September 2025

Psychology and Childhood Studies BSc (Hons)

Undergraduate, Honours Degree, September 2025

Key Details

  • C801 Course Code
  • 3 Years
  • 112 Typical UCAS Tariff
british psychological society accredited course

Psychology and Childhood Studies will enable you to apply psychological knowledge and understanding to work with children and young people.

On this programme you’ll learn how to reach valid conclusions based on scientific underpinnings. You’ll study the practicalities of working with children, adolescents and young people in research and social contexts with emphasis placed on current social and educational policies within childcare and safeguarding. You’ll explore how society views childhood, how children develop, and the challenges facing children and young people today – as well as reviewing the impact of relevant legislation.

GBC

This programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), thus students gaining at least a Lower Second Class Honours Degree are eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the BPS, which means you will have taken your first step towards becoming a professional psychologist.

Want to do something more counselling-based? Or with Forensics, Children or Criminology? Take a look at our other Psychology courses.

 

  • This degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
  • Childhood focused modules are included in each year of study.
  • Combination of two subject areas (Psychology and Working with Children, Young People and Families) which will enhance student learning experience.

During your  first year of study (level 4) you will learn about Psychology as an academic and applied discipline. You  will explore what is meant by ‘science’ and in particular, what is meant by evidence, and learn about the principles of research design. In addition, you will also be introduced to some of the key thinkers and the big ideas that have shaped the way children, young people and families have been characterised. Within this first year you will  developsound academic skills, research literacy, and a broad knowledge and understanding of the core domains in psychology, including how they may offer competing perspectives, and to the underlying principles and theoretical approaches of childhood studies.

In the second year of study (level 5), youwill gain a deeper understanding of research methods and develop the skills and knowledge to prepare you  to engage ethically and effectively in your own research projects.  Another central feature of the second year is the development of in-depth knowledge and understanding of the core domains within psychology. These form the focus of four of the modules undertaken by students at this level, covering: cognition, biological, social, individual differences, development and research methods. In addition, you will critically analyse different theories and approaches to participation that practitioners exercise when making decisions that affect children, young people and families.

In the final year (level 6) of study, you will undertake an empirical dissertation in Psychology and Childhood Studies in addition to exploring the historical and contemporary concerns that have served to shape policy and practice around children. An important feature of the third year is the availability of optional modules focusing on areas of applied psychology and modules relating to childhood studies.  Optional modules offered provide students with the opportunity to explore practical challenges of working with families where there are concerns around violence, harm and/or abuse in addition to developing anti-oppressive practice.

One – 20 credit module equates to 36hours of scheduled contact time and 164 hours of independent learning. Each year you will study 120 credits.

A wide range of assessment methods are employed in the Psychology and Childhood Studies programme, this is to enable you  to develop skills in different approaches and to ensure that the full range of such skills are assessed and you are developing a range of skills that will be invaluable in the modern professional workplace.  Assessment methods vary from research reports, interventions proposals, portfolios, presentations, and posters, critiques, case studies. There are no examinations on this programme.

As a graduate you will be furnished with valuable transferable skills that will enable you to pursue a range of career opportunities. Students gaining at least a Lower Second Class Honours Degree are eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the BPS, which means you will have taken your first step towards becoming a professional psychologist. Thus, following postgraduate training, students can enter the various psychological professions with psychology such as, educational, clinical, occupational and counselling psychology.

The MSc Clinical Applications of Psychology programme is available here at Birmingham Newman for students who wish to continue psychology at postgraduate level. The issues covered in this course would benefit those who eventually want to specialise in working with children and young people.

Other career destinations related to the study of Psychology and Childhood Studies include (and are not limited to) social work and health care, human resources and management, consultancy, education in addition to marketing and advertising.

Birmingham Newman University is located in Britain’s second city – Birmingham. With one of the youngest city populations in Europe, it is a vibrant and dynamic place to study.

Studying at Newman University, you have the advantage of being near to the city, but living in, or commuting to peaceful and comfortable surroundings on campus.

