Checkpoint 1 of 12 · Orientation
Know where you are standing before you choose a direction.
Typical effort: 3 to 4 hours
Checkpoint 2 of 12 · Pre-Initiation
The work before the work: why this project exists at all.
Typical effort: 3 to 4 hours
Checkpoint 3 of 12 · Start the Project
From a standing start to a running project.
Typical effort: 3 to 4 hours
Checkpoint 4 of 12 · Plan I
Scope, schedule, and cost: where most of the exam lives.
Typical effort: 5 to 6 hours
Checkpoint 5 of 12 · Plan II
Quality, risk, communications, and procurement.
Typical effort: 5 to 6 hours
Checkpoint 6 of 12 · The Forge
First full contact with the shape of the exam.
Typical effort: 4 to 5 hours
Checkpoint 7 of 12 · Execute
Leading people and running the work.
Typical effort: 4 to 5 hours
Checkpoint 8 of 12 · Monitor and Control
Steering by the gauges: schedule, EVM, and change.
Typical effort: 4 to 5 hours
Checkpoint 9 of 12 · Close
Landing the project and harvesting the lessons.
Typical effort: 3 to 4 hours
Checkpoint 10 of 12 · The Environment
The domain that grew, and the one most people study least.
Typical effort: 4 to 5 hours
Checkpoint 11 of 12 · The Furnace
Exam conditions, for real.
Typical effort: 6 to 7 hours
Checkpoint 12 of 12 (Final Checkpoint) · The Crucible · Exam Mastery
Harder than the exam, on purpose, so the exam is not the hardest thing you face.
Typical effort: 5 to 8 hours
4 weeks
Forced March
Three Checkpoints per week
13 to 16 hours
6 weeks
Compressed
Two Checkpoints per week
8 to 11 hours
8 weeks
The Standard
One and a half Checkpoints per week
6 to 8 hours
12 weeks
Considered
One Checkpoint per week
4 to 5 hours
16 weeks
Alongside Life
One Checkpoint every ten days
3 to 4 hours
Cohort Pace
Mapped to your cohort sessions
Available to Steel, Gold, and Platinum members in a live cohort.
Set by your cohort calendar
Clearance standards do not move with pace. A member on the sixteen week pace clears the same Readiness Benchmark as a member on the four week pace. Time flexes, the standard does not.
The seventh Trial, the Beacon, sits outside The Path. Every question starts with a situation from a working project manager, and the community builds it together, one question at a time.
Want your employer to cover it? Make the case in two minutes.
Service Rate: 15% off any program for veterans, active duty, Guard and Reserve members, military spouses, first responders, public school educators, and social workers. Mention it when you book your call, or email zac@noblepathacademy.com.
Enrollment for the founding cohort opens after a short conversation. Book a call and we will talk about whether this is the right fit.
Live Cohorts
Live instruction runs in cohorts
Core Steel, Guided Gold and Platinum members may join any cohort that runs during their membership year, at no additional cost. Cohort dates are announced here and by email to enrolled members. At least one cohort runs during every membership year.
Founding Cohort
Begins January 9, 2027
Seats are limited.
Pricing Note: All prices are confirmed at checkout. Noble Path Academy is an independent platform and is not a PMI Authorized Training Partner. Our curriculum covers the domains tested on the exam but does not satisfy PMI's separate 35 contact-hour requirement; candidates must obtain those hours through a PMI Authorized Training Partner or other approved provider before applying. Payment plans are available on request.
Refunds. You may request a full refund within 14 days of enrollment, provided you have not downloaded the curriculum or slide deck files and have not started a mock exam. For coached tiers, the refund window also closes at your first live session. Whichever of these comes first ends the refund window. Browsing The Path, reading Trial descriptions, and taking the Diagnostic do not affect your refund eligibility. Refunds are returned to your original payment method, typically within 5 to 10 business days.
Tier Comparison
Which Path Is Right for You?
| Feature | Iron $249 | Steel $777 | Gold $1,215 | Platinum $1,776 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice Hub, Mock Exams & Trials | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Study Resources & Curriculum | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 1-Year Access | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| PMI Application Guidance | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live PMP Instruction | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email Access to Zac | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pre-Exam Call with Zac | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Weekly Office Hours | - | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mock Exam Debrief Session | - | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| 1:1 Exam Strategy Sessions with Zac | - | - | - | ✓ |
| Mock Exam Debriefs | - | - | - | ✓ |
| Direct Message Access | - | - | - | ✓ |
| Post-Certification Career Mapping | - | - | - | ✓ |
The PMP
The exam
180
Questions
240
Minutes
2
Ten-minute breaks
80
Seconds a question, about
170 questions are scored and 10 are unscored pretest questions, placed at random. The first break comes after the opening case-study section, and once a break starts, the section before it is closed.
33%
People
41%
Process
26%
Business Environment
Source: PMI, PMP Examination Content Outline, July 2026.
Requirements
What the PMP asks of you
Experience leading projects in the last ten years, with overlapping months counted once:
High school diploma or GED: 60 months
Associate's degree or vocational diploma: 48 months
Bachelor's degree or higher: 36 months
Bachelor's or postgraduate degree from a GAC-accredited program: 24 months
35 hours of project management training, or an active CAPM.
PMI sets these requirements and can change them. Check PMI's current PMP requirements before you apply.
Where the 35 hours can come from
·From December 1, 2026, live classes, in person or online, count only from a PMI Authorized Training Partner, a China Registered Education Provider or an eligible accredited academic program.
·Self-paced courses from any provider count when they meet PMI's five checks: formal instruction in project management, alignment to the current exam outline, stated hours, an end-of-course assessment and a completion record.
·Training finished before December 1, 2026 still counts.
·An active CAPM covers the requirement.
Noble Path Academy is not a PMI Authorized Training Partner. Its curriculum doesn't meet the 35-hour requirement, and its live sessions don't count toward it. PMI decides what counts, so check its current requirements before you apply.
Two questions
Which exam fits you today?
Count overlapping projects once.
Curriculum Overview
What You'll Study
Covering the full breadth of the PMP exam domains, anchored in the latest edition of the PMBOK, with substantive Agile and Hybrid coverage and a leadership development thread woven throughout every module.
Latest Edition of the PMBOK
The principles-based PM framework at the foundation of modern PMP preparation.
Focus Areas and Performance Domains
Deep understanding of how processes connect and flow across the project lifecycle.
Agile and Hybrid Approaches
Scrum, Kanban, and hybrid methods and how they interact with predictive approaches.
Predictive Methodologies
Waterfall, traditional planning, scope management, schedule, and cost baselines.
Exam Strategy and Application
How to think through PMP exam questions rather than simply memorizing answers.
Leadership Development
Stakeholder communication, conflict resolution, team effectiveness, and decision-making.