Childhood and Youth Studies with Criminology

Childhood and youth studies with criminology is a degree that examines two deeply connected areas of contemporary concern. Childhood and youth studies analyses the experiences, rights, development, and social contexts of children and young people, asking how institutions, families, communities, and wider social forces shape growing up. Criminology investigates crime and the criminal justice system, asking who commits offences, why, and how society responds.

The connection between the two is substantial: young people are significantly over-represented both as victims of crime and as those who come into contact with the criminal justice system, and understanding that intersection requires the insights of both disciplines.

At the University of Portsmouth, this three-year, full-time degree focuses specifically on children and young people aged eight to eighteen, exploring the issues that affect this group and the role of the criminal justice system in their lives. You will examine theories of child and adolescent development, the sociology of childhood and youth, the causes and consequences of youth offending, the operation of youth justice, and the policies and practices designed to support young people at risk. The combination develops your critical and analytical skills alongside a deep empathy for the populations you study.

The programme includes a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, which bring professional experience and international perspective into your academic development.

Graduates work in youth justice, probation, social work, child protection, youth work, education welfare, victim support, policy, and the voluntary sector. The combination of childhood studies with criminology is particularly well suited to roles in youth offending teams, looked-after children services, and organisations working with young people at risk. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in social work, criminology, education, or child welfare, deepening their expertise for specialist professional roles.