Dining out

Birmingham has lots of wonderful places to dine out with a range of different cuisines. Places where you can dine out include; Brindley Place, Mailbox and Hagley Road (just 10 minutes’ from Newman).

Entertainment

Whether you like to go to; the theatre, gigs or clubs, or enjoy: sports, shopping visiting art galleries or exhibitions – Birmingham will not disappoint and you will be spoilt for choice!

Location

Getting around Birmingham is easy via train, bus or by car. Birmingham has excellent transport links to the rest of Britain, making it easy for those weekend getaways!

Why not explore the city for yourself by visiting one of our Open Days?

Want to find out more about Birmingham? Then take a look at some Birmingham City Secrets.

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Entry Requirements

UK home students

Entry requirements, for UK home students, for September 2025 entry:

  • 112 UCAS points

UK Applying Direct Option

International students

If you are an international student, please get in touch with our International team who will be able to advise on entry criteria for this course. Email international@newman.ac.uk or telephone +441218160449.

International Applying Direct option

To apply for this course, you can apply direct using the apply link provided below:

Please note that courses with a professional placement are not available to International students.

Course Fees

UK home students

The full-time course fee, for UK home students, for September 2025 is £9,535 per year.

International students

The full-time course fees and funding, for International students, for September 2025 are:

  • Undergraduate Taught: £12,500 tuition fee
  • International Excellence Scholarship: £1,500

All International Students who apply in 2024/25 will be eligible for the International Excellence Scholarship which will be automatically applied to their offer as a tuition fee reduction.

Additional Costs

Find out more about the other additional costs associated with our undergraduate degrees.

The University will review tuition fees and increase fees in line with any inflationary uplift as determined by the UK Government, if permitted by law or government policy, in subsequent years of your course. It is anticipated that such increases would be linked to RPI (the Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments).

