Child Life Internship

Experience options

The program is offered once a year in the Charlotte area. Two options are available:

• Traditional internship
• Combined internship-fellowship

Please indicate if you are interested in one or in both opportunities when you submit your application.

Traditional internship

Work to become an integral member of a multidisciplinary team. In addition to clinical experiences, you'll have learning opportunities geared toward applying theory to practice, encouraging a reflective approach to your child life practice.

• Full time (40 hours/week)
• 4 months (16 weeks)
• Exposure to all areas of child life service at Hemby Children’s Hospital
• Two primary clinical rotations
• Level of responsibility progresses from observing to providing services independently
• Prepares you for the child life certification exam

Combined paid internship-fellowship

The combined child life internship-fellowship is a paid, 16-month (1.3-year) commitment that starts with the traditional internship. After completing the 4 months of the internship, you transition to a year-long fellowship as an entry-level certified child life specialist (CCLS I).

Additional benefits and opportunities of the combined child life internship-fellowship include:

• Entire experience — internship and fellowship — is paid
• Stipend to help with your expenses during the 16-week internship
• Develop additional clinical practice skills on a variety of inpatient and outpatient units
• Support care in units that have previously established child life coverage to expand on the existing staffing model
• Additional educational opportunities
• Expanded clinical supervision
• Peer mentorship

Fellows must be flexible regarding scheduling, including some night, weekend, and holiday hours.

Eligibility requirements

• College senior or college graduate with a strong background in child development or a closely related field.
  • Bachelor’s or master’s level academic preparations are accepted.
• At least 100 hours of volunteer or work experience with children individually or in group settings (e.g., camp, daycare, developmental center).
• At least 100 hours of pre-internship experience under the direct supervision of a child life specialist in a healthcare setting.
• Complete the Association of Child Life Professionals course review through Eligibility Assessment and have documented verification of a minimum of 10 approved courses.
• Receiving academic credit from a Novant Health-affiliated university
  • Your university's affiliation must be established by the time you apply and remain for the entirety of the internship.

Winter/spring 2026 internship session deadlines and dates

Hemby Children’s Hospital follows the Association of Child Life Professional’s offer and acceptance guidelines:

• Application deadline: Sept. 5, 2025
• Initial offer date: Oct. 7, 2025
• Acceptance date: Oct. 8, 2025

Submit your application

We accept the Association of Child Life Professional’s Common Application. Indicate in your application if you are interested in one or both opportunities.

Email your completed application to Hemby@NovantHealth.Org. Include your name and the name of the academic institution you are affiliated with in the subject line.

Questions

For questions or concerns, contact Hemby Children's Hospital or the Association of Child Life Professionals.