Must I have a college degree to qualify to take the GPC examination?

To be eligible to take the examination, the GPC candidate may qualify under one of two pathways.  A GPC candidate must qualify for 120 of the 170 possible points on the GPC Eligibility Packet submitted to GPCI. Points are scored in four categories – Pathway 1: education (up to 20 points); experience (up to 50 points); professional development (up to 50 points); and community involvement (up to 50 points). – Pathway 2: education (up to 40 points); experience (up to 70 points); professional development (up to 40 points); experience (up to 20 points). This point scale was developed for (at least) three reasons.

• GPCI does not want to exclude candidates simply because they do not have a college degree. Many learned by doing.
• The Institute wants those with GPC behind their name to be well-rounded professionals.
• The eligibility criteria help the candidate know if his/her experience and background makes them a viable candidate to pass the examination. This point system will not guarantee success, but the GPCI Board believes a professional with these qualities should be able to pass the exam.

With that said, a candidate who earns adequate points based on experience, professional development and community involvement alone can score 130 points – 10 more than the 120 points required to sit for the exam. Therefore, a candidate without a degree can, indeed, qualify.