Modules

  1. This module aims to introduce students to the scientific study of the human mind and behaviour. The core principles and skills within psychology inquiry and learning will be explored.  It aims to define psychology and provide understanding of evidence-based psychological practice, and the implications of research methodology behind the evidence base, for assessing individual sources contribution to developing knowledge. Students will be introduced to key methodologies within psychology research and explore the philosophical stance underpinning these methodologies. In addition, this module aims to identify academic skills needed to succeed in a psychology degree course and will focus on the development of ethical, legal, reflective and academic practice within psychology. Students will explore their personal development of learning through the application of psychological theories and concepts with an emphasis on developing a coherent skill set based on critical thinking and deeper understanding of empirical psychological science. Students will be given the opportunity to apply content from this module to their specific programme area through activities such as class discussions, seminar activities and readings, and individual and group work.  Implications of the module requirements for student employability will be reflected on.
  2. This module offers an introduction to a range of applications in psychology and explores the various professional pathways in psychology practice. It aims to enhance knowledge of the application of psychological theory to the real world and examines the role of evidence-based practice and scientific method in guiding the work of professionals in a range of applied contexts, such as health, legal, organisational and educational settings. This module aims to develop the employability of students through an enhanced awareness of the range of available career pathways open to psychology graduates. The role of regulatory bodies such as British Psychological Society (BPS) and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) are explored in relation to professional development and practice.  Consideration will be given to the research methodology underpinning the evidence based explored within this module.   Implications of the module requirements for student employability will be reflected on.
  3. This module provides students with a broad introduction to the history of psychology as a scientific discipline. A number of different psychological perspectives will be introduced, for example, psychobiological, cognitive, behaviourist, psychodynamic, social constructionist, and students will be expected to apply and evaluate the application of such perspectives to important contemporary issues, such as drug addiction, violent behaviour, mental illness, etc. Research skills will be developed through the use of online databases and other library resources. Students will receive training in using e-resources such as Powerpoint and Panopto to produce presentations, and in using information resources.  Introductory consideration will be given to the research methodology underpinning the evidence base explored within the module. Implications of the module requirements for student employability will also be considered. Students will be given the opportunity to apply content from this module to their specific programme area through activities such as class discussions, seminar activities and readings, and individual and group work.
  4. This module will introduce students to the strengths, limitations and ethical issues associated with qualitative and quantitative research design. It will enable students to explore in greater depth the underlying principles and epistemological bases of both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Students will examine the key similarities and differences between these approaches, whilst appreciating the strengths and limitations of such approaches in addressing psychological research questions. Students will consider a range of data collection techniques (e.g., observations, interviews, simple experiments, and psychometric instruments) to consolidate their knowledge and experience of such methods.   Students will be equipped with a critical understanding of different quantitative research designs that will be considered in regard to important methodological concerns such as validity and reliability, and students will be aware of the implications of different research designs for the selection and use of different descriptive and inferential analytical techniques. Students will appreciate how appropriate descriptive quantitative analysis can be used to effectively characterise and summarize batches of data, whilst also providing them with tools for preliminary data screening and exploration. Students will develop their understanding of hypothesis testing, probability and important related concepts such as statistical significance, type 1 and type 2 errors, statistical power, estimation and confidence intervals, and how these relate to choices of research design and analytical alternatives.  Students will be introduced to the basic principles behind parametric and non-parametric statistical tests of difference, association, and correlation, and will be introduced to simple linear regression; furthermore, students will have the opportunity to conduct such analyses using appropriate statistical software.   General principles of qualitative design (developing research questions, interviewing, focus groups) will be explored. Students will develop their understanding of application of analysis in qualitative research by introduction to data analysis (coding).   Students will be given the opportunity to apply content from this module to their specific programme area through activities such as class discussions, seminar activities and readings, and individual and group work, and implications of the module requirements for student employability will be reflected on. Students will be introduced to the BPS’s current Code of Ethics and Conduct, and have the opportunity to see its application in their empirical work. The distinction between behaving ethically and legally will also be investigated.
  5. WWCYPF is a multi-disciplinary subject that draws on key ideas from a range of different academic traditions – sociology, psychology, development studies, cultural studies and philosophy, politics and Economics (PPE). In this module students will be introduced to some of the key thinkers and the big ideas that have shaped the way these different academic traditions have characterised children, young people and families and what they have had to say about working professionally in that field. The module will seek to give students a broad foundation of the theory that has shaped and influenced service developments and delivery and introduce them to the way conflicting ideas help to shape the way we think about basic questions for example, what we mean by notions of ‘family’, ‘childhood’, ‘kinship’ or our ideas about ‘need’, ‘vulnerability’ and ‘good’ or ‘bad’ childhoods.
