Child Life Internship

Please note: Applicants must submit their ACLP application via email by the application deadline. Students are welcome to contact the program to confirm that an internship is available prior to submitting application materials.
 

Email for application or questions: childlife@umassmemorial.org

The Child Life Program at UMass Memorial Health’s Children's Medical Center offers a full-time, 16-week (at least 600 hour) internship experience under the supervision of our certified child life specialists. Interns complete will typically complete two rotations in different clinical areas. We will also offer additional learning opportunities for interns, such as shadowing opportunities with child life specialists in other areas of the Medical Center, and attendance at multidisciplinary meetings, Pediatric Grand Rounds, and staff meetings. In addition to their clinical responsibilities, interns are assigned a weekly journal, readings, a case study and other assignments that follow the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) internship curriculum modules to enhance their learning. We are committed to ensuring that students receive the clinical skills and theoretical understanding during their internship to be well prepared for the certification exam and entry into the child life field.

We typically offer one internship placement for each session: fall and winter/spring. We are currently not offering internships during the summer. To be considered for an internship, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Be a matriculated student enrolled in a child life or closely related degree program during the time of internship
• Be eligible to sit for the ACLP Certification Examination upon completion of the internship (This includes having completed the required course taught by a certified child life specialist)
• Have completed some volunteer hours with children in a health care setting   

Our institution follows the ACLP’s internship application, offer and acceptance deadlines. If the due date falls on a weekend or holiday, applications are due the next business day. We cannot consider applications that are received after the deadline.

• Winter/spring applications are due September 7
• Fall applications are due March 15

To apply for an internship at UMass Memorial Health- Children’s Medical Center, students must submit the following materials (additional materials will not be considered as part of the application):

• A complete ACLP approved Child Life Internship Application (https://aclp.smapply.io/)
• Academic transcript(s) from all colleges/universities attended (unofficial transcripts are acceptable)

Send the completed application and transcripts to childlife@umassmemorial.org. Materials cannot be submitted in paper form.

Following the submission deadline, our program will review application materials and contact the candidates whom we would like to interview to schedule a date and time. Onsite interviews are preferred, but virtual interviews may be arranged in some circumstances.

For further information, email childlife@umassmemorial.org or call 774-443-2549.