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BA (Hons) Childhood Studies with Integrated Foundation Year

Help give children the best start in life. Qualify for a lifelong career in a fulfilling field. Discover new abilities and capacities you didn't know you had.

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A primary school teacher looking at a young pupil's work with them
UCAS codeX300
Duration4 years
Fee (UK)£5,760
LocationOn campus

Course summary

Are you passionate about working with families, children, and their communities? The BA (Hons) Childhood Studies degree equips you with the skills and knowledge to understand child development, children’s needs, and the historical, social, and cultural factors that impact their lives. You’ll also gain insight into the individual child and their place within society and the family.

Our teaching team comes from diverse backgrounds and is actively involved in research in areas such as inclusive education, early years practice, children’s literature, education for sustainable development, and childhood identity in the digital age. The expertise of our staff is integrated into the course modules, ensuring you receive a well-rounded learning experience.

This degree also offers the opportunity to register for the Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies pathway. This exciting option allows you to demonstrate your commitment to working with children by completing relevant placements and creating a portfolio of evidence to highlight your skills – enhancing your CV. Graduating with this pathway will earn you the title of ‘BA (Hons) Childhood Studies with Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies’, positioning you as a qualified Early Years practitioner at Level 6.

A qualification in childhood studies can open doors to a range of careers in children’s services, including:

  • Health
  • Social care
  • Education
  • Childcare
  • Charities and voluntary organisations.

Many of our graduates also choose to pursue further study at postgraduate level.

Integrated Foundation Year

This course is also available with an Integrated Foundation Year. The Integrated Foundation Year route is an additional year built into your degree, designed to support your success and help you progress with confidence.

If you have valuable work or life experience but no formal qualifications, are returning to education after a break, or want to change direction and explore a new career path, the Integrated Foundation Year offers a supportive way to transition into university study.

If you’ve just missed the entry requirements for a three-year course, the Integrated Foundation Year offers a supportive route to start your university journey.

We’re excited to be enhancing our Integrated Foundation Year to give you an even stronger start to your degree. The updated modules will be more aligned with your chosen subject area and carefully designed to build the knowledge, confidence and skills you’ll use throughout your studies. Full details will be shared soon. We can’t wait to tell you more.

Please note, this route isn’t available to international students.

Rebecca Wolstenholme

I graduated with First Class Honours, and I’ve just started a new job, helping prisoners with addictions to set up their next steps for when they’re released. The enjoyment for learning and the confidence I gained during my degree really helps me with my daily role, and I hope to continue progressing in this field.

Rebecca Wolstenholme

Read Rebecca Wolstenholme 's story

What you'll study

Many of our courses include a range of modules you can choose from. Some of these options may only be available if you’ve already studied specific required modules. If you’re not sure what you need before picking a module, your course leader can help.

Undergraduate module credits should total 120 credits per academic year. If optional modules are available alongside core modules on your course, you should choose an amount that totals 120 credits.

How you'll learn

A typical week on the BA (Hons) Childhood Studies course will include lectures, seminars, workshops, group work, and computer-based learning.

Your progress will be assessed with essays, reports, group work, seminar presentations, and self-evaluation. Throughout the degree, you'll have one-to-one support from academic staff to help you get the best out of your assignments.

Entry requirements

Fees and finance support

UK£5,760

Undergraduate fees are set according to rules from Government in line with forecast inflation. If you're a Home fee-paying student, the fee for your first year of study for 2026/27 will be £9,790. You'll pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.

Check your fee status(opens in new tab).

If you currently serve (or have recently served) within the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence's ELCAS scheme may be able to help cover your funding for this course. Read more about funding for Armed Forces personnel.

See all course tuition fees.

If you're a full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled student on the Integrated Foundation Year route, you may be eligible to receive financial support to cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan.

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UK students

Disclaimer

We want to make sure you have clear and accurate information about our courses. Our website always shows the latest updates. If you’ve applied and been offered a place, we’ll contact you in writing if anything important changes.

View our programme specifications(opens in new tab) for further information about what the course covers, learning outcomes and the skills you'll gain when you graduate.