Bachelor of Arts (Children's Studies) ACS

Expand all

Course Overview
Key Facts
Course Outline
Further Education
Why Choose This Course?
Course Fees
Find Out More

Entry Points (2020)

350-360

Course Overview

This programme provides unique and applied training that is not available anywhere else in Europe. The Arts (Children’s Studies) programme provides students with the knowledge, confidence and transferable skills to identify their preferred career path. Students on this programme are expected to work with children from the very first semester and throughout the four years, including a semester-long placement, thus mixing the academic experience with practical work.

Graduates will be well-placed to pursue careers in community development work, as integration support assistants (special needs assistants), and research, as well as to gain entry to postgraduate degrees in primary teaching, play therapy, social work, speech and language therapy, health promotion, arts administration, and public advocacy.

This programme is an excellent choice for students who would like to pursue a career as primary school teachers, as it also includes an option to study Gaeilge as part of the programme (optional); our graduates are very successful in applying to the PME (primary school teaching) as well as to other professional postgraduate degrees in social work and play therapy, largely due to the significant service learning and work placement experience they gather throughout the degree.

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 Grades in the Leaving Certificate including Irish, English, another language, and three other subjects recognised for entry purposes.

Additional Requirements

Students must satisfy the Garda/police vetting requirements.

Duration

4 Years

Next start date

September 2021

A Level Grades (2020)

nuigalway.ie/alevels

Average intake

Closing Date

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

240

Award

CAO

GY110 ACS

Course code

Course Outline

Year 1

· Introduction to Children’s Studies

· Children in Social Contexts

· Children and Fairy tales

· Children and Health

· History of Childhood

· Developmental Psychology

Year 2

· Exploring Irish Childhoods

· Adolescents in Ireland: Healthy and Risky Behaviour

· Research Methods

· Child Law

· Educational Pedagogies: Policies and Practice

· Children and Storytelling

Year 3

· Child-Centred Research (Philosophy for Children)

· Children and Transitions

· Children and Play

· Twenty-First-Century Young Adult Literature

· Semester-Long Placement/Exchange

Year 4

· Children’s Rights

· Children and Theatre

· E-Literacy

· Connecting Research, Practice, and Policy in Children’s Lives

· Children, Culture and Media

· Applied Behavioural Analysis

· Supporting Children with Diverse Needs

Equivalent modules may be substituted from time to time for any of the above under exceptional circumstances and when approved by the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Celtic Studies

International Links

Students who take a foreign language as part of their BA(Children’s Studies) will have the option to study for a semester at a European University under the ERASMUS exchange programme and/or carry out their second semester work placement abroad.

A limited number of international exchange opportunities (consideration for which is based on grade averages) are also available to students not studying a foreign language. These include working in partner international schools in Spain (SEK) and/or studying Children’s Studies at York University in Canada.

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits: You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module: An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Subject: Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
Optional: A module you may choose to study.
Required: A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Required Core Subject: A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
Semester: Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Optional CN3102: Children's Studies Abroad (Sem 1) - 30 Credits - Semester 5
Optional CN3103: Children's Studies Placement (Sem 1) - 30 Credits - Semester 5
Optional CN3104: Transition in Childhood and Adolescence - 10 Credits - Semester 5
Optional CN3105: Twenty-First Century Young Adult Fiction - 10 Credits - Semester 5
Optional CSS307: Children's Studies Abroad (Year Long) - 60 Credits - Semester 5
Required CN3101: Child Centred Research Methods - 10 Credits - Semester 5
Optional CSS306: Children's Studies Abroad - 30 Credits - Semester 6
Optional CSS309: Children's Studies Placement - 30 Credits - Semester 6

Year 4 (60 Credits)

Further Education

What Our Students Say

“This course has given me the confidence and experience to progress my skills for working with children and has provided me with ample opportunity to work with children through service learning and placement.”

Jade Hume, BA (Children’s Studies) student

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

The BA (Children’s Studies) provides students with the knowledge, confidence and transferrable skills to identify their preferred career path as well as to succeed in their chosen field nationally or internationally. Graduates will be well-placed to pursue careers in primary school teaching (this requires the addition of a Professional Master of Education), as inclusion support assistants (special needs assistants), in the social care sectors and community development work as well as to gain entry to postgraduate degrees in play therapy, social work, health promotion, speech and language therapy, children’s librarianship, museum work, arts administration, special-needs teaching, public advocacy and activism. Over the years, 88% of the graduates from programmes in the discipline of Children’s Studies are in further education or in employment.

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€€5,822 p.a. 2020/21

Fees: Tuition

€€2,598 p.a 2020/21

Fees: Student Contribution

€€3,000 p.a. 2020/21

Fees: Student levy

€€224 p.a. 2020/21

Fees: Non EU

€€16,300 p.a. 2021/22

EU Fees 2019/20:
- Tuition: may be paid by the Irish Government on your behalf if you qualify for free tuition fees see - free fee initiative.
- Student Contribution: €3,000 - payable by all students but may by paid by SUSI if you apply and are deemed eligible for a means tested SUSI grant.
- Student Levy: €224 - payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI.