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Child Life Internship

The Child Life Department at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital typically offers one child life internship position during Fall and Spring semesters dependent on staffing. Applications are accepted from Masters level students that are currently enrolled in a graduate program. Our internship program follows the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) application deadlines and process. Please see additional requirements and guidelines below. 

Education/Experience Prerequisites

  • Masters level students in a child life graduate program or related field of study. One student per semester will be selected from the applicant pool during an internship cycle
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  • Must be currently enrolled in a degree-seeking graduate program.

  • Must demonstrate Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) for internship readiness (PDF) as defined by the Association of Child Life Professionals.

  • Applicants must closely follow all ACLP internship application guidelines and criteria including ACLP Eligibility Assessment, required coursework (One course taught by a Certified Child Life Specialist, Two child development courses, One family systems course, play course, One loss/bereavement or death and dying course, One research course, and Three additional related courses), unofficial transcripts, and documentation of relevant experience hours in hospital settings and non-hospital settings.

Application & Deadlines

MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital follows the Association of Child Life Professionals application deadlines and process, including acceptance and offer procedures. We typically offer Fall and Spring placements, but do not offer a summer internship program. All notifications and communications are conducted through email. Applications must be emailed by the ACLP deadline date or it will not be considered.

Please see the following submission instructions

  • Students must send one email to childlifeinternship@musc.edu with a completed ACLP Internship Readiness Common Application attached in PDF format. 

  • The email subject line must be formatted as follows: “Student First and Last Name- School” (ex: Jane Doe-USA University) 

  • Applicants will be individually notified if selected to participate in the interview process. 

  • Please refrain from including additional documents or supplemental material beyond the ACLP Internship Readiness Common Application in the initial application. 

  • We may request references after initial interviews. 

  • If you would like delivery confirmation for any emailed items, please send the email with a delivery receipt. Due to application volume we are unable to manually confirm receipt of items or answer individual questions/feedback requests.

Additional Internship Information

The child life internship is 15-week (600 hours) unpaid clinical experience. The intern program schedule consists of a one-week orientation, two six-week rotations, and one week in an alternate clinical setting. The selected student will be supervised by experienced Certified Child Life Specialists. The intern’s schedule is dependent on the area served and may include evening and weekend hours.

Clinical areas may include

  • Acute Care Inpatient Units
  • Cardiac Care Unit
  • Cancer and Blood Disorders Unit & Clinic
  • Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
  • Inpatient Surgery
  • Ambulatory Surgery
  • Pediatric Procedure Areas
  • Emergency Department
  • Radiology

Communication

All internship applications are managed by the MUSC Child Life Internship Committee through email (childlifeinternship@musc.edu). This email is not actively monitored during non-application periods, so please be patient with inquiries during those times. You will receive an automatic reply during the non-application periods that contains the most up- to-date information for our internship process.

Other common inquiries

  • Practicum programming is separate from the internship program. Our practicum program (not internship) is affiliated with a local university; we do not accept external practicum students.
  • Information on volunteering in the child life department can be located on our Volunteer Information page. 
  • Inquiries for the child life department that are unrelated to internship should be sent to childlifedept@musc.edu.