  6. This module will examine some of the over-arching social policy issues that shape the working agenda around children, young people and families. To do this it will be structured around the key issues identified by William Beveridge as the ‘giants’ of social policy – education, poverty, housing, health (including safeguarding and protection of the vulnerable) and work. These topics will be analysed in the context of the challenges that face professionals working within the current model of the welfare state.
  1. This module will consolidate and extend students’ knowledge and skills relating to quantitative research methods that were developed in PYU416. Students will extend their knowledge of simple experimental designs to more complex factorial designs involving two or more independent variables, and/or multiple dependent variables, whilst undertaking, interpreting, and reporting suitable univariate and multivariate ANOVA-based data analyses. Similarly, simple linear regression will be extended to multiple linear regression, whilst introducing partial and semi-partial correlation, and in addition to undertaking, interpreting, and reporting such analysis, students will consider the role and utility of this approach in addressing research questions. Ideas relating to factor analysis and its influence and role within psychology that were introduced in PYU416 will be extended, and students will undertake and interpret principal component analysis. Issues of reliability and validity in conjunction with factor analytic and reliability analysis will be developed in the context of psychometric assessment. Data screening and the many and complex assumptions underlying the analyses covered within this module will be considered, and students will use appropriate techniques to evaluate the extent to which such assumptions have been met. Throughout the module, students will have the opportunity to see how these analytical methods are presented and utilized in contemporary psychological literature. Students will also have the opportunity to further reflect on the BPS’s latest Code of Ethics and Conduct, and explore the distinction between ethical and legal practice.   Students will be given the opportunity to apply content from this module to their specific programme area through activities such as class discussions, seminar activities and readings, and individual and group work.  Additionally, implications of the module requirements for student employability will be reflected on.
  2. This module will build on foundation level modules to further enhance knowledge and understanding of qualitative methods and analysis. It will focus on various approaches within qualitative psychological research (e.g IPA, Discourse Analysis and Thematic Analysis) appreciating the strengths, limitations and the philosophical assumptions underlying each approach. It will enable students to consider how research questions are developed and how these inform the choice of the method. Students will have the opportunity to conduct a qualitative study, gain the experience of collecting qualitative data, and explore the research process within qualitative inquiry (devising an interview schedule, conducting one-to-one semi-structured interviews, recording data, transcription of qualitative data). Students will develop their understanding of application of Thematic Analysis in qualitative research, as well as develop their ability to analyse textual data (code, coding, and developing themes). Topics, where possible, will make theoretical links with other modules running concurrently; enabling students to apply qualitative report writing skills in future research projects. Furthermore, students will continue to explore the important distinctions between ethical and legal practice.   Students will be given the opportunity to apply content from this module to their specific programme area through activities such as class discussions, seminar activities and readings, and individual and group work.
  3. This year-long module allows you to engage with a real-world industry that reflects your career aspirations. Supported by tutors, you critically reflect on your passions and skills to be work-ready following your graduation.
  4. In this module, students will be introduced to key concepts, issues and studies within the fields of social psychology and individual differences.  Examples of the breadth and depth of issues which students may explore include attitudes, attribution, intelligence, inter-group behaviour, Intelligence, Personality, Prejudice and Discrimination, Personality, and Social Influence. Issues of measurement and testing, including psychometric testing, reliability, validity and usage will be explored.  Students will explore both classic social psychological and individual differences approaches to these phenomenon, as well as looking at recent research, debates, and developments within the field.  Students will be given the opportunity to apply content from this module to their specific programme area through activities such as class discussions, seminar activities and readings, and individual and group work. Consideration will be given to the research methodology underpinning the evidence based explored within this module. Implications of the module requirements for student employability will be reflected on throughout the module.
  5. This module covers the key processes associated with cognition as well as the biological and neurological underpinnings of such cognitive processes. The module also introduces cognitive psychology as a specific approach to understanding behaviour with its emphasis on theoretically led hypothesis and the experimental testing of these hypotheses to further develop theory. Additionally, consideration will be given to the research methodology underpinning the evidence based explored within this module. The module will provide depth in knowledge in the cognitive and biological aspects of psychology including understanding the principles of neuronal transmission, basic neuroanatomy, basic psychopharmacology, key cognitive processes such as memory, perception, attention, and language, and how neuropsychological functioning relates to cognitive processing. The empirical component of this module will require students to consider and apply the latest BPS’s Code of Ethics and Conduct. Students will be given the opportunity to apply content from this module to their specific programme area through activities such as class discussions, seminar activities and readings, and individual and group work, and implications of the module requirements for student employability will be reflected on.
