Childhood & Youth
 Childhood Youth (Major).jpg)
UCAS Code: Combined honours only - see Combinations tab|Duration: 3 years|Full Time|Hope Park
UCAS Campus Code: L46
Work placement opportunities|International students can apply|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
Childhood and Youth is an engaging, multidisciplinary field. You will explore various issues and challenges children and young people face today, both in the UK and around the world. This degree draws on sociology, politics, history, social policy, and cultural studies. It examines key questions about children, young people, and their social contexts.
Topics include:
- How children's roles in society have changed
- Children's rights and the UNCRC
- How social class, poverty, gender, ethnicity, and disability shape their lives
You will also study the role of risk in children's everyday experiences and how they shape their social worlds. You will also learn research methods. These methods help children and young people face their challenges.
With a strong focus on social justice and welfare, this degree will help you grow as a critical social scientist. You will value your role in the academic community at Hope. As graduates, you will apply your skills and knowledge to benefit your local community and society at large.
Course structure
Teaching on this degree combines lectures for all students, small-group seminars, and tutorials. You will also have the opportunity for one-to-one meetings with your personal tutor.
For the Childhood and Youth part of your combined honours degree, first-year students have approximately 6 teaching hours per week, decreasing to around 5 hours in the second and third years.
In addition to classroom learning, you are expected to spend time on independent study each week and collaborate with peers on group assessments.
Assessment and feedback
In each year of study, you will have a number assessments. You may also be asked to give a presentation, present an academic poster and produce a portfolio. In your second year, you will be required to submit a research proposal in preparation for a research project or dissertation in your final year.
You will be given written feedback on your assessments, and you will have the opportunity to discuss this with your tutor in more detail.
Year One
Your first year introduces key issues and debates in the field of Childhood and Youth, providing a strong foundation for further study. The course is organised around the following themes:
Understanding Childhood & Youth
Explore the meanings of childhood and youth, and how these differ across time and cultures. Examine case studies showing how childhood and youth are socially constructed, and consider the impact on how we value, view, and work with children and young people today.
Contemporary Issues in Childhood & Youth
Study current issues affecting children and young people in the UK and globally. Topics may include child poverty, social media, mental health and wellbeing, alcohol and drug use, violent crime, climate change, war and conflict, and child migration. These issues are explored in the context of wider debates about the nature of childhood and youth today.
Year Two
In your second year, you will revisit themes from Year One in greater depth, building more detailed knowledge and understanding. The year is organised around the following themes:
Children and young people’s rights in context
Learn about children’s rights and how they are applied in practice. Using UK and international case studies, examine tensions between different rights and how these influence work with children and young people.
Social theory and childhood and youth
Explore issues such as risk and crime, educational attainment, health and wellbeing, young people with disabilities, and the transition to adulthood. Analyse these topics using key social theories, with a focus on social inequality and social justice.
Investigating children and young people’s social worlds
Develop skills in research involving children and young people. Learn about surveys, interviews, focus groups, and visual methods, alongside research ethics. Gain experience designing and conducting your own research project.
Year Three
In your final year, you will develop a critical and in-depth understanding of the field by studying the following themes:
Children, young people, and social identities: issues and debates
Examine issues relating to social identities, including power, prejudice, discrimination, and social exclusion. Explore how these issues intersect with poverty, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, disability, and age.
Adversities in childhood and youth
Study research and debates on challenges faced by children and young people, including Adverse Childhood Experiences, domestic and relationship violence, poverty, mental ill-health, and child trafficking or modern slavery.
Independent Research Project / Dissertation
Undertake an independent research project or dissertation, applying your knowledge and skills to investigate a topic of your choice in depth.
Entry requirements
| A-Levels | BCC - BBB |
|---|---|
| UCAS Tariff Points | 104 - 120 UCAS Tariff points must come from a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent). Additional points can be made up from a range of alternative qualifications |
| BTEC | DMM - DDM |
| Access to HE | 104 - 120 Tariff Points |
| IB | 26 |
| Irish Leaving Certificate | 104 - 120 Tariff Points from Higher Level qualifications only |
| Welsh Baccalaureate | This qualification can only be accepted in conjunction with other relevant qualifications |
| T-Levels | Merit |
| Subject Requirements | No specific subject requirements |
International entry requirements
| Specific Country Requirements | Select your country |
|---|---|
| IELTS | 6.0 overall (with reading and writing at 6.0) and no individual score lower than 5.5. We also accept a wide range of International Qualifications. For more information, please visit our English Language Requirements page. |
Careers
With a degree in Childhood and Youth, you will be able to enter a number of careers, including youth and community work, local government, housing, health or educational sectors and the criminal justice and legal system as researchers, administrators or managers.
Successful graduates will also be able to study for postgraduate degrees such as a Masters degree in Social Work.
Enhancement opportunities
SALA
The Service and Leadership Award (SALA) is offered as an extra-curricular programme involving service-based experiences, development of leadership potential and equipping you for a career in a rapidly changing world. It enhances your degree, it is something which is complimentary but different and which has a distinct ‘value-added’ component. Find out more on our Service and Leadership Award page.
Study Abroad
As part of your degree, you can choose to spend either a semester or a full year of study at one of our partner universities as part of our Study Abroad programme. Find out more on our Study Abroad page.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2026/27 academic year are £9,535* for full-time undergraduate courses.
If you are a student from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, your tuition fees will also be £9,535*.
The University reserves the right to increase Home and EU Undergraduate and PGCE tuition fees in line with any inflationary or other increase authorised by the Secretary of State for future years of study.
*subject to Council approval.
Additional costs
Along with your tuition fees, you also need to consider the cost of any core textbooks that you need. This will be approximately £200. The School currently pays for any fieldtrips, but you may be required to pay a small, refunded deposit of £5 to secure your place on a trip. If there are any fieldtrips which would require you to pay, you would be notified of this well in advance.
You will also need to consider the cost of your accommodation whilst you study at university. Visit our accommodation pages for further details about our Halls of Residence.
Scholarships
We have a range of scholarships to help with the cost of your studies. Visit our scholarships page to find out more.
International tuition fees
The International Tuition fees for 2026/27 are £14,500.
Visit our International fees page for more information.
Course combinations
This course is also available as a Combined Honours degree with the following subjects: