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Childhood and Youth Studies at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

University of Portsmouth has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Course summary

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. Overview Learn the skills and get the workplace experience you need to give children their best start in life – whatever their circumstances – on this Childhood and Youth studies degree. You'll discover how factors such as the education system, youth culture and social media affect children's development. You’ll also have the chance to explore optional topics such as outdoor education, safeguarding and the role of play in a child’s development, and to focus your studies on a particular specialism - education and teaching, community and youth/family provision, or leadership and enterprise. Develop the knowledge and skills to support children with special educational needs (SEN) and those from a care background, making sure no child misses out on the educational and development opportunities available to them. After the course, you’ll be set for a career supporting children and their families in areas such as youth work, social care and education. Course highlights

  • Get at least 60 hours of experience working with children in your second year with the option of a placement year between years 2 and 3
  • Learn from lecturers with diverse professional backgrounds – from youth work and policing to teaching and SEN
  • Gain current insights from your lecturers’ research on themes such as child bereavement, the impact of the pandemic on education and the role of digital tools in supporting learning and wellbeing
  • Develop relationships with potential employers through events and workshops with organisations such as an immersive theatre company and a charity that helps children develop life skills through sport
  • Build a professional eportfolio featuring examples of your work – essential for standing out in the job market after the course
Endorsed by: On this course, you can choose modules lead to the exit award BA Childhood and Youth Studies with Social Pedagogy. This pathway is endorsed by the Social Pedagogy Professional Association (SPPA), which means you can graduate as a "Social Pedagogy Practitioner". This demonstrates that you meet the SPPA's Standards of Proficiency, which are central to developing relationship-centred, dialogic practice that supports children and young people, particularly those who are vulnerable or disadvantaged. Careers and opportunities There will always be a demand for skilled and knowledgeable professionals to work with children and young people. As well as specialist expertise, this course helps you develop transferable skills valued by all kinds of employers, such as:
  • teamworking
  • leadership
  • people management
  • contextual communication
  • self-organisation
  • time management
  • resilience
What areas can you work in with a childhood and youth studies degree? After the course, you could work in areas such as:
  • youth work
  • social care
  • educational welfare
  • probation
  • teaching (with further study)
  • policing

Subject options

This course offers the following subject options:

  • Childhood and Youth Studies with Social Pedagogy

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • Becoming a Researcher (20 credits)
  • Child and Youth Development (20 credits)
  • Educational Contexts (20 credits)
  • Rights and Responsibilities (20 credits)
  • Understanding Childhoods (40 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules in this year include:
  • Global Childhoods (20 credits)
  • Professional Practice With Children and Young People (20 credits)
  • Research With Children and Young People (20 credits)
  • Strategies for Social Change (20 credits)
Optional modules from this course currently include:
  • Children's Literature (20 credits)
  • Children's Social Minds (20 credits)
  • Development of Learning (20 credits)
  • Empire and Its Afterlives in Britain, Europe, and Africa (20 credits)
  • Engaged Citizenship in Humanities and Social Sciences (20 credits)
  • Gender, Race and Education (20 credits)
  • Global Security (20 credits)
  • Intercultural Perspectives On Communication (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Teaching (20 credits)
  • Just Playing? (20 credits)
  • Marketing & Communication (20 credits)
  • Modernity and Globalisation (20 credits)
  • Nationalism and Migration: Chaos, Crisis and the Everyday (L5) (20 credits)
  • News, Discourse, and Media (20 credits)
  • Principles of Economic Crime Investigation (20 credits)
  • Professional Experience L5 (20 credits)
  • Puritans to Postmodernists: American Literature (20 credits)
  • The Sociology of Education (20 credits)
  • Transitional Justice & Human Rights (20 credits)
  • Understanding Personal Life (L5) (20 credits)
  • Wildlife Crime: Threats and Response (20 credits)
  • Youth Culture (20 credits)
Placement year (optional): Have the opportunity to do an additional work placement year after your second or third year on this Connected Degree - we're the only UK university to offer flexible sandwich placements for undergraduates. Year 3 Core units in this year include:
  • Behaviour Matters (20 credits)
  • Professional Themes in Supporting Young People's Relationships and Interactions (20 credits)
Optional units in this year include:
  • Aspiring Leaders and Managers (20 credits)
  • Dissertation (Childhood Studies) (40 credits)
  • Going Outside: Pedagogies for Outdoor Learning (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Teaching (20 credits)
  • Major Project (40 credits)
  • Professional Experience L6 (20 credits)
  • Promoting Confident, Capable Learners (20 credits)
  • Psychology in Practice (20 credits)
  • Supporting Children and Young People's Mental Health (20 credits)
  • Working With Looked After Children (20 credits)
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 method

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

How to apply

29Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

Additional entry requirements

Criminal records declaration (DBS/Disclosure Scotland)

Applicants must pass Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) before starting their professional placement working with children and young people. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is for UK Criminal Records checks only. Applicants who have been living overseas for the past 5 years will require an equivalent ‘certificate of good conduct’ from each country they have been resident in, as well as from their home country. The outcome of your DBS or Certificate of Good Conduct will be reviewed by the course team who will make a decision about your suitability to work with children and young people in the UK. Your DBS Certificate Number and date of receipt will be recorded on our Single Central Record

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
PTE Academic62An overall score of 62 with a minimum of 59 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
75%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
90%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £9535 Year 1
England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1
International £17200 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad (at the time of publishing for 2025/26): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,430 EU – £1,430 International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. Please check the course page on our website for the most up to date fee information All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
Childhood and Youth Studies at University of Portsmouth - UCAS