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Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Childhood Studies (Including Foundation Year)
University of Essex
Entry requirements
Here's what you will need to get a place on the Childhood Studies (Including Foundation Year) course at University of Essex.
Select a qualification to see required grades
A level
D,D,D
Tuition fees
| Location | Fees |
|---|---|
| England | £5,760 per year |
| Scotland | £5,760 per year |
| Wales | £5,760 per year |
| Northern Ireland | £5,760 per year |
| Channel Islands | £5,760 per year |
| Republic of Ireland | £5,760 per year |
| EU | £20,475 per year |
| International | £20,475 per year |
Course summary
What this course is about
UCAS code: L523
Here's what University of Essex says about its Childhood Studies (Including Foundation Year) course.
Our four-year BA Childhood Studies (including foundation year), will be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entrance requirements for the three-year version of this course and you want a programme that increases your subject knowledge as well as improves your academic skills in order to support your academic performance.
This four-year course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three years of study. During your Year Zero, you study three academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory academic skills module.
After successful completion of Year Zero in our Essex Pathways Department, you progress to complete your course with our Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies.
From year one you will continue developing your academic skills alongside discovering what drives children’s development, what informs their behaviour and what shapes their identity. Children today face a wide range of new and challenging experiences, including unprecedented access to media, wider cultural diversity, online bullying and larger school numbers. Their early experiences of childhood affect them for the rest of their lives. You can make a positive contribution to these formative years.
Childhood studies is a vibrant and exciting field which has expanded in recent years to include knowledge from psychology, sociology and psychoanalysis. This course lays the foundations for a career working with infants and children, whether in education, health care or children’s services. You gain a solid understanding of child development, the ecology of childhood (the place of children in different societies) and many other exciting topics including:
-
Psychosocial approaches
-
Child development and attachment theory
-
Understanding ADHD, developmental trauma and Autism
-
Criminological approaches
-
Play and infant observation
-
Children in literature
-
Therapeutic work in groups
-
Wellbeing and resilience
-
Psychodynamics of teaching, learning and group work
Course details
Qualification
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Department
Essex Pathways
Location
Colchester Campus | Colchester
Duration
4 Years
Study mode
Full-time including foundation year
Subjects
• Child care
Start date
October 2025
Application deadline
January 29, 2025
The modules you will study
Many of our courses offer a choice of optional modules to tailor your learning experience. More information about these can be found on the University of Essex website.
University of Essex reviews
Showing 45 reviews
2nd year student
The SU tries their best with the budget they have. They are probably one of the only departments who try their hardest at Essex. Societies and sports clubs are great with lots of socials and a great way and the best way to make new friends at Essex. The 2 bars and nightclub on campus are ok although...
2 years ago
2nd year student
I live near Colchester so I haven’t moved far to go to Essex University so I knew what the area would be like. It isn’t the most busiest area and you can pretty much find every and do everything tourist-wise in a couple of days. Nightlife is ok with the club on campus and a couple in the town, all o...
2 years ago
2nd year student
With the cost of living so high in the UK, the University has only raised their rent slightly and when you take into account that bills are included, the cheaper accommodation options are quite good deals. I notice that financial support is offered to those in more difficult circumstances due to the...
2 years ago
2nd year student
There is more that could be done in this area and I imagine those who are new to this sort of environment (living on your own, needing to self motivate to study etc) would struggle as there is a lack of communication from all aspects of the University. A simple email explaining how a specific examin...
2 years ago
2nd year student
The facilities on campus for education (library, labs etc) I cannot fault and they all work effectively. However, the accommodation is quite poor. In my 1st year in halls, I moved into a dirty room which smelt like a toilet. Clearly it hadn’t been cleaned since the last tenant which meant I had to c...
2 years ago
2nd year student
The course content is good however the delivery is lacking. It seems pointless going to lectures face to face as a lot of lecturers just read off the slides and add nothing on top. Sometimes the lecturers themselves seem puzzled at some of the content on the slides and they often just quickly move o...
2 years ago
National Student Survey (NSS) scores
The NSS is an annual survey where final-year students are asked to rate different aspects of their course and university experience.
Here you can see ratings from University of Essex students who took the Childhood Studies (Including Foundation Year) course - or another course in the same subject area.
Select an option to see a detailed breakdown
Teaching on my course
68%
low
Teaching on my course
68%
low
How often does your course challenge you to achieve your best work?
73%
low
How good are teaching staff at explaining things?
82%
low
How often do teaching staff make the subject engaging?
45%
low
How often is the course intellectually stimulating?
73%
low
Learning opportunities
73%
low
Learning opportunities
73%
low
To what extent have you had the chance to bring together information and ideas from different topics?
73%
low
How well does your course introduce subjects and skills in a way that builds on what you have already learned?
82%
low
How well has your course developed your knowledge and skills that you think you will need for your future?
73%
low
To what extent have you had the chance to explore ideas and concepts in depth?
73%
low
To what extent does your course have the right balance of directed and independent study?
64%
low
Assessment and feedback
77%
low
Assessment and feedback
77%
low
How well have assessments allowed you to demonstrate what you have learned?
86%
low
How fair has the marking and assessment been on your course?
82%
low
How often does feedback help you to improve your work?
64%
low
How often have you received assessment feedback on time?
86%
low
How clear were the marking criteria used to assess your work?
68%
low
Academic support
66%
low
Academic support
66%
low
How easy was it to contact teaching staff when you needed to?
73%
low
How well have teaching staff supported your learning?
59%
low
Organisation and management
50%
low
Organisation and management
50%
low
How well were any changes to teaching on your course communicated?
55%
low
How well organised is your course?
45%
low
Learning resources
96%
high
Learning resources
96%
high
How well have the IT resources and facilities supported your learning?
95%
high
How well have the library resources (e.g., books, online services and learning spaces) supported your learning?
95%
med
How easy is it to access subject specific resources (e.g., equipment, facilities, software) when you need them?
94%
high
Student voice
62%
low
Student voice
62%
low
How clear is it that students' feedback on the course is acted on?
45%
low
To what extent do you get the right opportunities to give feedback on your course?
82%
low
To what extent are students' opinions about the course valued by staff?
59%
low
How well does the students' union (association or guild) represent students' academic interests?
73%
low
Other NSS questions
Other NSS questions
During your studies, how free did you feel to express your ideas, opinions, and beliefs?
71%
low
How well communicated was information about your university/college's mental wellbeing support services?
68%
low
Student information
See who's studying at University of Essex. These students are taking Childhood Studies (Including Foundation Year) or another course from the same subject area.
| Most popular A-levels studied | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Grade | |||||
| Psychology | C | |||||
| Sociology | B | |||||
| English Language and Literature | D | |||||
| Fine Art | B | |||||
| History | B | |||||
Graduate prospects
What graduates do next
Facts and figures about University of Essex graduates who took Childhood Studies (Including Foundation Year) - or another course in the same subject area.
Graduate statistics
75%
In a job where degree was essential or beneficial
90%
Say it fits with future plans
95%
Are utilising studies
Top job areas
50%
Welfare Professionals
10%
Caring personal services
5%
Managers, directors and senior officials
5%
Teaching and Childcare Associate Professionals
Graduate statistics percentages are determined 15 months after a student graduates
Earnings after graduation
Earnings from University of Essex graduates who took Childhood Studies (Including Foundation Year) - or another course in the same subject area.
Earnings
£31k
First year after graduation
£33k
Third year after graduation
Shown here are the median earnings of graduates at one, three and five years after they completed a course related to Childhood Studies (Including Foundation Year).
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
Discussions
Discussions
Students are talking about University of Essex on The Student Room.
University of Essex open days
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Universities will list upcoming open days on their websites. Most will also have virtual open days; these are a great alternative if you really can't get there in person. For tips on preparing for open days, check the advice section here on The Uni Guide.
