Program Overview

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Childhood & Youth Studies and Criminology BA (Hons)

Overview

Examine the lives of children and young people in the UK and across the globe, and explore the relationship between power, crime, and social change while investigating the interaction of the world of children with institutions of justice.

Course Features

• International students can apply
• Sandwich year option available
• Studying abroad option available
• Work placement opportunity

What You'll Study

Year 1

• Introduction to Child Developmental and Social Psychology
• Children and Young People in Society
• Criminology and the Modern World
• Introduction to Criminological Theory
• Introduction to the Criminal Justice Process
• Introduction to Social Policy and Welfare

Year 2

• Critical Criminological Theory
• Youth Studies: Key Concepts and Issues
• Two of:
  • Crime, Law and Society
  • Crime, Media and Criminology
  • Doing Criminological Research
  • Entrepreneurship and Innovation
  • Gender, Sex and Violence
  • Generating Reputations
  • ‘Race’, Crime and Criminology
  • Violence and Society
  • Youth Justice
• Language 1
• One of:
  • Self-Directed Study
  • Work-based learning and Employability

Year 3

• Youth Studies: Critical Perspectives
• Three of:
  • Crime and Place
  • Crimes of the Powerful 1
  • Crimes of the Powerful 2
  • Criminology and Philosophy
  • Enterprise Management
  • Expanding the Criminological Imagination
  • Justice, Rights and the State
  • The Politics of Imprisonment
  • The Politics of Policing
• Two of:
  • Childhood and Sexuality
  • Contemporary Theory, Policy and Practice in Education Services
  • Issues of Professional Practice
  • Self-Directed Study
  • Social Work with Children, Young People and Families
• European Field Trip
• Work-based learning and Employability 2
• Critical Perspectives in Child Health and Well-being

How You'll Study

The main forms of course delivery are lectures and workshop seminars, including videos, presentations, and small group work. Students will typically be required to attend for three full days per week.

How You'll Be Assessed

Assessment methods on this degree include the use of portfolios, essays, information retrieval exercises, seminar presentations, case studies, article reviews, and examinations.

Who Will Be Teaching You

Our staff team are at the forefront of teaching, research, and publishing in a number of areas including safeguarding children and young people; childhood, youth, and sexuality; the politics of childhood and young people’s rights; children and young people’s mental health; youth justice, law, criminology, human rights, and social justice.

Entry Criteria

• Typical offer: 104-112 UCAS Tariff points
• No specific subjects are required
• Example offers:
  • A Level: BCC-BBC
  • UCAS Tariff points: 104-112 points
  • BTEC Extended Diploma (or combination of BTEC QCF qualifications): Distinction, Merit, Merit (DMM)
  • T Level: Overall grade of Merit
  • International Baccalaureate (IB): We are happy to accept IB qualifications which achieve the required number of UCAS Tariff points
  • Access to Higher Education Diploma: 45 credits at Level 3, for example, 9 credits at Distinction and 36 credits at Merit or 15 credits at Distinction and 30 credits at Merit

How to Apply

• Apply full-time through UCAS
• Apply part-time directly to Edge Hill University

Facilities

The Department of History, Geography, and Social Sciences is based in the Geosciences building. The contemporary facilities combine with a friendly and supportive learning environment to ensure that your studies are a rich and rewarding experience.

Finance

• 2025/26 Tuition fees:
  • UK Full-Time: £9,535 per year
  • UK Part-Time: £79 per credit for 360 credits
  • International: £17,000 per year

Your Future Career

The demand for people with the specialist skills and knowledge offered by a degree in childhood and youth studies and criminology is greater than ever. Want to work in youth justice services? Or keen to kick-start a career in education, social work, law enforcement, or welfare rights? This is the perfect course for you.

Combining two distinct but interlinked areas gives you a unique perspective that could see you go on to help shape social policy. You’ll have the insight to advocate for children and young people, and to make a real difference to their futures, whether in the public or voluntary sectors.

Other career paths open to our graduates include youth and community work, care and resettlement of offenders. You might also apply for roles within the probation service and criminal justice agencies, and international aid.

And for anyone wanting to continue exploring these fascinating, fast-changing areas, there’s plenty of scope for further study or research in both childhood and youth studies.