your certification for another three years.
#3. Credential Suspension- In case of non-renewals
If you don’t meet the renewal requirements by your 3-year mark, your PgMP credential is suspended for up to one year. You’ll temporarily lose the right to use the PgMP title until you renew.
#4. Credential Expiration
If you do not follow the steps and renew your PgMP designation during the suspension period, it will expire permanently, and you will need to go through the entire cycle of reapplication and reexamination.
Understanding PgMP Eligibility
Before you embark on your PgMP certification journey, you should first understand what the PgMP exam eligibility requirements are. Because the PgMP certification is targeted at individuals with program management experience, PMI expects you to highlight your experience in overseeing programs, not projects.
PMI defines a program as a way to group multiple, related projects to achieve organizational benefits that may not be realized if these projects were managed separately.
🔍 Key Point: One common mistake applicants make is showing disjointed projects or operational work streams instead of presenting coordinated efforts across multiple projects that collectively achieve organizational value.
Certification Pathways
PMI has defined three eligibility paths for professionals interested in the PgMP. The prerequisites are as follows:
Option 1: Secondary Degree
If you have a high school diploma, an associate degree, or a global equivalent, you need to demonstrate the following in your application:
48 months (4 years) of project management experience or an active PMP® (Project Management Professional) certification.
Plus 84 months (7 years) of program management experience within the last 15 consecutive years.
Option 2: Four-Year Degree
If you have a bachelor's degree or higher, you need to demonstrate:
48 months (4 years) of project management experience or an active PMP®.
Plus 48 months (4 years) of program management experience within the last 15 consecutive years.
Option 3: GAC-Accredited Degree
For candidates who hold a bachelor's or master's degree from a PMI GAC-accredited program, the experience requirements are reduced as follows:
36 months (3 years) of project management experience or an active PMP®.
Plus 36 months (3 years) of program management experience within the last 15 years.
Showing Overlapping Program Management experience
When I work with PgMP applicants to get their program summaries right for the application, I often find that most of them are managing multiple projects or programs at the same time.
In practice, most companies don’t have the luxury of assigning one program manager to a single program only, since multiple programs may be running concurrently within the organization.
However, it’s important to note that for the PgMP application, PMI only considers time worked on one program at a time, even if you were handling multiple programs simultaneously.
Here’s an example to illustrate how you should count your program management experience for the application:
If you worked on Program 1 from January to April, that would count as four months toward the eligibility requirement. If you then worked on Program 2 from May to June, that would add another two months, totalling six months of experience.
You could enter Program 2 as starting in February, but only the non-overlapping months of May and June would qualify.
You cannot double-count the overlapping time you spent on both programs between February and April. In this example, Program 1 and Program 2 together add up to six months (January–June) of eligible program management experience.
PgMP Application Process: How to Fill Your PgMP Application in the PMI Portal
In this section, similar to our How to Fill the PMP Application? blog post, you’ll find a visual walkthrough of all the steps needed to completely and successfully submit your PgMP application.
Navigating to the PgMP Application
To apply for the PgMP, start at the PMI home page. Under the Certification tab, select Program Management Professional (PgMP)® to navigate to the PgMP webpage.
Once there, click on Apply Now. This will take you directly to the PgMP Application page in the PMI portal.
Filling the Academic Education Section
In the Academic Education section, list your highest attained education level, such as High School, Bachelor’s, or Master’s degree.
Once you enter the details about your post–high school education, the system will automatically calculate whether you need four or seven years of program management experience.
Capturing Project Management Experience
Before documenting your program management experience in the PgMP application, you must capture your project management experience. This step only applies to PgMP applicants without a PMP.
Existing PMPs who have put in the hard work to earn their certification can skip this step and head straight to the program management experience section.
The Core of Your PgMP Application: Program Experience Section
This is one part of your application you really can’t afford to overlook. Your program management experience is evaluated not only by PMI but also through an external review by a panel of program managers.
Here, you must record 48–84 months of program management experience, including:
Program Objective: A high-level summary of the program objective from an organizational strategic perspective.
Program Benefits: The tangible and measurable benefits your organization or customer gained from the program.
Your Program Manager Role and Responsibilities
Program Deliverables: The key tangible outputs from the program.
After adding program information, the next step is to Add Projects that were part of your program. Each program must have at least two projects, but yours may have had more.
Note: When adding projects, you only need to provide the project title; additional details such as the project objective, outcomes, or deliverables are not required.
Experience Summaries: Assessed by certified program managers
The PgMP Experience Summaries section contains specific prompts you must respond to, which help the panel assess the quality of your program management experience. Here, PMI is looking for answers that clearly showcase your expertise as an experienced program manager.
The prompts are grouped under the following areas:
Program Strategy
Program Governance
Program Leadership
For each area, you will choose one prompt to answer from the two options provided.
For example, under Program Strategy, you may see two prompt options:
Establishing or contributing to a program roadmap or business case aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives
Defining a plan to monitor and oversee program benefits realization
Your job is to respond with concrete examples of your work (e.g. specific actions, decisions, and responsibilities) that demonstrate strategic thinking and show how you drove the successful execution of the organization’s program strategy.
Best Practices for Writing Program Management Experience Summaries
The Program Management experience summary is your opportunity to display your knowledge, understanding, experience and expertise in program management to the panel.
The panel will pay special attention to this section, and your application's success or failure is hugely dependent on how you present your experience.
Follow these key application tips listed below to get your PgMP Application accepted on the first try :
Use First Person: Write in first person using "I" statements to clearly demonstrate your personal role and contributions.
Example: I developed (or led the development of) the program governance model by
Be Specific: Provide concrete examples rather than theoretical explanations.
