Department of
Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Documentation and Academic Structure of the Department
The Department of Vocation, Purpose and Life Design examines how a person discerns their own calling and designs a life aligned with it — individual-level vocational discernment and coaching, distinct from this Faculty’s own Department of Human Capacity Development, which builds workforce capability at organizational scale.
Vocational language carries a real risk of being turned against the very people it claims to serve — used to persuade someone that exploitative conditions are simply the cost of their “calling.” The Department studies genuine discernment precisely to guard against that misuse.
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 Vocation, Purpose and Life Design — the systematic study of how a person discerns their own calling and designs a life genuinely aligned with it, as opposed to a life that merely serves someone else’s convenience.
Central Premise. A person’s vocation is theirs to discern, not a conclusion a coach, employer, or institution may supply on their behalf. Language about “calling” and “purpose” has a documented history of being used to persuade people to accept low pay, poor conditions, or personal sacrifice that serves someone else’s interest more than the person’s own.
Foundational Theoretical Anchor. The Department operates under the Principle of Service-Oriented Leadership established by the Department of Leadership Studies, and coordinates closely with the Department of Identity Formation (Faculty I, Principle of Non-Prescriptive Identity) and the Department of Lifelong Learning (Faculty V, Principle of Non-Exploitative Adult Education), applying both Departments’ protections to vocational discernment specifically.
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) Vocation, Purpose and Life Design curriculum proceeds across four levels, numbered VPL101 through VPL111, following the Institute’s core pedagogical standard: scaffolded progression from structured instruction toward fully independent, client-directed vocational coaching.
| Level | Focus | Modules |
|---|---|---|
| Level 4 | Foundations of Vocational Discernment; the discernment–imposition distinction; introduction to purpose and life design theory | VPL101–VPL104 |
| Level 5 | Comparative vocational traditions; the misuse of calling language in exploitative conditions; ethics of coaching neutrality | VPL105–VPL107 |
| Level 6 | Independent vocational research; capstone applied coaching case study; specialization electives | VPL108–VPL109 |
| Level 7 (MA) | Advanced vocational theory; vocation and Human Formation; research methods; dissertation | VPL110–VPL111 |
Key Pedagogical Standard. Every module moves the learner from structured instruction toward the independent capacity to support a client’s own vocational discernment without imposing the coach’s own conclusions — no learner exits the programme using calling language to persuade a client to accept conditions that serve someone else’s interest.
Research Fields and Centres
The Department maintains the following primary research fields:
Centre for Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
The Department’s standing research centre, coordinating cross-domain research with the Department of Leadership Studies, the Department of Identity Formation (Faculty I), and the Department of Lifelong Learning (Faculty V).
Assessment and Ethics
Assessment in the Department evaluates a learner’s competence in vocational discernment method and their demonstrated restraint from imposing conclusions — never a reward for a coaching approach that steers a client toward a predetermined vocational outcome.
Because calling and purpose language has a documented history of being used to persuade people to accept exploitative conditions, the Department applies a dedicated integrity principle.
Award Titles
Public-Facing Department Page
The Department of Vocation, Purpose and Life Design is where the Institute studies how a person discerns their own calling — never a conclusion a coach supplies on their behalf, and never language used to persuade someone that exploitative conditions are simply the cost of their purpose. As a sibling Department of Faculty VI, it supports discernment without ever authoring its outcome.
Learners join a structured academic pathway from Certificate through PhD, moving from guided foundational study toward independent, client-directed vocational coaching, 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 Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Programme Specification II — Diploma in Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Programme Specification III — BA Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Programme Specification IV — BA (Honours) Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Programme Specification V — Postgraduate Certificate in Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Programme Specification VI — Postgraduate Diploma in Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Programme Specification VII — MA Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Programme Specification VIII — Specialized Master’s in Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Programme Specification IX — MRes Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Programme Specification X — MPhil Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Programme Specification XI — PhD Vocation, Purpose and Life Design
Programme Specification XII — Professional Practice Certificate in Vocational Discernment Coaching
Summary Programme Table
A consolidated summary of all twelve programmes offered by the Department.
| Award | Abbreviation | Duration | Credits | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate in Vocation, Purpose and Life Design | CertVPL | 6–12 months | 60 credits | ₦450,000 |
| Diploma in Vocation, Purpose and Life Design | DipVPL | 1 year | 120 credits | ₦850,000 |
| BA Vocation, Purpose and Life Design | BA VPL | 3 years | 360 credits | ₦2,400,000 |
| BA (Honours) Vocation, Purpose and Life Design | BA(Hons) VPL | 4 years | 480 credits | ₦3,100,000 |
| Postgraduate Certificate in Vocation, Purpose and Life Design | PGCert VPL | 6 months | 60 credits | ₦900,000 |
| Postgraduate Diploma in Vocation, Purpose and Life Design | PGDip VPL | 9 months | 120 credits | ₦1,600,000 |
| MA Vocation, Purpose and Life Design | MA VPL | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦2,900,000 |
| Specialized Master’s in Vocation, Purpose and Life Design | MA VPL (Spec.) | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦3,200,000 |
| MRes Vocation, Purpose and Life Design | MRes VPL | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦3,400,000 |
| MPhil Vocation, Purpose and Life Design | MPhil VPL | 2 years (FT) / 3 years (PT) | 240 credits | ₦5,600,000 |
| PhD Vocation, Purpose and Life Design | PhD VPL | 3–4 years (FT) / 5–6 years (PT) | 360 credits | ₦9,100,000+ |
| Professional Practice Certificate in Vocational Discernment Coaching | PPC VDC | 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, vocational discernment coaching 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 |
Vocational Discernment Ethics Principle
Because calling and purpose language has a documented history of being turned against the very people it claims to serve, the Department’s ethical commitments govern every module, practicum, and research activity it authorizes.
This principle governs curriculum design, vocational discernment coaching practicum, assessment design, and all research conducted across the Department, and stands alongside the Principle of Service-Oriented Leadership (Department of Leadership Studies), the Principle of Worker-Centred Organizational Practice (Department of Organizational Development), the Principle of Fiduciary Integrity (Department of Governance and Stewardship), the Principle of Consented Institutional Change (Department of Change and Transformation Leadership), the Principle of Genuine Capacity Investment (Department of Human Capacity Development), and the Principle of Proportionate Executive Accountability (Department of Executive and Public Leadership) as the seventh ethics principle documented within Faculty VI.
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 Vocation, Purpose and Life Design 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 Vocation, Purpose and Life Design stands as a sibling Department of Faculty VI, holding the discernment of vocation as something a person owns for themselves, never a conclusion supplied on their behalf. Every award, module, and research activity documented above proceeds through the Department’s permanent structural chain:
This chain governs the Department of Vocation, Purpose and Life Design now and permanently, coordinated with, and answerable to, the Principle of Service-Oriented Leadership held by the Department of Leadership Studies.