Childhood and Youth Studies and Sociology

Childhood and youth studies and sociology together form a powerful combination for understanding how young people grow, learn and navigate the social worlds they inhabit. Childhood and youth studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the lives, experiences and rights of children and young people from multiple perspectives, drawing on developmental psychology, sociology, social policy, education and law. Sociology provides the broader analytical framework: it examines how societies are structured, how inequality is produced and reproduced, how social norms and institutions shape individual experience, and how change happens.

Together, they give you a rich and critical understanding of young people as social actors embedded in specific social, cultural and political contexts.

At Bangor University, this three-year full-time degree develops your understanding of both disciplines in an integrated way. You will study the social construction of childhood and youth, the institutions and policies that shape young people's lives, questions of identity, belonging, race, gender and class as they are experienced by children and young people, and the structural inequalities that affect their outcomes and opportunities. The sociological component gives you the theoretical tools to analyse these questions rigorously and to connect the experiences of individual young people to broader social forces.

A sandwich year placement, a year abroad, and a work placement are all available, giving you substantial professional and international experience that grounds your academic learning in real-world contexts.

You will develop strong analytical, research and communication skills, and you will engage with the ethical and political dimensions of working with and for young people.

Graduates move into youth work, social care, education, family support, community development, policy research, voluntary sector roles, and a wide range of other careers concerned with children and young people. Postgraduate study in sociology, social work, education or childhood studies is a common and well-supported pathway.