Bachelor of Arts Children Studies ACS

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.

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.

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