Frequently Asked Questions

Our child life specialists work with patients from infancy through adolescence and their families to make their hospital visit easier and more comfortable. For more information about the child life profession, visit the Association of Child Life Professionals.

We offer a student shadowing opportunity. Contact our child life manager, Ashley Ochs, for information on the application process for the student shadowing program.

• The focus of the child life practicum is observation of the hospitalized child, working alongside a certified child life specialist. The goal of the practicum program is to familiarize the student to the hospital environment and to connect what they are learning in the classroom to real life experiences.
   
• The focus of the child life internship is clinical skill development. Our ACLP accredited child life internship is for students whose career goal is to become a certified child life specialist. The internship provides students with the opportunity for a hands-on approach to learning child life skills through experience and with guidance from a certified child life specialist.

Practicums are offered in the spring, and internships are offered in the fall.

Our practicum program is 12 weeks long. This is a 16 hour per week experience.

Our internship program is 16 weeks long and is 40 hours per week.

We do not accept internship applications from students who participated in our child life practicum program. Completing your child life practicum and internship experiences in different hospitals will provide a broader and more enriched view of the field.

Yes. A child life practicum program must be near completion or completed to apply for our internship program. Practicums must be successfully completed prior to the internship start date.

Spend some time exploring the website of our profession, the Association of Child Life Professionals. The most current information about the field is available. No matter your previous experiences, you will be required to complete the same student pathway as others who are entering the field. This will include volunteering, practicum and internship opportunities.

No. Once accepted into the program, students are responsible for securing their own housing.

Yes. Students will park in an assigned hospital parking area.