  6. This module builds upon the first year course and particularly the modules PYU414 Foundations of Psychology and PYU416 Research Design and Analysis. Developmental Psychology is generally viewed as one of several core areas in the discipline. This module, however, suggests that developmental psychology must be viewed as something more important and pervasive: All areas of the study of human existence can only be fully understood if a developmental perspective is adopted in the sense that all behaviour develops either by evolution (phylogeny) or during the lifespan of the organism (ontogeny). Furthermore, this module places developmental psychology in the wider context of studying the human condition by exploring not only the phylogeny and ontogeny of behaviour and thought but also their function (and dysfuction) and mechanism.  Students will be given the opportunity to apply content from this module to their specific programme area through activities such as class discussions, seminar activities, which provide formative feedback that directly leads into the summative feedback of the examination, and readings, and individual and group work.  The module is fully complemented by auditory and visual aids, including the use of Panopto recordings. Consideration will be given to the research methodology underpinning the evidence based explored within the area this module explores by means of critical reviews of research papers, Implications of the module requirements for student employability will be reflected on.   Students will be given the opportunity to apply content from this module to their specific programme area through activities such as class discussions, seminar activities and readings, and individual and group work.
  7. This module will focus on developing an understanding of the need to work in partnership “with” children, young people and families in different contexts in order to promote participation and to challenge deficit assumptions about those with whom we work. It will critically analyse different theories and approaches to participation and begin to challenge the power that practitioners exercise when making decisions that affect children, young people and families.
  1. This tutored double module provides students with the opportunity to select an area of particular interest to them within the field of Psychology and Childhood Studies and to design, plan and execute an in-depth empirical research project in their chosen area. Students will be required to produce a brief initial research proposal, for discussion with their supervisor. The proposal is then used as a basis for developing an application for Newman University ethical approval, which must be achieved prior to commencing data collection.  The research design should include either quantitative and/or qualitative analyses and draw upon and critically evaluate a range of both classic and contemporary research findings throughout. A poster presentation detailing the research process and findings will also be an assessed element.
  2. This course will introduce students to a number of controversies, conceptual issues, and philosophical debates in contemporary psychology.  Students will be introduced to competing philosophical perspectives within psychology, and will explore how the philosophical stance adopted by psychologists may affect their assumptions about the nature of psychological phenomenon.  Student will explore how this in turn may affect the kinds of knowledge which may be produced or uncovered. Students will engage with issues concerning the conceptual reliability of validity of psychological research, including grappling with what the core aims of psychology as a discipline are, how well psychology may be addressing these aims, how psychology as a discipline has changed and developed over time, and how psychology could be different. Students will be given the opportunity to apply content from this module to their specific programme area through activities such as class discussions, seminar activities and readings, and individual and group work.  Consideration will be given to the research methodology underpinning the evidence based explored within this module. Implications of the module requirements for student employability will be reflected on.
  3. This module builds upon the second year module Human Development: An Ethological Approach (PYU516) and applies an understanding of contextualised development in an educational setting. Educational Psychology explores various and seemingly discrete issues associated with the dynamic between teaching and learning. These issues include the qualities of a good teacher, the environment of the classroom, the form and function of assessment, diversity and the use of blended approaches to teaching and learning. This module also affords students the opportunity to work in groups to ascertain various pragmatic issues that may confront practicing educational psychologists in the field. Consideration will be given to the research methodology underpinning the evidence based explored within the area this module explores by means of critical reviews of research papers Implications of the module requirements for student employability will be reflected on.
  4. This module is for level 6 students who wish to select this module option to explore our understanding of health, wellbeing and illness, from a biopsychosocial perspective.. The module explores key theoretical models (e.g., TPB HBM, SOC), which attempt to explain and predict health-related behaviour (e.g., smoking, alcohol, diet, physical activity & ultra violet radiation rays), and examine the practical applications of these models on health, wellbeing and illness.
  5. This module will provide students with the opportunity to explore historical and contemporary concerns that have served to shape policy and practice. Students will explore current legislation and its implications for practice for all those working with the young and vulnerable adults. A clearer understanding will be gained of the different roles and responsibilities of those working in the area of safeguarding. Consideration will be given to the impact that abuse can have on the lives of victims and their families.
  6. This module will provide students with the opportunity to explore current legislation and its implications for practice for all those working with children, young people and adults with care experience. The module will seek to examine the rhetoric within policy and initiatives concerning children who are in Care and the underlying political ideologies around the role of the state in caring for children. Students will investigate the range of provision for people with care experience including models popular in other countries. A wide view of the diverse needs of children, young people and adults with care experience will be presented, underlining the challenges in balancing protection and support with learning and development and the associated importance of partnership and collaborative working.
  7. At levels 4 and 5 students will have been introduced to notions of inclusive practice, the effects of discrimination and the need for practitioners to understand what lies behind the concept of social justice when it comes to working with children, young people and families. This module offers students at level 6 the chance to develop their thinking about how they can best work with children and families to alleviate or overcome barriers to equality and justice in service design and delivery. The context for this will be an exploration of the concept of ‘anti-oppressive’ practice and will include an examination of the skills needed to work in this way.