Childhood and Youth Studies
UCAS Code: L590
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
We also accept other combinations equivalent to 104-112 Tariff points to include a minimum of 2 A levels.
106-112 Tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma.
Cambridge Pre-U score of 44-48.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
3 GCSEs at grade C or above to include English and Mathematics/3 GCSEs at grade 4 or above to include English and Mathematics.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
25 points from the IB Diploma, to include 3 Higher Level subjects
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
H3,H3,H3,H4,H4-H3,H3,H3,H3,H4
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
104-112 Tariff points.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
**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.
Modules
Year 1
Core modules in this year include:
- Child and Youth Development
- Children, Young People and Social Policy
- Enrichment
- Equality and Diversity in Practice
- Health & Well Being of the Child and Young Person.
- Introduction to Educational Contexts
There are no optional modules in this year.
Year 2
Core modules in this year include:
- Enrichment
- Global Childhoods
- Professional Practice with Children and Young People
- Research with Children and Young People
- Youth Culture
Optional modules from this course currently include:
- Children's Literature
- Children’s Social Minds
- Development of Learning
- Digital Natives
- Gender, Race and Education
- Introduction to Teaching
- Just Playing?
- Modern Foreign Language
- Study Abroad
Placement year (optional):
On this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.
Year 3
Core units in this year include:
- Dissertation / Major Project (Education)
- Enrichment
- Families in Need
- Young People’s Relationships and Aspirations
Optional units in this year include:
- Behaviour Matters
- Children and Young People with Severe Learning Difficulties
- Crime, Justice and Young People
- Introduction to Teaching
- Issues Relating to Children and Young People's Mental Health
- Who's in Charge?
- Won't Read, Can’t Read: Failing Readers
- Working with Looked After Children
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed through:
essays
group and individual presentations and projects
examinations
a dissertation
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.
The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:
Year 1 students: 8% by written exams, 7% by practical exams and 85% by coursework
Year 2 students: 5% by practical exams and 95% by coursework
Year 3 students: 100% by coursework
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University of Portsmouth
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
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.
Education
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Academic studies in education
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.
Top job areas of graduates
When you look at employment stats, bear in mind that a lot of students are already working in education when they take this type of course and are studying to help their career development. This means they already have jobs when they start their course, and a lot of graduates continue to study, whilst working, when they complete their courses. If your course is focused on nursery or early years education, a lot of these graduates go into nursery work or classroom or education assistant jobs; these jobs are not currently classed as 'graduate level' in the stats (although they may well be in the future as classifications catch up with changes in the way we work), and many graduates who enter these roles say that a degree was necessary.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Education and teaching
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£16k
£22k
£23k
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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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