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Course type: Masters degree
Credits: 180

Credits

Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.

One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.

You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.

For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
How long it takes: 3 years part-time study
Read more about how long it takes
Study method: Distance learning
Course cost: Postgraduate loan available
See Fees and funding
Entry requirements: Find out more about; Entry requirements

MA in Childhood and Youth

: Course code: F55

Explore childhood and youth through an interdisciplinary approach that blends theory, policy and practice. Designed for graduates and professionals considering the field, this postgraduate degree enhances understanding and develops practice using global case studies that link theory to practical applications. You'll explore diverse contexts of young lives, policy changes and critical reflective practice, and the dissertation module includes a small-scale inquiry or an extended literature review and research proposal. While this degree doesn’t provide professional recognition, graduates with backgrounds in Childhood and Youth Studies, Early Years, Education Studies, Social Work or Health and Social Care will find it particularly relevant.

Module	Credits	Next start
Children and young people’s worlds (E808) Discover the evolving field of Childhood and Youth Studies, exploring children’s rights, inequality, mental health, and digital lives in a global context. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026
Or, if you have successfully completed EE806, you may count this module towards Stage 1 of this qualification.

Module

Credits

Next start

Children and young people’s worlds (E808)

Discover the evolving field of Childhood and Youth Studies, exploring children’s rights, inequality, mental health, and digital lives in a global context.

See full description

03 Oct 2026

Or, if you have successfully completed EE806, you may count this module towards Stage 1 of this qualification.

Module	Credits	Next start
Frameworks for critical practice with children and young people (E809) This masters-level module aims to enable those working with children and young people to progress professionally and academically, and to develop as critical, reflective practitioners. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026 FINAL

Module

Credits

Next start

Frameworks for critical practice with children and young people (E809)

This masters-level module aims to enable those working with children and young people to progress professionally and academically, and to develop as critical, reflective practitioners.

See full description

03 Oct 2026 FINAL

Module	Credits	Next start
Masters multi-disciplinary dissertation: education, childhood and youth (E822) Complete your masters with a dissertation tailored to your qualification, offering hands-on research or a literature-based proposal in education, childhood or youth studies. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026

Module

Credits

Next start

Masters multi-disciplinary dissertation: education, childhood and youth (E822)

Complete your masters with a dissertation tailored to your qualification, offering hands-on research or a literature-based proposal in education, childhood or youth studies.

See full description

03 Oct 2026

Credit transfer

If you’ve successfully completed some relevant postgraduate study elsewhere, you may be able to count it towards Stage 1 of this qualification by applying for credit transfer, reducing the number of modules you need to study. Credit transfer will also impact the time you have to complete this qualification, and the seven-year time limit will start from the time your credit transfer was completed. So, for example, if you use credit transfer that you were awarded two years ago, you will need to complete the remaining 120 credits in five years.

You should apply for credit transfer as soon as possible, before you register for your first module. For more details and an application form, visit our Credit Transfer website.

On completion

On successfully completing this course, we’ll award you our MA in Childhood and Youth. You’ll be entitled to use the letters MA (CY) (Open) after your name.

If your masters degree is awardable with a distinction or a merit, the qualification regulations explain how you can achieve these.

You’ll have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony.

You may also be able to claim the related Postgraduate Certificate in Childhood and Youth Studies (K32) – although this is not available if you have used credit transfer or counted previous study towards your qualification – and/or the Postgraduate Diploma in Childhood and Youth Studies (E93).

To gain all three qualifications, you must study them in sequence (postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma and then the MA).

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.

MA in Childhood and Youth

We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available modules – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which the University might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us. This description was last updated on 18 March 2025.

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MA in Childhood and Youth

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