**Attention Child Life Concentration Students (if you have not taken HD 426)**
Application to the Child Life Concentration should be submitted once students have completed 60 overall credit hours and at least 12 hours of HD major courses. Students must be formally accepted into the program before they can take HD 426 Hospitalized Children and Youth and before they can be scheduled for an internship. Internships require formal application to the desired hospital or health care setting, and they typically need to be arranged one semester ahead of time.
Admission and retention in the Child Life Concentration is based upon (a) satisfactory recommendation by HDFS faculty committee, (b) overall GPA of 2.5 and 2.5 GPA in the major, and (c) satisfactory completion of required courses (see UA Undergraduate Catalog). It is the student’s responsibility to make application for admission to the concentration and to provide the faculty committee with information that will help them to make a favorable recommendation on your behalf.
Applications will be reviewed once a semester. In the fall, the applications will be due the first Wednesday of October. In the spring semester, the applications will be due the first Wednesday of February. In the summer, the applications will be due the third Wednesday of May. Students will receive information regarding the committee’s decision on their application the month following each application deadline.
In addition to academic achievement and courses completed, the faculty committee will judge applications on the basis of “Standards for Academic and Clinical Preparation for Programs in Child Life” published by the Association of Child Life Professionals, which is the governing board for the profession. These standards include:
- strong personal qualities appropriate for relating to children, families, peers, supervisors, and others
- good to excellent evaluations in practicum experiences
- facility in writing and speaking
- skills in observation and documentation
- team communication and relationship skills
To apply to the concentration, please complete this application. The electronic form will ask you the following:
- Your name
- Your CWID
- Upload a 1 page resume
- Upload a 1 page paper about the role of child life specialists, how you became interested in child life, and what characteristics you display that make you a good fit for the profession
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Sherwood Burns-Nader at sburns@ches.ua.edu.
