Entrepreneurship and Early Childhood Studies

Entrepreneurship and early childhood studies is a genuinely unusual combination that brings together two fields with a shared interest in growth, development, and the creation of value. Entrepreneurship is concerned with identifying opportunities, building ventures, and developing the skills, mindset, and practical knowledge needed to turn ideas into sustainable enterprises. Early childhood studies examines the development, wellbeing, and education of young children from birth to eight, drawing on psychology, sociology, education, and health to understand how children learn, grow, and thrive.

Together, they produce graduates with both the commercial creativity to build something new and the human-centred expertise to work effectively with children and families.

At the University of Derby, this three-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, giving students who benefit from additional academic preparation access to the degree. The programme also includes a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and integrated work placement opportunities, meaning you gain substantial professional experience across both the entrepreneurship and early childhood dimensions of the degree before you graduate. This breadth of practical exposure is central to the degree's design, ensuring that academic knowledge is consistently connected to real professional contexts.

Graduates from this combination are well placed for careers in the early years and education sector, including as early years practitioners, setting managers, and family support workers, as well as in entrepreneurial and enterprise roles, including founding their own ventures in the childcare, education, or family services sectors. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in education, early childhood, business, or social enterprise, deepening their expertise in one direction or building on the combination that makes this degree distinctive.