Align with Prompts: Ensure your response directly addresses the specific prompt question. Don't get tempted to write generic program descriptions, which may get your application rejected.
Strategic Focus: Position yourself from a strategic perspective, emphasizing the "why" behind your actions and their alignment with organizational objectives.
While writing about Program benefits, ensure that they are measurable. Quantify impact wherever possible.
Show integration by highlighting strategic, cross-project coordination and governance activities that deliver greater value—beyond what would fit a Project Manager’s role.
Be sure to address all elements of the option you select for each experience summary. For example, if the Experience Summary Option requires you to describe how you identified and evaluated risks, be sure to give examples of how you identified AND evaluated the risks.
Stay within PMI’s word limit (usually 700 words per summary)
Program Manager Experience Validation Checklist
Use these questions as a checklist to ensure your responses to the prompt cover the areas below:
Does your response answer the entire question?
Did you provide specific examples demonstrating the work you did as a Program Manager?
Does your response sound like a project manager who oversaw multiple projects instead of a program manager?
Did you focus only on the tools and techniques and omit your rationale and strategy behind your response?
Was your response tactical or textbook in nature, omitting key information on what you did as a Program Manager?
What is the difference between Program Management Experience and Experience Summaries?
Broadly, your experience section is the “resume” of your program management history, covering what you did, when, the scale, and facts, while your Experience summaries are the “stories” that show your leadership in action, explaining how and why you did it and the results achieved.
Filling out your PgMP application can feel like a project in itself, and getting it right is an achievement in its own right. Focus on presenting your experience in a way that shows scale, strategy, and leadership—not just tasks.
Remember, PMI is looking for evidence that you can manage programs that deliver real organizational impact.
Get this right, and you are already halfway to earning your PgMP.
PgMP Application FAQs
#1 What is PgMP Certification?
The PgMP (Program Management Professional) certification is one of the world’s most recognized program management credentials, awarded by the Project Management Institute (PMI). PgMP-certified professionals demonstrate advanced expertise in managing programs, which are groups of related projects aligned to deliver strategic benefits to the organization.
PgMP professionals are highly revered because they must pass a rigorous application process and a challenging exam to earn the certification.
According to PMI, if you have managed multiple related projects across functions, organizations, regions, and cultures, you are an ideal candidate to pursue the PgMP certification. Typical roles that benefit from the PgMP include senior project managers, PMO managers, experienced program managers, and professionals moving into program management roles.
#2 What are PgMP requirements?
To qualify for the PgMP® certification exam, one must prove they have the required program management experience.
PgMP eligibility criteria include:
If you have a high school diploma or equivalent, you need to show 4 years of project management experience (or PMP) and 7 years of program management experience within the last 15 years.
If you have a bachelor’s degree or higher, you need to show 4 years of project management experience (or PMP) and 4 years of program management experience within the last 15 years.
If you already hold a PMP certification, you don’t need to document your project management experience—you can go straight to entering your program management experience.
#3 Can I do PgMP without PMP?
Yes, you can get the PgMP certification even if you don’t have the PMP. In that case, when filling your application you’ll need to provide details of both your project and program management experience.
You can skip the PMP and go straight for the PgMP if you’re already:
A seasoned senior professional in your field looking to expand your knowledge of program management.
Experienced in both project and program management and want to save time and money.
Interested in strengthening key competencies such as governance, program alignment, and benefits realization.
#4 How long does it take to get PgMP?
Most successful PgMP candidates spend 2-4 months to study and acquire the PgMP certification. This includes the time for exam prep and even the time needed to prepare your application. The application process can itself take a couple of weeks since not only your application gets approved by PMI but is also sent to an external panel of program managers for approval.
However, you can do it faster [e.g. 1 month] than this if you are ready to invest more time in your studies.
#5 Is PgMP harder than PMP?
Most professionals who have attempted both the PMP and PgMP agree that the PgMP exam is considerably more demanding. Not only is the exam tough, but the application process itself is also complicated.
Since PgMP is a program management certification, it tests at a higher level of complexity than the PMP, which focuses primarily on project management. The focus of project management is primarily at the tactical level [product delivery], whereas program management operates at the strategic level [benefits delivery].
That said, PMP-certified professionals may find PgMP preparation less overwhelming compared to those who skip PMP and go straight for PgMP.
#6 How can I pass the PgMP exam on the first try?
To pass the PgMP exam on your first attempt, read The Standard for Program Management – 4th and 5th editions at least twice, and go through the PgMP Exam Content Outline multiple times to fully understand all five domains and their associated tasks. Additionally, practice at least 800 to 1,000 questions from various sources to validate your understanding of the topics and build confidence in your preparation.
This is tried and tested advice from various PgMP certification holders.
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Using our PgMP Application Review and Rewrite service assures that your application is in the trusted hands of seasoned experts.
About the Author
Rohit Gupta is a highly recommended Project and Program management trainer with 15+ years of experience training a global audience of more than 50,000 candidates.
Rohit's expertise lies in helping candidates qualify for PMI certifications, including PMP, PgMP, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA and other certifications. He has helped over 500 professionals get their PMP applications approved and mentored 300+ candidates to earn their PMP certifications.
As a lead coach at CareerSprints, Rohit continues to guide project managers with personalized, real-world preparation strategies through the PMP Blended Programme.
Rohit is recommended by many PMP exam candidates for his ability to guide them through the PMP application process and for his personalized, structured coaching style that helps them achieve certification success.
He also holds other prestigious and in-demand certifications such as ITIL expert, Scrum Master Certification, FCAS certification and DevOps Foundation Certification.
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