Department of
Cognitive Science
Documentation and Academic Structure of the Department
The Department of Cognitive Science examines the mechanics of thought itself — perception, memory, attention, reasoning, and imagination — studied through the interdisciplinary methods of empirical psychology, computational modelling, linguistics, and neuroscience, wherever those methods can be brought to bear.
Where the Department of Psychology studies mind and behaviour broadly and the Department of Developmental Psychology studies how cognition changes across the lifespan, the Department of Cognitive Science studies the underlying architecture of cognition itself: how information is represented, processed, and transformed inside a thinking system, human or otherwise.
This document establishes the Department’s complete academic and institutional documentation architecture across seven structural layers.
Foundational Framework
Governing Field. Human Formation, examined through the discipline of Cognitive Science — the interdisciplinary study of perception, memory, attention, reasoning, and imagination as information-processing operations of a thinking system.
Central Premise. Thought has a structure that can be studied independently of any single method — behavioural experiment, computational model, linguistic analysis, or neural measurement each reveal a different facet of the same underlying cognitive architecture. The Department studies that architecture by drawing on whichever combination of methods a given cognitive question actually requires.
Foundational Theoretical Anchor. The Department operates under the Principle of Non-Diagnostic Overreach established by the Department of Psychology, and coordinates closely with the Department of Philosophy of Mind (Faculty II), the Department of Human Imagination Studies within the Symbolic Human Formation Canon (Faculty VIII), and the Department of Human Formation Technology and Artificial Intelligence (Faculty IX), whose computational models this Department’s theory of cognition informs and is informed by in turn.
Programme List
The Department offers a complete academic ladder from foundational study through doctoral research.
Delivery Framework
The Department is delivered online-first, using structured cohort-based study supported by Module Specifications, Study Guides, Teaching Manuals, and Assessment Briefs for every unit, consistent with the Institute’s established production standard.
Curriculum
The BA (Honours) Cognitive Science curriculum proceeds across four levels, numbered CG101 through CG111, following the Institute’s core pedagogical standard: scaffolded progression from structured instruction toward fully independent cognitive research.
| Level | Focus | Modules |
|---|---|---|
| Level 4 | Foundations of Cognitive Science; the representation–processing distinction; introduction to interdisciplinary method | CG101–CG104 |
| Level 5 | Memory, attention, and reasoning; computational models of cognition; comparative cognitive architectures | CG105–CG107 |
| Level 6 | Independent cognitive research; capstone modelling or empirical study; specialization electives | CG108–CG109 |
| Level 7 (MA) | Advanced cognitive theory; cognition and Human Formation; research methods; dissertation | CG110–CG111 |
Key Pedagogical Standard. Every module moves the learner from structured instruction toward the independent capacity to select and combine the methods a given cognitive question actually requires — no learner exits the programme treating a single method as sufficient for every question about thought.
Research Fields and Centres
The Department maintains the following primary research fields:
Centre for Cognitive Science
The Department’s standing research centre, coordinating cross-domain research with the Department of Psychology, the Department of Philosophy of Mind (Faculty II), and the Department of Human Formation Technology and Artificial Intelligence (Faculty IX).
Assessment and Ethics
Assessment in the Department evaluates a learner’s competence in cognitive research design, modelling, and interdisciplinary method — never a comparison of the learner’s own cognitive performance against a normed benchmark presented as a measure of worth.
Because cognitive science’s computational models increasingly inform artificial systems capable of broad real-world influence, the Department applies a dedicated integrity principle governing that boundary.
Award Titles
Public-Facing Department Page
The Department of Cognitive Science is where the Institute studies the mechanics of thought itself — perception, memory, attention, and reasoning — through whichever combination of behavioural, computational, and linguistic methods a given question actually requires. As a sibling Department of Faculty III, it studies the underlying architecture of cognition, not merely its outward behaviour.
Learners join a structured academic pathway from Certificate through PhD, moving from guided foundational study toward independent, interdisciplinary cognitive research, supported at every level by the Institute’s full documentation standard: Module Specifications, Study Guides, Teaching Manuals, and Assessment Briefs.
Permanent Department Documentation Order
The permanent documentation order of the Department, restated for reference:
Delivery Framework Detail
Programme Specification I — Certificate in Cognitive Science
Programme Specification II — Diploma in Cognitive Science
Programme Specification III — BA Cognitive Science
Programme Specification IV — BA (Honours) Cognitive Science
Programme Specification V — Postgraduate Certificate in Cognitive Science
Programme Specification VI — Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Science
Programme Specification VII — MA Cognitive Science
Programme Specification VIII — Specialized Master’s in Cognitive Science
Programme Specification IX — MRes Cognitive Science
Programme Specification X — MPhil Cognitive Science
Programme Specification XI — PhD Cognitive Science
Programme Specification XII — Professional Practice Certificate in Cognitive Research and Modelling Support
Summary Programme Table
A consolidated summary of all twelve programmes offered by the Department.
| Award | Abbreviation | Duration | Credits | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate in Cognitive Science | CertCG | 6–12 months | 60 credits | ₦450,000 |
| Diploma in Cognitive Science | DipCG | 1 year | 120 credits | ₦850,000 |
| BA Cognitive Science | BA CG | 3 years | 360 credits | ₦2,400,000 |
| BA (Honours) Cognitive Science | BA(Hons) CG | 4 years | 480 credits | ₦3,100,000 |
| Postgraduate Certificate in Cognitive Science | PGCert CG | 6 months | 60 credits | ₦900,000 |
| Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Science | PGDip CG | 9 months | 120 credits | ₦1,600,000 |
| MA Cognitive Science | MA CG | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦2,900,000 |
| Specialized Master’s in Cognitive Science | MA CG (Spec.) | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦3,200,000 |
| MRes Cognitive Science | MRes CG | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦3,400,000 |
| MPhil Cognitive Science | MPhil CG | 2 years (FT) / 3 years (PT) | 240 credits | ₦5,600,000 |
| PhD Cognitive Science | PhD CG | 3–4 years (FT) / 5–6 years (PT) | 360 credits | ₦9,100,000+ |
| Professional Practice Certificate in Cognitive Research and Modelling Support | PPC CRMS | 6–9 months | 60 credits (practice-based) | ₦1,100,000 |
Credit Framework
The Department applies the Institute’s standard credit framework: one credit represents approximately 10 notional learning hours, inclusive of guided instruction, independent study, cognitive research practicum where applicable, and assessment.
| Level | Credits (Full Level) | Notional Learning Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Level 4 (Certificate/Year 1) | 120 | 1,200 |
| Level 5 (Diploma/Year 2) | 120 | 1,200 |
| Level 6 (BA Year 3 / Honours Year) | 120–240 | 1,200–2,400 |
| Level 7 (Postgraduate/MA) | 180 | 1,800 |
| Level 8 (MPhil/PhD, research credit) | 240–360 | 2,400–3,600 |
Cognitive Modelling Ethics Principle
Because computational models of cognition can be mistaken by non-specialists for complete accounts of the human mind, and increasingly inform systems with real-world influence, the Department’s ethical commitments govern every module, practicum, and research activity it authorizes.
This principle governs curriculum design, cognitive research and modelling practicum, assessment design, and all research conducted across the Department, and stands alongside the Principle of Non-Diagnostic Overreach (Department of Psychology) and the Principle of Developmental Research Protection (Department of Developmental Psychology) as the third ethics principle documented within Faculty III.
Tuition Principle
Tuition for every programme is published in full above, with no undisclosed fees. Where a learner’s circumstances warrant it, the Department may offer needs-based tuition adjustment, cohort scholarships, or staged payment plans, at the discretion of the Institute’s admissions and finance offices.
Tuition figures reflect the Institute’s standard credit-based tuition model and are reviewed annually.
Final Delivery and Access Declaration
The Department of Cognitive Science is delivered online-first to maximize access for learners regardless of geographic location, with structured cohort support, complete documentation for every module, and a clear pathway from Certificate through PhD. No learner shall be required to relocate to access any taught programme offered by this Department.
Final Structural Declaration
The Department of Cognitive Science stands as a sibling Department of Faculty III, holding the interdisciplinary study of the architecture beneath thought itself. Every award, module, and research activity documented above proceeds through the Department’s permanent structural chain:
This chain governs the Department of Cognitive Science now and permanently, coordinated with, and answerable to, the Principle of Non-Diagnostic Overreach held by the Department of Psychology.