Child Life Practicum Program
Gain valuable pre-internship experience through our child life practicum.
Thank you for your interest in the practicum program with the child life department at Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital. The practicum provides students with an introductory experience for those pursuing a career as a child life professional.
As a practicum student, experiential learning and observing Certified Child Life Specialists will allow you to begin to increase your knowledge of basic skills related to play, developmental assessment and integration of child life theory into interventions with children of all ages and their families.
Through these experiences, you can enhance your knowledge of the child life profession and investigate the process of applying child life and developmental theory into practice.
The practicum is structured so that you complete up to 40 hours per week for four weeks during the summer semester, in June and July. These hours may include evenings and weekends.
Completing a practicum at Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital does NOT guarantee a clinical placement for a child life internship/fellowship at our facility, nor does it guarantee future employment at Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital.
Eligibility requirements
You must be/have:
- Enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate child life degree or closely related degree program
- Receiving academic credit for practicum experience from a Novant-Health affiliated university
- Completed at least five college-level courses that meet the Association of Child Life Professionals’ (ACLP) requirements
- A minimum overall GPA of 3.0 and a major GPA of at least 3.5
- Completed at least 50 volunteer and/or work hours with children and families in a pediatric hospital or a related facility (Related facilities include medical camps, rehabilitation centers, hospices and educational settings for children with complex medical needs.)
- Completed at least 50 volunteer and/or work hours with typically developing children in a supervised, structured setting (examples include: daycare, school, summer camp, youth coaching, etc.)
How to apply
Summer semester deadlines and dates
- Application deadline: January 9
- Acceptance deadline: February 18
- Months of placement: June-July
Submit your application
Applications must be submitted as PDF files to be considered.