Bachelor of Arts (Children's Studies)

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

Entry Points (2019)

356

Course Overview

The BA (Children's Studies) is an interdisciplinary degree designed to equip students with a theoretical and practical understanding of the lives of children and youth today. This four-year degree draws on expertise from a wide range of areas including the creative arts, literature, law, health, human rights, history, sociology and psychology, and incorporates the optional study of one modern language. Community-based service-learning and enquiry-based learning are embedded across the degree and the third year placement combines valuable practical experience with specific career-orientated goals.

Children's Studies at the Virtual Open Day

Read questions and answers from our 'Ask a Lecturer' in Children's Studies Live Q&A session.

Explore courses and careers in Arts through a video presentation.

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Dr. Lindsay Myers, BA, MA, PhD

Dr. Michal Molcho, BA, MA, PhD

Dr. Kate Harvey, BA, PhD

Requirements and Assessment

Students are assessed in a variety of ways which include formal examinations, essays, independent projects, reflective journals, research reviews, placements and service learning journals.

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 2020

A Level Grades (2019)

Average intake

Closing Date

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

240

Award

CAO

GY121

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
Child Development

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-Centered Research
Children and Transition
Children and Play
Twenty-First-Century Young Adult Literature
Semester-Long Placement/Exchange

Year 4

Children’s Rights
Children and Theatre
Children and Inequalities
Children, Culture and Media
Applied Behavioural Analysis
Independent Project

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.

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 CN3101: Child Centred Research Methods - 10 Credits - Semester 5
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 CSS301: Designing Play - How to create & deliver a workshop in creativity for Children - 10 Credits - Semester 5
Optional CSS307: Children's Studies Abroad (Year Long) - 60 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)

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), social care sectors and community development work as well as to gain entry to postgraduate degrees in play therapy, social work, health promotion, children’s librarianship, museum work, arts administration, special-needs teaching, public advocacy and activism. Over the years, 88% of the graduates from the BA CONNECT 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. 2019/20

Fees: Tuition

€2,598 p.a. 2019/20

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2019/20

Fees: Student levy

€224 p.a. 2019/20

Fees: Non EU

€15,500 p.a. 2020/21

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.