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Birmingham City University

UCAS Code: X32F | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

C,D,D

80 UCAS tariff points from three A Levels. Grades CDD (or equivalent).

Pass with 60 credits, 45 credits at level 3. Accepted subjects: Education subjects preferred but other subjects also considered.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE English Language or English Literature and GCSE Maths at grade C/4 or above. If you do not have these or are not undertaking them, we accept other level 2 equivalents, or we may ask you to pass BCU's GCSE equivalency tests.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

24

Obtain a minimum of 24 points overall. For students who do not already hold a GCSE in Mathematics at grade C/4 or above, grade 5 in Maths (Standard level) from the IB Diploma will be accepted. For students who do not already hold a GCSE in English Language at grade C/4 or above, English Language (Standard level) from the IB Diploma will be accepted. For English A, this must be grade 4 or above; for English B, this must be grade 5.

Minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points, achieved in five Higher level subjects

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

80 UCAS tariff points from three Advanced Highers (DDD) or two Advanced Highers (DD) plus two Highers (DD)

80 UCAS tariff points from three Advanced Highers (DDD) or two Advanced Highers (DD) plus two Highers (DD)

T Level

Pass (C and above)


Pass overall (C or above on the core). Accepted subjects: Education

UCAS Tariff

80

About this course

Course option

4years

Full-time including foundation year | 2025

Subject

Early childhood studies

Are you passionate about supporting children to get the very best start in life? Our BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies course seamlessly combines theory with practical experience, so that you can achieve your career goals and make a positive impact on young lives.

**Foundation Year**

The BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies with a Foundation Year course has been specifically designed to support your transition to degree-level study in Education. As a student, you will undertake a foundation year situated at level 3 study, which has been designed as a prelude to your chosen degree course, providing opportunities for you to develop your knowledge, skills and understanding. Your learning journey through your foundation year will provide a secure platform on which you can build throughout your academic career in higher education.

As part of the foundation year, you will explore and develop a number of essential academic, interpersonal and professional skills that will help you succeed in your future degree level studies. Your foundation year includes three core modules and three subject pathway modules.

On successful completion of your foundation year, you are guaranteed to progress on to the first year of the BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies degree. If you are interested in progressing on to one of our other Education and Social Work degrees, this will be subject to space available on those courses and on meeting the relevant entry requirements, which may include passing an interview.

**What's covered in this course?**

Gaining knowledge and understanding of babies’ and young children’s developmental, wellbeing and learning needs is a common theme throughout the course. You will build the skills and knowledge necessary to enable you to meet those needs and discover how you can respond in creative, reflective and analytical ways to issues relating to early childhood, being mindful of the need to adopt a resourceful approach. As well as learning about policy, practice, and provision within the field of Early Childhood, we will encourage you to become a graduate who is outward-looking with an awareness of global issues that relate to the field of Early Childhood.

We will support you to develop your personal and professional skills, including your resilience, to become self-assured and assertive so that you can be influential in developing practice, policy, and provision in your future career. We provide you with a supportive and nurturing learning environment, which will enable you to take risks as you explore and find out new things about early childhood, as well as yourself.

Our aim is for you to be confident to meet the challenges of a changing society, and competent as a researcher in gathering and analysing data to evaluate and plan for change. You will have the opportunity to become a graduate who can demonstrate a real commitment to the youngest and sometimes most vulnerable citizens in our society, with the ability to manage change and lead others effectively to make a positive impact on babies, young children, and their families.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£5,760
per year
EU
£17,690
per year
International
£17,690
per year
Northern Ireland
£5,760
per year
Scotland
£5,760
per year
Wales
£5,760
per year

The Uni

Course location:

City South Campus, Edgbaston

Department:

School of Education and Social Work

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

83%
Early childhood studies

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Childhood and youth studies

Teaching and learning

83%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
88%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
81%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

88%
Library resources
79%
IT resources
88%
Course specific equipment and facilities
86%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
1%
Male students
99%
Female students
53%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
B

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Early childhood studies

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£23,000
low
Average annual salary
70%
low
Employed or in further education
50%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Childhood and youth studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£23k

£23k

£29k

£29k

£29k

£29k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
place
Edge Hill University | Ormskirk
Children's Learning and Development
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2025
UCAS Points: 104-112
Lower entry requirements
place
Wrexham University | Wrexham
Early Childhood Studies (with Foundation Year)
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including foundation year 2025
UCAS Points: 48-72
Nearby University
place
Coventry University | Coventry
Early Childhood Development and Learning
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2025
UCAS Points: 104

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here