Internship Program Information

The child life internship program provides intense working experience in child life. We place an emphasis on candidates with a strong background in child development.

Required Academic Background

Senior in college or completed bachelor's or master's degree.

Suggested Majors (may include but are not exclusive to)

• Child life
• Child development
• Human growth and development
• Child psychology

Required Experience

• Supervised involvement with healthy children.
• Supervised involvement with children in the health care setting, e.g. volunteer experience.
• Solid understanding of child development through course work and experience.
• Introductory understanding of/exposure to child life through readings, course work and experience.

Expectations of Student

• Commitment of one (1) full semester (14 weeks), 40 hours/week.
• Flexible schedule to include some weekends and evenings.
• Provide on-site supervisor with list of expectations, requirements, evaluation from university and maintain contact with university supervisor.
• Required readings, weekly journal, and final project.

Child Life Department Responsibilities

• Child life supervisor who will communicate with university supervisor.
• Weekly supervision meetings.
• Exposure to a variety of ages and diagnostic groups.
• Multi-disciplinary setting.
• Flexibility to tailor internship experience to student's needs and interests.
• Normalizing and therapeutically oriented interactions with patients and families.
• Opportunities for continuing education.

Recommendations

• We strongly suggest that students do not have an outside job during this internship.
• We recommend that applicants contact the Child Life Council to gain more information about the child life profession.