Childhood and Youth Studies

Childhood and youth studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the lives, experiences, and rights of children and young people, drawing on sociology, psychology, education, health, social policy, and law. It is a subject that takes seriously the idea that childhood and adolescence are not simply preparatory stages for adult life but meaningful periods in their own right, shaped by social structures, cultural norms, and the decisions of institutions and individuals. Studying it means developing both a theoretical understanding of how society constructs and treats its youngest members and a practical commitment to working in their best interests.

At the University of Portsmouth this three-year programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement experience, making it substantively connected to professional practice. You will study child development, family dynamics, educational inclusion, safeguarding, social policy, and the legal frameworks that govern the welfare of children and young people, with equality and rights at the centre of your practice. The placement experience is a particularly significant element, giving you direct contact with the kinds of settings and organisations you will work in after graduation, and allowing you to connect academic learning to real-world challenges.

Graduates from childhood and youth studies programmes enter careers across the full spectrum of children's services, including early years education, youth work, social work (often with further training), educational psychology, family support, health visiting, and work within the voluntary and community sector. Policy roles in local government, children's charities, and advocacy organisations are also common destinations. Many graduates go on to postgraduate training in social work, teaching, educational psychology, or public health.

The degree provides both the intellectual foundation and the practical orientation needed to work effectively and ethically with children and young people in a wide range of contexts.