Childhood and Youth Studies

**Overview**

Have you got the enthusiasm for a career working with children, making a positive impact in the lives of young people and developing your knowledge in this vital field?

On this BA (Hons) Childhood and Youth Studies degree, you’ll unpack the issues affecting young people across society, and learn how to work with young people and their families – and the services that support them – in different capacities.

After you cover core models and theories in year 1, years 2 and 3 give you the chance to tailor your degree to your passions and interests. For example, in areas such as play, digital technology for children, behaviour, and the care system.

When you graduate, your expert knowledge and skills will allow you to take on a rewarding career in areas such as youth work, health promotion, probation, nurseries and social welfare.

**What you'll experience**

On this Childhood and Youth Studies degree course, you'll:

- Be taught by experts who bring together years of academic knowledge, research and practice with children and young people

- Develop expert knowledge of the important issues affecting young people today while drawing on classic child development theories

- Contribute to the way society will influence the next generation of young people

- Cover topics including child and youth development, diversity and inclusion, culture, education and globalisation, and consider how they shape childhood and youth experiences across the world

- Get practical experience through work-based placements and internships, connecting theory to practice and exploring the professional skills you’ll need to work with children and young people

- Develop relationships with future employers through a programme of events and talks from guest speakers

- Choose whether to do a dissertation or a practical research project in your final year

- Develop transferable skills such as team working and communications that will impress employers

- Have the opportunity to spend time studying abroad – we have close links with institutions in countries such as Italy, Panama, Spain, China, Australia, Sweden and the Czech Republic

**Careers and opportunities**

After the course, you can take your expert skills and knowledge into a rewarding career working with young people and children in the community.

Areas you can work in include:

- Youth work

- Social care

- Educational welfare

- Health promotion

- Teaching (with further study)

- The police

- The voluntary sector

Roles our graduates have taken on include:

- Training assessor

- Teacher

- Employability coordinator

- Careers advisor

- Schools liaison officer

To give you the best chance of securing a great job when you graduate, our Careers and Employability service will help you find relevant work experience during your course.

We can help you identify placements, internships, voluntary roles and other opportunities that will complement your studies.

**Placement year**
Between your 2nd and 3rd year, you can do a 1-year work placement. You'll get extensive support in identifying and applying for placements. We have strong links with a wide variety of placement providers including educational institutions and charities in the UK and abroad.

You can also use your placement year to extend your studies abroad, through one of the partnerships we have with Universities in Europe.

We keep in touch with you during your placement year and look forward to welcoming you back to complete your studies in year 3.