Professor Certifications

This guide is based on official material from TPCi.

There are two types of Certifications: subject-area Certifications which can be obtained by taking courses, and PROF X01 Certifications which have more diverse requirements.

Subject-area courses

Subject-area courses provide Certifications to prove that a Professor has ample knowledge to function in a given role.

Each of these courses contain a multiple-choice Certification Assessment, for which you must achieve a passing score (80%) in order to receive the Certification. Questions will be displayed one at a time. Clicking the “submit” button will lock in your response and immediately show you if you answered correctly. Note that if you answer incorrectly, the correct answer will not be shown. If you do not receive a passing grade on a Certification Assessment, you may retake the course once 7 days have passed.

Currently, the following courses are available:

  • Advanced Judge Skills
    • This Certification is required to be recorded as a Head Judge at any Play! Pokémon event
  • Deck Check
  • Learn to Play
  • Organizer
    • This Certification is required to sanction official Play! Pokémon tournaments
  • Pokémon GO Judge
    • This Certification is required to be recorded as a Judge at a sanctioned Pokémon GO event
  • Professor Conduct
  • Professor Mentor
  • TCG Judge
    • This Certification is required to be recorded as a Judge at a sanctioned TCG event
  • Translator
    • This Certification is required to be recorded as a Translator at any Play! Pokémon event
  • VG Judge
    • This Certification is required to be recorded as a Judge at a sanctioned VG event

PROF X01 curricula

There are four Certifications that require multiple subject-area courses to be completed, along with additional requirements.

Because of these additional requirements, applications for PROF X01 Certifications undergo a review process. The reflective elements will be reviewed by one of a team of highly experienced Professors, each of whom have been trained to follow the standards set by the Professor Program to ensure that submissions are reviewed fairly and consistently. If you fail any assessed portion for these Certifications, you may retry once 30 days have passed.

There are four PROF X01 Certifications available:

  • PROF 101: Introduction to the Professor Program
    • Required to become a Professor
    • Requirements:
      • Introduction to the Professor Program
      • Knowledge Check
  • PROF 201: Professorship in Practice
    • Required to advance to Red Rank
    • Requirements:
      • PROF 101
      • Professor Conduct
      • At least one of: TCG Judge, VG Judge, Pokémon GO Judge, and/or Organizer
      • Written reflection
  • PROF 301: Excellence in Professorship
    • Required to advance to Gold Rank
    • Requirements:
      • PROF 101 and PROF 201
      • At least three of: TCG Judge, VG Judge, Pokémon GO Judge, and/or Organizer
      • Written reflection
  • PROF 401
    • Required to advance to Diamond Rank
    • Requirements:
      • PROF 101, PROF 201, and PROF 301
      • TCG Judge, VG Judge, Pokémon GO Judge, and Organizer
      • Professor Community Pillarship
      • Recommendation from a Violet Rank Professor

Expirations and renewals

Most Certifications are valid for 12 months from the day they were completed. You can renew your Certification at any time within the 3-month window immediately before its expiry. Once you have successfully renewed, the expiry date will be adjusted accordingly. You will receive a notice from Professor University prompting you to renew your Certification once there is 1 month remaining until expiry.

Unlike in the old system, can continue to explore and complete other Certifications while you’re waiting for a Certification to be reviewed. The exception is Certifications that have prerequisites. If the Certification you’ve submitted for review is a prerequisite for another, you must wait for your submission to be reviewed (and passed) before you can begin the new Certification.

Scroll to Top