Dr. Muhammad Ajmal, National Institute of Psychology, Centre of Excellence is an autonomous organization under the Federal Government with a mandate to carry out research and teaching in the discipline of Psychology. The Institute is a Centre of excellence and named after its founding director, Dr. Muhammad Ajmal. In 1983 when the Institute was given status of Centre of Excellence at Quaid-i-Azam University, it was located in shared offices spaces in the Mathematics and Computer Sciences blocks of the University. During early eighties, the government approved a scheme for a purpose-built building for the Institute. This building was completed in 1996 and the Institute shifted to it in the first quarter of 1997. This building is situated towards the southeastern corner of the University and occupies a location of scenic beauty. Since then the Institute has grown in size and capacity.
The Institute is actively engaged in the promotion of quality teaching. The institute currently comprises BS in psychology, MPhil and PHD related courses under the policies of HEC and QAU. The Institute has been able to take the teaching of psychology a step further; catering to the needs of enrolled students, students at large and continued professional development through certificate courses and training workshops. During the COVID-19, the institute has been able to expand its services in the hybrid mode. Today the Institute boasts of a large body of Alumnus who are serving and excelling in various fields of life.
Historically the organization has passed through three distinct phases. NIP was established in 1976 by the Ministry of Education under a resolution with main objectives to undertake social psychological research and to look into the factors which impede national integration, and thus also to discover new ways of installing a sense of nation-hood among the people of the country. In 1983, the Federal Ministry of Education decided to give NIP the status of a Centre of Excellence in Psychology and to locate it in Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. As a Centre of Excellence in Psychology, the objectives of this Institute have been defined in Parliament’s Act No. IX of 1976. They are as follows:

• to engage in goal-oriented high-level teaching and research
• to train research workers
• to establish MPhil, Ph.D. and other educational program in psychology (in accordance with the requirements of the Quaid-i-Azam University in which the Centre is established)
• to promote co-operation in inter-disciplinary relationship with other teaching and research establishments
• to arrange conferences, seminars and refresher courses for the development of teaching and research; and
• to conduct teaching and research in psychology as assigned to it by the Federal Government in consultation with the University.

Research and development has been therefore a hallmark of the Institute. Increasingly the Institute is also active in making links with industry and public institutions for awareness raising, skill development, and connecting with community not only in quality services in academia but also in taking a pragmatic solution based approach for emerging social issues. As a result, the institute is continually proving services through its own personnel. As a result, the Institute has organized a large number of training workshops, certificate courses, seminars, and conferences in the last 35 years of inception. The institute is dedicated to meets its objectives with increasing vigor each year.