A young male university student in casual clothing sitting on a low stool in a nursery, holding a clipboard with observation notes while children play with colourful building blocks, with alphabet displays and picture books around the room, representing the early years placement focus of Childhood Studies degrees

DEGREE GUIDE

Childhood Studies

What do Childhood Studies degrees involve?

Childhood Studies degrees teach you about child development, education, and the social factors that influence children's lives. You will explore key areas such as psychology, child health, safeguarding, play and learning, and social policy. These courses help you develop strong analytical, communication, and practical skills while understanding how children grow, learn, and interact with the world around them. Early Childhood Studies degrees focus specifically on the development and care of young children, particularly in their early years. You will also gain hands-on experience through placements in schools, nurseries, or community settings, preparing you for careers in education, social care, and child advocacy.

Example
Modules

Psychological Approaches to Child Development: Explore key psychological theories of how children grow, learn and form relationships, and their impact on education.

Children’s Rights and Social Justice: Examine how children’s rights shape education, law and care, and explore how fairness and equality influence childhood policy.

Perspectives on Early Childhood Education: Trace the evolution of early years education, looking at play, creativity and key thinkers in child-centred learning.

Common Degree Names

💼 Placement opportunities are common, especially in schools, early years settings or youth services.
🌍 Study abroad is offered at some universities.

BA (Hons) Childhood Studies
BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies
BA (Hons) Childhood and Youth Studies
BA (Hons) Education and Childhood Studies
BA (Hons) Childhood Studies and Psychology

A child development psychology textbook open to a stages of development chapter alongside a safeguarding policy handbook, play-based learning activity plans, a developmental milestones observation record, a children's picture book and wooden toys, illustrating the child development and safeguarding knowledge developed in Childhood Studies degrees

Level 3 (A-level / IB Diploma (HL) / Scottish Highers)

Childhood Studies explores how children develop, learn, and experience the world – drawing on psychology, sociology, and education. There are no required subjects because the field itself is interdisciplinary. Universities want to see genuine interest in understanding children and young people, along with good communication and analytical skills.

Subjects that can strengthen your application:

Psychology or Sociology – useful for understanding child development and behaviour
Health & Social Care or Child Development – helpful if your school or college offers them
English or History – show strong communication and essay-writing skills
Biology – useful if the course includes elements of child health or development

✨ A combination of essay-based and social science subjects shows the skills you'll need and keeps your options open.

Universities may also accept:

BTEC Extended Diplomas in Health and Social Care (being phased out)
BTEC National Extended Certificates or National Diplomas alongside relevant A-Level subjects
T-Levels in Education and Childcare (widely accepted)
IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) with at least two IB Higher Level subjects (ideally three - see relevant subjects above) alongside your Career-Related Study; a Health & Social Care pathway would be directly relevant

Exact requirements can vary, especially between academic and vocational routes; always check the university website for the most accurate course entry criteria.

Level 2 Qualifications (GCSE / MYP / National 5)

Most courses ask for:

GCSE English Language and Maths at grade 4/C or above, or equivalent such as National 5s or MYP

📘 Many Childhood Studies courses have a numeracy and literacy requirement, especially if they include placements in schools or nurseries.

Some universities may also ask for Science at GCSE (or equivalent).

🔒 DBS Check

If your course includes placements working with children, you'll need an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. This is usually arranged by the university after you've accepted your offer, you don't need to do anything before applying.

💬 Interviews

Formal interviews aren't usually part of the application process. However, some universities may invite you for a short conversation, either online or in person, to learn more about your interest in the subject.

🔍 Work Experience

Not required, but any experience with children or young people can strengthen your application. This might include babysitting, helping at a youth club, volunteering at a school or nursery, sports coaching, or caring for younger siblings. You don't need formal work experience. What matters is showing genuine interest in children's development, wellbeing, and learning, and being able to reflect on what you've observed.

✨ Personal Statement Tips

Why do you want to study childhood academically rather than just work with children? This degree draws on psychology, sociology, and education to understand how children develop and how society shapes their experiences. If you've spent time with children - babysitting, volunteering, helping at clubs, or caring for younger siblings - think about what you observed: what surprised you, what made you curious, what questions it raised. Reading about child development, following debates about education or children's rights, or thinking critically about how childhood differs across cultures and time periods can show genuine engagement. Admissions tutors want to see that you're interested in understanding why children develop the way they do, not just in being around them.

