Arts Children Studies ACS

Bachelor of Arts Children Studies ACS

Jade Hume | BA (Children's Studies)

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. I cannot recommend the denominated BA (Children’s Studies) course enough, as it is the only degree of its kind in Europe, with an internationally recognised qualification, and dedicated, hard-working staff who ensure the success of each student.

Entry Points (2024)

401

Course Overview

The Discipline of Children’s Studies offers two course streams, which have been designed to provide graduates with different skill sets and knowledge. Stream 1: Arts with Children’s Studies (GY110 AWC) and Stream 2: Arts (Children’s Studies) (GY110 ACS).

What is Children’s Studies?

Children’s Studies is a new and genuinely interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary field of study. It brings together knowledge from many disciplines (education, anthropology, psychology, literature, history, health promotion, sociology, the creative arts, human rights, law and public policy) to help students develop their understanding of children as a class. This deeply developed understanding is the most appropriate preparation for any career working with, or on behalf of, children.

Stream 2: Arts (Children’s Studies) (ACS)

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 throughout the four years, learning through both academic experience and practical work.

Graduates will be well-placed to pursue careers in community development work, as inclusion support assistants (special needs assistants), and in research, as well as to gain entry to postgraduate degrees in primary teaching, play therapy, social work, speech and language therapy, occupational 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.

Please note: this degree is NOT a professional qualification to work in early childhood care and education (ECCE) settings.

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

This course is taught by academic staff who have expertise in their varied respective fields of Education, Anthropology, Literature, History, Law and Policy, Languages, Sociology, Philosophy, Drama, and Health Promotion. We also have professionals from the community that are expert in storytelling, mindfulness and yoga, art, play therapy, and forest schooling that contribute to the programme.

Lecturers Include:
Prof Michal Molcho
Dr Kate Harvey
Dr Devon Goodwin
Dr Cassie Smith-Christmas
Dr Anna Gasperini
Dr Lorraine Burke
Dr Julie Spray
Dr Amy Hanna
Dr Natasha Daniels
Dr Siobhán Morrissey
Dr Javier Gimenez Sanchez
Mr Rab Fulton
Dr Lucy Elvis
Dr Orla Richardson
Ms Deirdre Fitzgerald
Ms Katie Kaufmann
Dr. Frances Carter
Ms Marianne Ní Chinnéide

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 level 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.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Duration

4 years

Next start date

September 2025

A Level Grades (2024)

Average intake

Varies per stream

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

6 (More Info)

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: Core Concepts

The first year focuses on providing the foundations of Children’s Studies and builds core study skills by introducing students to essay writing, information literacy, basic research skills, service learning, and guided enquiry-based learning.

In Year 1, students will acquire:

Study and research skills across the various disciplines (Social Sciences, Law, Humanities);
Theoretical frameworks for the study of childhood and adolescence in Sociology, History, Psychology, Literature and Culture, Human Geography, and Health.

Year 2: Children in Context

The second year focuses on the position of children and young adults from historical, cultural, legal and societal aspects. It builds on the study skills acquired in first year and introduces the students to the skills required to carry out research.

In Year 2, students will acquire:

Understanding of the position of the child in history, literature and culture and an overview of the legal, educational, and policy situations affecting children;
Understanding of the health and well-being status of children;
Basic research skills and participative research methods.

Year 3: Children from a Global Perspective

The third year focuses on developing comparative views of children and young people across nations. It provides an opportunity for students to have real-life work experiences in the national and international community and it includes an optional international exchange.

In year 3, students will:

Develop global perspectives on children and childhood through class-based modules and work placement;
Explores contemporary issues and debates around the status of children and young adults in society and culture from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Learn about the ethics and methodology of child-centred research.
Choose between student exchange, national or international work placements.

Year 4: Current Issues in Childhood and Adolescence

The fourth year focuses on current issues in the lives of children and adolescents, focussing on cutting-edge topics and phenomena and building on the knowledge gained in the previous three years. This year builds on existing study skills, expands the student’s existing theoretical framework, enables students to specialise and guides them through an extended research project.

In year 4, students will:

Develop an independent project;
Gain understanding on various cutting-edge issues in children’s lives including: Disabilities, Children’s rights, and Children and the media
Explore future careers and professional development.

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)

Year 4 (60 Credits)

Further Education

Graduates of this programme will be eligible for entry into postgraduate/Master’s programmes** in primary school teaching (PME primary), social work, play therapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, research with children, health promotion, advertising and public relations; advocacy and community development both nationally and internationally. In addition, many go directly to work as inclusion support assistants (SNAs), in the disability sector, in various community youth work roles, or in public service.

*Please Note: this is NOT a recognized qualification for early childhood (ECCE) work. Those wanting to work in ECCE should source a specific ECCE/DCEDIY recognized qualification, or do this degree planning to pursue a postgraduate level 9 in ECCE after graduation.

**Please Note, all postgraduate/Master’s programmes have their own specific entry requirements. While past students have been successful gaining entry to postgraduate programmes in all of these areas, students are encouraged to look at the specific requirements of the postgraduate programme they are interested in and ensure they will meet all requirements (ie. Irish language, specific volunteering requirements, placement location requirements, HPAT, etc.)

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

A Pedagogically Progressive Education

Based in the School of Education at the University of Galway, the discipline of Children’s Studies utilizes a broad range of innovative teaching and assessment tools. This means that service learning, group work, reflective journalling, hands-on experiences, inquiry-based learning, choice in assessment modality, presentations, and interactive oral assessment are all carefully balanced along with the more traditional methods of lectures and essays, providing opportunities for all types of learners to build and demonstrate their strengths and knowledge.

Interdisciplinary Learning for a Holistic Understanding of Children

The BA Children’s Studies at the University of Galway is a leader in the new and interdisciplinary field of Children’s Studies, which was conceived in 1991 at the Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. Children’s Studies brings together knowledge from many arts and science disciplines, equips students to understand, compare, and integrate these diverse perspectives, with the aim of developing some that is “more than the sum of it’s parts” (Lenzer, 2001). The opportunity to study and learn from leaders in such a wide variety of subjects and fields is a unique offering of the BA Children’s Studies degree.

Because of this interdisciplinary approach, students will graduate with a robust and holistic understanding of the ways that conceptions of children and childhood have been and are constructed historically, currently, and into the future. With this holistic understanding, graduates are well placed to work with or on behalf of children in a critical, responsible, well-informed and reflective way, always driven by the goal of helping children to maximize their own potential.

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/Master’s 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.

**Please note – this is NOT a DCEDIY recognized degree for work in creche/early childhood settings

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€5,598 p.a. (€5,738 p.a. including levy) 2025/26

Fees: Tuition

€2,598 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Non EU

€19,000 p.a. (€19,140 including levy). 2025/26

EU Fees are comprised of Tuition + Student Contribution Charge + Student Levy* €140. *Payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI. Further detail here.

For 25/26 entrants, where the course duration is greater than 1 year, there is an inflationary increase approved of 3.4% per annum for continuing years fees**.
**Excludes Full-Time EU Undergraduate fees. These are fixed and do not change.