The Child Family Life department at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s hospital provides internship and practicum opportunities during the fall and spring semesters and abides by the Child Life Council’s standards for application deadlines.
Child Life Internship
Our internship program is available to last semester seniors, bachelor graduates, and graduate students. It is a 16 week, 640 hour unpaid internship that includes experiences on inpatient, outpatient, and ancillary units.
Entrance Requirements
The following minimum entrance requirements are consistent with national standards endorsed by the Child Life Council:
- Bachelor’s Degree or last semester senior
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- Verifiable Supervised Clinical Experience
- At least 100 hours of well child experience
- At least 100 hours of experience with hospitalized children
- Have had experience with all age groups of children; infant/toddler, school-aged, and adolescent. Experience with a variety of developmental levels & cultures is beneficial.
- Ability to commit to child life internship. The University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital offers a 16 week, 640 hour full time internship. Work hours vary depending upon the needs of the patients on each unit.
- Ability to participate in a mandatory personal interview
- Ability to pass a mandatory health screening
The Application Process
Individuals meeting the minimum entrance requirements may submit an application to the following address:
University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital
Child Family Life Department, Internship Coordinator
2450 Riverside Ave, MB #225
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Applications not containing all of the following components will be considered incomplete. A complete application must include the following:
- A fully completed “Common Child Life Internship Application” as produced by the Child Life Council
- Professional resume outlining academic and clinical experiences, as well as other qualifications
- College transcripts along with an official eligibility assessment report
- Two letters of recommendation from faculty, supervisors, employers, or advisors who have directly observed and can assess your work with children, parents, and professionals. Recommendations must address specific knowledge and skills relevant to your work
Child Life Practicum
The Child Life Practicum is designed as an introductory experience for individuals interested in pursuing a career in child life. Through experiential learning and observation of Certified Child Life Specialists, child life practicum students begin to increase their knowledge of basic child life skills related to play, developmental assessment, and integration of child life theory into interventions with infants, children, youth and families. Child life practicum students will increase their comfort level by interacting with infants, children, youth, and families in stressful situations, health care settings and/or in programs designed for special needs populations. Through these experiences, child life practicum students will enhance their knowledge of the child life profession and investigate the process of applying child life and developmental theory to practice.
Entrance Requirements
The following are the minimum entrance requirements:
- Must be currently enrolled in, or have completed a course taught by, a Certified Child Life Specialist
- Must be affiliated with an educational institution (i.e. currently enrolled in a course at a college or university throughout your practicum experience)
- Have had experience with all age groups of children; infant/toddler, school-aged, and adolescent. Experience with a variety of developmental levels & culture is beneficial
- Ability to commit to child life practicum. The University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital offers a 100 hour, 10 week observational practicum. Work hours vary depending upon the needs of the patients on each unit
- Ability to participate in a mandatory personal interview
- Ability to pass a mandatory health screening
- Ability to complete volunteer training and mandatory background check
The Application Process
The Fall 2017 application deadline for our practicum is March 15th, 2017. The Winter/Spring 2018 application deadline is September 5th, 2017.
- Complete child life practicum application and include the following:
- Professional resume outlining academic and clinical experiences, as well as other qualifications
- Completed essay questions
- Unofficial school transcript of child life course
- Two letters of reference from non-relatives
For information on becoming a certified Child Life Specialist, please
visit the Child Life Council’s website.
