Child Life Internship

Child life internship (San Francisco)

Internship requirements

San Francisco's internship program is accredited by the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP). To qualify for the program, you must have:

• 100 hours of experience working with well infants, children, youths or families
• 100 hours of experience working with infants, children, youths or families in stressful situations, health care settings or programs designed for children with special needs
• Successfully completed child life coursework in the six applied areas of study required by the ACLP
• Completed the academic coursework portion of the ACLP's eligibility assessment
• Completed the child life internship application

Before beginning the internship, you must also:

• Provide photo ID and proof of health clearance; immunizations, including for COVID-19; and an up-to-date TB test.
• Provide documentation of liability insurance coverage, either through a university affiliated with UCSF or private liability insurance. (We accept nonaffiliated students.)

During the program, you must be willing to:

• Work a minimum of 40 hours a week, including holidays, evenings and weekends
• Meet weekly with your rotation supervisor and internship coordinator
• Keep a journal, including sample chart notes and developmental assessments
• Create personal goals and rotation goals
• Prepare a case study and present to the Child Life Services team
• Observe in-service trainings as requested
• Attend weekly classes taught by the Child Life Services team
• Complete rotations as assigned
• Prepare a significant project that directly benefits Child Life Services and its goals, which must be approved by the internship coordinator and rotation supervisor

Internship program structure

Interns work at the bedside with a certified child life specialist conducting therapeutic play, diagnosis teaching, preparation, procedural support, sibling support, charting and more.

The 15-week program consists of:

• Week 1: Orientation with internship coordinator
• Rotation 1 (six weeks) and rotation 2 (six weeks) with a certified child life specialist
• Two elective weeks
• Weekly meetings with internship coordinator
• Weekly classes with the Child Life Services team

Internship hours are mostly completed during the week, with some holiday, weekend and evening hours.

A rotation supervisor is assigned to each intern. Your supervisor will meet with you once a week to discuss goals, journal entries, a case study and specific rotations and interventions.

Internship application process

Please make sure you meet all the requirements listed above before applying for the internship.

To apply, please complete our online application.

We also require two completed ACLP letter of recommendation forms:

• Academic (from someone affiliated with an academic institution)
• Clinical (from someone affiliated with a clinical institution)

Your references can submit their letter of recommendation forms online.

We follow the ACLP's application deadlines. Once the due date has passed, we will contact you after reviewing your application. The internship committee reviews the applications of all candidates who meet the requirements. If chosen as a finalist, you will be interviewed by the internship coordinator and supervisors.

We accept up to two child life interns per semester.

Child life internship (Oakland)

The Child Life Services Department at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland offers full-time internships to qualified students enrolled in a graduate child life program. The internship is a 600-hour, 15-week program designed to prepare students for a career as a child life specialist. The internship aligns with the recommendations of the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) but is not yet an accredited program.

Internship requirements

To qualify for the program, you must have:

• At least 100 hours of paid or unpaid pediatric hospital experience
• Active enrollment in a graduate child life program

Before beginning the internship, you must also:

• Complete a background check conducted by UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland
• Provide proof of immunizations, including for COVID-19, and an up-to-date TB test

Internship program structure

Our child life internship is a comprehensive learning experience that includes therapeutic play activities, advocacy strategies, preparation and procedural support.

The 15-week program consists of:

• Two six-week rotations and one three-week rotation on an inpatient or outpatient unit
• Weekly meetings with your rotation supervisor
• Monthly meetings with your clinical supervisor

Internship application process

Please refer to the ACLP guidelines for internship application deadlines. We will be accepting applications for the winter/spring and summer 2023 semesters. 

To apply, complete and sign the ACLP Common Child Life Internship Application.

Applicants will be considered for an interview only if the application includes all items in the application checklist. Applications won't be reviewed until we receive all items, including an official ACLP eligibility report, a cover letter and a resume.

Please also complete and submit all relevant supplements included in the internship application, such as the confirmation of child life course in-progress form and the child life practicum in-progress form.

Prepare and submit the following additional documents with your application:

• Academic transcripts
  Unofficial transcripts are acceptable for the application. If accepted for the internship, candidates must supply official transcripts upon request. Include transcripts for any undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate work.
• Two child life internship candidate common recommendation forms
  These are included as supplements in the internship application. One form should be from someone affiliated with an academic institution, and the other should be from a qualified representative of your hospital experience, preferably from a certified child life specialist who supervised you. Letters of reference from both sources, along with the reference forms, are strongly recommended. Your references may submit recommendation forms and letters of reference via email.
• Supplemental essay questions
  Write two 300-500 word essays responding to the following questions in separate documents: 1) What are your core values when working with vulnerable populations, such as children and families in a health care setting? 2) Describe a challenging experience you had working with a hospitalized patient. Would you have done anything differently? If you're applying for a second internship, please describe an experience from your previous internship.
• Diversity, equity and inclusion statement
  The selected intern will receive a $4,000 equity stipend. University policy states that a candidate's race or gender may not be considered in the selection process. However, to attract excellent interns who will contribute to the university's diversity imperative, a written diversity statement will be weighed as part of the child life internship application.

In 1,000 words or less, please describe how you have contributed to increasing diversity, equity and inclusion. Special consideration may be given to:

• Candidates who have engaged in service to increase participation in science by groups underrepresented in their field. This could include participation in programs designed to remove barriers facing women, minorities, veterans and people with disabilities, or an exceptional record mentoring underrepresented students and peers.
• Candidates who have contributed to systems and theories of different learning styles. This could include designing courses or curricula that meet the needs of educationally disadvantaged children or developing effective teaching strategies for children from underrepresented groups in child life services.
• Candidates with life experiences and educational backgrounds that enhance their understanding of the barriers facing minorities.
• Candidates who have significant experience with children and families who are underrepresented in child life services.
• Motivated candidates who display the drive to persist and succeed in child life despite barriers in the field that disadvantage them.
• Candidates with potential to bring the creative, critical discourse of their nontraditional educational background or training to their practice.
• Candidates with the communication skills and cultural consciousness to maximize collaboration with a diverse community of patients and families.
• Candidates active in subjects that will contribute to diversity, equity and inclusion in the field of child life. This could include research on race, gender, diversity and inclusion; health disparities; or other issues relevant to communities historically excluded or underserved by the child life field.

When your application packet is complete, please email all documents to the address below.