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Early Childhood and Education (Top-up) BA(Hons)

2025-26

Start date

22 September 2025

Duration

1 year full-time

About the course

Reasons to study

  1. Further your career: past graduates work as childcare workers, teachers, play therapists and social support workers.
  2. Explore the aspects of early child education you're most interested in through an investigative project.
  3. Your personal tutor will be on hand to help ensure you have a positive learning experience.

This course is specifically aimed at International students, supporting those wishing to work within a range of early childhood education contexts, including school’s businesses and the voluntary sector. You’ll develop an understanding of the importance of early childhood education, nationally and internationally.

Why Early Childhood and Education?

  • You’ll have opportunity to make national and international comparisons, and analyse and solve problems related to early childhood education in a global context. You will have the chance to undertake an investigative project (Major Study), where you chose a specific area of study to research related to early childhood education.
  • You'll develop your knowledge and understanding of early childhood educational theory related to pedagogy and practice.
  • You’ll have the opportunity to consider specific aspects of early childhood education including, health and developing an academic understanding of early childhood education.

Course detail

Planning Your Final Year Project

This module will help you to learn how to design and conduct a final year project. It does this by exploring a range of research and design approaches, strategies and methods. The module helps you to design a project that utilises your knowledge and abilities, carry it out and evaluate its outcomes. Your final year project will focus on an empirical research, policy or practice development, documentary research, policy analysis, entrepreneurship activity, or other options in negotiation with your tutor. The module guides you towards gaining a thorough, critical understanding of project planning and evaluation, research protocols, methods, ethics and ways of doing data analysis. By the end of the module you’ll be confident and capable of designing your own rigorous and valid project.

Final Year Project

This module allows you to pursue your academic and work-related interests and to demonstrate the breadth of knowledge, understanding, and strengths that you have developed during your degree studies. You will review critical understanding of project planning and evaluation, research protocols, methods, ethics, and analysis. You will be supported in the selection of a focus for your final project, in the development of an application for ethical approval, and at each stage of your study. Your final year project will focus on an empirical research, policy or practice development, documentary research, policy analysis, entrepreneurship activity, or other options in negotiation with your tutor. This module is your opportunity to work together with a supervisor to confidently and rigorously undertake a valid project.

Entry requirements

All entrants are normally required to hold an intermediate level qualification (gained by examination) or equivalent. Broadly such qualifications can include:

  • Higher National Diploma (or equivalent)
  • An initial teaching qualification from a recognised teacher education institution
  • Successful completion of a Higher Education qualification with 120 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits (or equivalent)

Preference is for an appropriate subject such as Education or Early Childhood. However, the basic criterion will be a person's ability to benefit from the programme, so consideration will be given to holders of alternative recognised degrees or diplomas.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

Your career


This course will enable you to consider a varied range of careers in early childhood education contexts, including school’s businesses and the voluntary sector.

 

Previous graduates have progressed as childcare workers, primary and early years teachers and teaching assistants, special needs support roles, play therapist and social support workers.**

 

**LinkedIn and Graduate Employment Market Statistics (GEMS).

Student support

​At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Important information

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules:

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes:

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment, or pandemics.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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