If your qualifications don't match the usual entry requirements, there are some other possibilities.

🌱 Foundation Year in Education, Health or Social Science

Many universities offer a foundation year if you don't have the required subjects or grades. This adds an extra year but leads directly into the full degree.

🎓 Access to HE Diploma (Education, Early Years or Health & Social Care)

Widely accepted by universities offering Childhood Studies. Aim for Merits and Distinctions in your graded units.

💼 Level 3 Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships such as Early Years Educator or Teaching Assistant carry UCAS tariff points from 2026 and can support a university application. Childhood Studies degrees are offered broadly, including at universities with flexible admissions policies.

Is this degree right for you?

Members can explore whether this degree fits who they are:

Skills you'd develop and whether they match your strengths
How this aligns with your interests, motivators and values
Career paths and where graduates end up

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Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Use the tabs to explore the kind of person that this would be a good fit for. Do you share the Interests, Motivations, Values, Work identity and skills that people who thrive in this course tend to have?

Not sure what these things are? Explore your Identity Tree with us first.

Interests that connect well with a Childhood Studies degree

Students who enjoy this degree often share these interests. You don't need to feel strongly about all of them, and interests develop over time. If one or two catch your curiosity, or sound like something you'd like to know more about, that's a good sign.

Learning, Education & Development: Childhood Studies puts how children develop and learn at its core. You'll examine how children grow emotionally, socially and cognitively, how play supports development, and how the environments around children shape who they become.

Fairness, Justice & Rights: Children's rights is a serious thread through this degree. You'll study how children are protected in law and practice, whose voices get heard in decisions that affect them, and how welfare systems actually work.

Students who thrive in a Childhood Studies degree are often motivated by

Building and Sustaining Relationships

You feel energised by work where the people you work with aren't passing strangers but become known to you across years: clients, patients, students, customers. Forming new connections matters, but the deeper energy comes from the slower work of staying present, remembering the small details, picking up where you left off. You come most alive when someone you've known for years is back in front of you, and you take up the conversation as if no time had passed.

Engaging with People and Cultures

You're energised by working closely with people to understand what's really going on for them: talking, listening, asking questions, spending time, picking up on what isn't being said directly. That might be interviewing someone for a piece of research, sitting with a client who's trying to work something out, exploring a community you've not been part of, or working alongside people from a different culture. The energy comes from the engagement itself, not just from reading or thinking about people.

Curiosity and Learning

You're energised by the activity of learning itself: diving into a subject you've never explored, watching documentaries, taking apart how something works, or constantly asking "why?" The process of learning gives you energy, not just the outcome. You don't just want the answer; you want to understand how things connect, why they matter, and what's underneath the surface explanation.

Helping or Serving Others

You feel driven to support others directly, whether that's providing care, offering help, or doing work that improves the quality of life of people or animals. The satisfaction of knowing your effort made a tangible difference to another living being is what carries you, more than abstract achievement or recognition. You come most alive when the person or animal in front of you is better off because of what you've just done.

What makes Childhood Studies click for the students who love it?

It excites the student who is curious about a civilisation that has shaped the world for thousands of years yet still feels far from their own. They want to know how people in China think, create and organise their lives, well past the surface. The year studying in China is where the country stops being something read about and becomes a place they have lived. The detail rewards them too, building meaning character by character and seeing how a written language can carry thought differently.

These are the skills that students who love this degree tend to enjoy using. You don't need to be great at them already, but if they sound like you, that's a good sign.

Skill Name

Skills that suit this degree

You don't need to be great at these already — but if you enjoy using them or want to get better at them, that's a good sign.

Do you find yourself naturally tuning into how children are feeling — noticing when something isn't right or wanting to understand their point of view?
Do you care about fairness for young people — and find yourself thinking about whether children get the support and opportunities they need?
Do you like the idea of studying something through proper research — collecting evidence and using it to understand how children grow and learn?

Careers a Childhood Studies degree could lead you to

Childhood Studies

What do Childhood Studies degrees involve?

Example Modules

Common Degree Names

Is this degree right for you?

Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Careers a Childhood Studies degree could lead you to

Example
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