Child Life Practicum
We are excited to communicate with you about Cook Children's child life practicum. This program provides child life students an opportunity to become more familiar with the field of child life and the needs of hospitalized children, youth, and families. The following is information about this program.
The online application portal for SUMMER 2023 semester will open Monday, November 28th, 2022 at 12:00pm central time. The portal will close for SUMMER 2023 on our deadline of Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at midnight central time. The online application portal for FALL 2023 semester will open Thursday, February 16th, 2023 at 12:00pm central time. The portal will close for FALL 2023 on our deadline of Wednesday, March 29th at midnight central time.
Applicant requirements
- Junior level in college or beyond
- Must have a minimum of 100 hours of paid and/or volunteer experience interacting with children, beyond required experiences for coursework
- Experience in a hospital or established child life program is preferred
- Applicants must show the following courses with a final passing grade or as "in progress" on the unofficial academic transcript:
- (1) child development course
- (1) play course
- (1) child life course
- Please view this document and visit the ACLP webpage for more detailed information about required courses.
Application information
The online application and reference request portals will open at 12:00pm (noon) Central time on Monday, July 25, 2022 to accept applications for the spring 2023 semester.
- We use the Southern Association of Child Life Professionals (SACLP) Common Child Life Practicum Application
- Consideration for child life practicum requires the student to submit a complete application and meet our program's minimum requirements
- Submitting a complete application does not guarantee a student an interview or placement
- Late applications are not considered
- Paper applications are not considered
Child Life Practicum Application Packet
Child Life Practicum Application Submission Portal
Program information and requirements
- We choose to follow the Association of Child Life Professionals recommended standards for child life practicum
- We offer child life practicum three times a year: spring, summer, and fall semesters
- Students will participate in a 5 week program gaining approximately 150-170 hours of experience
- Students will complete (2) two week rotations as well as 1 hospital wide observation week
- Students will complete the Cook Children’s child life practicum curriculum
- Required immunizations
- Full Hepatitus B Series
- MMR
- TDaP
- Varicella vaccination or titer
- Influenza Immunization
- Negative Tuberculin (TB) Test
- Covid-19 vaccination
Practicum application deadlines
CL Practicum session | Application & reference deadline | Initial offer date | Student must accept position by | 2nd offer date (if needed) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Summer 2023 | January 19th, 2023 | February 28th, 2023 12pm-4pm central time | March 1st , 2023 no later than 4pm central time | March 2nd, 2023 12pm-4pm central time |
FALL 2023 | March 29th, 2023 | May 16th, 2023 12pm-4pm central time | May 17th, 2023 no later than 4pm central time | May 18th, 2023 12pm-4pm central time |
Interview dates
- Summer 2023- Monday, February 20th, 2023
- Fall 2023- Monday, May 8th, 2023
Additional information
- Current Cook Children's volunteers are required to take a brief leave of absence from their volunteer position if selected for the Cook Children's child life practicum
Questions?
Please email ChildLifeStudents@cookchildrens.org.
Visit our frequently asked questions page to find answers to common questions.