If you already have many years of experience in managing wide-ranging tasks and programs, pma offers the opportunity for certification in program management.
A program is a temporary organization to fulfil a one-time process of large scope with medium to long duration involving many organizational units. Programs have higher complexity, usually longer duration, higher budget and higher risk than projects. They are strategically of higher importance compared to projects. (cf. ICB4 for project management)
Advantages of Program Management
Program management is not directly responsible for the management of individual projects, but for ensuring that together, the desired program objective is achieved. Program management offers particular advantages for the implementation of complex tasks of high strategic relevance.
These include:
- ensuring that strategic goals are achieved through consistent program management,
- building long-term sustainable relationships with stakeholders through overarching program marketing,
- the optimal use of resources through comprehensive program controlling,
- minimizing potential risks through program-wide risk management.
Your internationally valid proof of competence in Program Management
Our internationally recognized certification offers a competitive advantage. Take the opportunity to reflect on your knowledge and years of experience, receive feedback from experts and have your skills as a program manager certified.
Certification process
The IPMA® Competence Guideline ICB4 for Program Management and the pma baseline in its current version build the foundation for certification. The following overview guides you step by step through the certification process:
Program management requires many years of management experience in a complex environment. Therefore, we offer program management certifications exclusively at Level A and B.
An overview of the fees for the respective certification levels can be found here.
If you are interested in the pma/IPMA® Level A/B Program Management certification, please contact the pma Certification Body at
Period of validity
The pma/IPMA® Program Management certification is valid for 5 years. It proves your current level of knowledge and experience in a professional field that is constantly evolving. Therefore, continuous personal development is necessary to maintain the certification status. After 5 years a pma/IPMA® re-certification is possible. For Level B, a higher certification according to pma/IPMA® is also possible after appropriate experience.