English for Academic Purposes Curriculum Design for Postgraduate Students at Nigerian Federal Universities

This study investigates the English for Academic Purposes needs of postgraduate students at Nigerian federal universities and evaluates the adequacy of existing EAP provision in preparing students for the academic writing, reading, and presentation demands of graduate study. Postgraduate education in Nigeria is expanding rapidly, yet the English language support available to graduate students, many of whom completed undergraduate degrees at institutions with variable academic English standards, remains inconsistently developed. A needs analysis was conducted across five federal universities: University of Lagos, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, University of Nigeria Nsukka, University of Maiduguri, and University of Abuja. Data collection involved a questionnaire survey of 200 postgraduate students, focus group discussions with 40 students, and interviews with 20 graduate supervisors across disciplines. Analysis identifies priority language skill gaps in academic argument construction, literature review writing, research methodology reporting, and academic presentation delivery. Findings indicate that students from science and engineering backgrounds show the greatest deficits in argumentative and discursive writing, while humanities students more commonly struggle with data commentary and quantitative reporting conventions. Supervisors consistently report that poor academic writing extends thesis completion timelines. A proposed EAP curriculum framework is presented, covering the priority skill areas identified and incorporating genre-based and corpus-informed instruction methods. Recommendations include the mandatory integration of EAP support into postgraduate induction programmes across Nigerian federal universities. Keywords: English for Academic Purposes, postgraduate writing, curriculum design, federal universities, Nigeria.