Early Childhood Studies
UCAS Code: X310
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
Pass Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits with 45 at Level 3
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE Maths and English Grade C/Grade 4 (or above) or equivalent qualification
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
UCAS Tariff
Your offer will be based on your predicted grades from your core A2s (full A levels), BTEC Diploma etc. We will accept up to 16 points towards the total from level 3 qualifications such as AS (where those AS levels are not taken on to A2 level), the Extended Project, or Music qualifications. We usually consider an A Level in General Studies as a supplementary qualification. A good application/performance will be taken into account if you do not meet the criteria / offer.
About this course
In this Early Childhood Studies degree, you’ll explore how children develop, learn and think from birth to eight years, and gain the professional skills and knowledge you need to make a real difference to their lives.
WHY CHOOSE THIS COURSE?
If you want to work in health, education or social care, Early Childhood Studies gives you an excellent start. Last year, over 98% of our graduates were in work or further study within six months of finishing. That’s in part due to the practical experience you’ll amass on this degree – for one or two days each week you’ll be on placement.
IS THIS COURSE FOR YOU?
If you want to build up a thorough understanding of early childhood and gain practical experience to take into a range of early years’ settings (nurseries, children’s centres etc) then it’s definitely for you.
HOW YOU WILL LEARN
As well as lectures, seminars and tutorials, you will be working with children on placement every week and learning through practice, observation and reflection.
OPPORTUNITIES AND EXPERIENCES
You will have the chance to apply for an international placement. If you are successful, you could spend four weeks in Milan, working in a pre-school and living with a local family.
CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
This Early Childhood Studies degree is recognised by the Department for Education and the industry, so it opens doors to roles in the independent, private, public or voluntary sectors. Alternatively, if you decide you’d like to train as a teacher after graduating from this course, you will be guaranteed an interview for our PGCE Primary, providing you meet the entry requirements.
RELATED COURSES
BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies with Foundation Year
Early Childhood Studies (Joint Honours)
BA (Hons) Child and Youth Studies
BA (Hons) Child and Youth Studies with Foundation Year
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University of Derby
Institute of Education

Calculate your living costs
See how much you'll need to live on at your chosen university, with our student budget calculator.
See your living costsWhat students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Childhood and youth studies
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Health and social care
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What do graduate employment figures really tell you?Explore these similar courses...




This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
We calculate a mean rating of all responses to indicate whether this is high, medium or low compared to the same subject area at other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here