Department of
Personality Studies
Documentation and Academic Structure of the Department
The Department of Personality Studies examines the relatively stable patterns of thought, emotion, and behaviour that distinguish one person from another across situations and time — studied empirically through trait theory, longitudinal measurement, and comparative structural models of personality.
Where the Department of Behavioural Studies examines behaviour shaped by immediate conditions, the Department of Personality Studies examines the more durable individual differences that persist across those conditions — while resisting the reduction of a whole person to a single label or type.
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 Personality Studies — the systematic empirical study of stable individual differences in thought, emotion, and behaviour, and the structural models used to describe them.
Central Premise. Personality is real and measurable, but it is not the whole of a person, and no personality model, however well validated, captures every dimension of who someone is or could become. The Department studies personality’s genuine structure and stability while treating every model of it as a partial map, never a complete verdict.
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 Character Studies (Faculty I, the durable disposition personality theory partially describes) and the Department of Human Potential Studies (Faculty I), whose Non-Ranking Principle this Department’s own assessment ethics directly extends.
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) Personality Studies curriculum proceeds across four levels, numbered PS101 through PS111, following the Institute’s core pedagogical standard: scaffolded progression from structured instruction toward fully independent, critically informed personality research.
| Level | Focus | Modules |
|---|---|---|
| Level 4 | Foundations of Personality Studies; the description–destiny distinction; introduction to trait theory | PS101–PS104 |
| Level 5 | Comparative structural models; personality stability and change; validity and limits of personality instruments | PS105–PS107 |
| Level 6 | Independent personality research; capstone critical evaluation of a major model; specialization electives | PS108–PS109 |
| Level 7 (MA) | Advanced personality theory; personality and Human Formation; research methods; dissertation | PS110–PS111 |
Key Pedagogical Standard. Every module moves the learner from structured instruction toward the independent capacity to use personality models critically, aware of their genuine predictive value and their genuine limits — no learner exits the programme treating any single personality typology as a complete or final account of a person.
Research Fields and Centres
The Department maintains the following primary research fields:
Centre for Personality Studies
The Department’s standing research centre, coordinating cross-domain research with the Department of Psychology, the Department of Character Studies (Faculty I), and the Department of Human Potential Studies (Faculty I).
Assessment and Ethics
Assessment in the Department evaluates a learner’s competence in the empirical study, measurement, and critical evaluation of personality models — never the learner’s own personality profile presented as a grade.
Because personality assessment is frequently used by third parties to sort, hire, or exclude people, the Department applies a dedicated integrity principle governing that application.
Award Titles
Public-Facing Department Page
The Department of Personality Studies is where the Institute studies the stable patterns that distinguish one person from another — while insisting that no personality model, however well validated, exhausts who a person is or could become. As a sibling Department of Faculty III, it treats every typology as a partial map, never a verdict.
Learners join a structured academic pathway from Certificate through PhD, moving from guided foundational study toward independent, critically informed personality 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 Personality Studies
Programme Specification II — Diploma in Personality Studies
Programme Specification III — BA Personality Studies
Programme Specification IV — BA (Honours) Personality Studies
Programme Specification V — Postgraduate Certificate in Personality Studies
Programme Specification VI — Postgraduate Diploma in Personality Studies
Programme Specification VII — MA Personality Studies
Programme Specification VIII — Specialized Master’s in Personality Studies
Programme Specification IX — MRes Personality Studies
Programme Specification X — MPhil Personality Studies
Programme Specification XI — PhD Personality Studies
Programme Specification XII — Professional Practice Certificate in Personality Assessment Support
Summary Programme Table
A consolidated summary of all twelve programmes offered by the Department.
| Award | Abbreviation | Duration | Credits | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate in Personality Studies | CertPS | 6–12 months | 60 credits | ₦450,000 |
| Diploma in Personality Studies | DipPS | 1 year | 120 credits | ₦850,000 |
| BA Personality Studies | BA PS | 3 years | 360 credits | ₦2,400,000 |
| BA (Honours) Personality Studies | BA(Hons) PS | 4 years | 480 credits | ₦3,100,000 |
| Postgraduate Certificate in Personality Studies | PGCert PS | 6 months | 60 credits | ₦900,000 |
| Postgraduate Diploma in Personality Studies | PGDip PS | 9 months | 120 credits | ₦1,600,000 |
| MA Personality Studies | MA PS | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦2,900,000 |
| Specialized Master’s in Personality Studies | MA PS (Spec.) | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦3,200,000 |
| MRes Personality Studies | MRes PS | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦3,400,000 |
| MPhil Personality Studies | MPhil PS | 2 years (FT) / 3 years (PT) | 240 credits | ₦5,600,000 |
| PhD Personality Studies | PhD PS | 3–4 years (FT) / 5–6 years (PT) | 360 credits | ₦9,100,000+ |
| Professional Practice Certificate in Personality Assessment Support | PPC PAS | 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, personality assessment 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 |
Personality Assessment Ethics Principle
Because personality assessment is frequently used by third parties to make consequential decisions about a person’s opportunities, the Department’s ethical commitments govern every module, practicum, and research activity it authorizes.
This principle governs curriculum design, personality assessment practicum, assessment design, and all research conducted across the Department, and stands alongside the Principle of Non-Diagnostic Overreach (Department of Psychology), the Principle of Developmental Research Protection (Department of Developmental Psychology), the Principle of Model Humility (Department of Cognitive Science), and the Principle of Consented Influence (Department of Behavioural Studies) as the fifth 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 Personality Studies 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 Personality Studies stands as a sibling Department of Faculty III, holding the empirical study of stable individual difference while resisting the reduction of any person to a single typology. Every award, module, and research activity documented above proceeds through the Department’s permanent structural chain:
This chain governs the Department of Personality Studies now and permanently, coordinated with, and answerable to, the Principle of Non-Diagnostic Overreach held by the Department of Psychology.