The Child Life Department at Phoenix Children's offers a rigorous, 600-hour, 15-week internship designed to prepare interns for a career as a child life specialist. The internship is aligned with the recommendations of the Association of Child Life Professionals and consists of three rotations in our inpatient and outpatient units.
Through hands-on clinical experiences under the supervision of experienced Certified Child Life Specialists, students will build critical thinking and clinical skills. Ongoing education, reflective activities, case studies, and projects are designed to prepare interns to sit for the Child Life Certification Exam. We accept both affiliated and non-affiliated applicants. Phoenix’s Children’s will offer a part-time FALL 2024 internship. The application process for this cycle will follow ACLP’s approved deadlines for applications and offers. The start date for this internship will be adjusted to earlier in the summer to accommodate the part-time schedule but will be determined in collaboration with selected intern(s).
Internship Applicant Requirements
| 1: Education | Enrolled in an ACLP-endorsed degree program (Bachelor's or Master's) OR have successfully complete 10 courses in content areas specified by the ACLP prior to internship start date. For more detailed information, visit the ACLP website - ACLP Coursework Guidelines for Certification |
| 2: Practicum | Completion of a child life practicum supervised by a Certified Child Life Specialist in a hospital setting. The practicum may be in progress as of the application deadline and offers will be conditional upon successful completion of practicum. If the practicum is virtual, the applicant must have more than 100 hours of child life hospital volunteer experience or work as a child life assistant. Work experience as a child life assistant may be accepted in lieu of a practicum. |
| 3: CPR | Current CPR certification from any certifying organization (i.e. Red Cross, American Heart Association, etc.) is required if an internship offer is made, and proof of certification will be required prior to internship start date. |
Application Submission
The Internship Readiness Common Application can be accessed through the ACLP Application Portal. The completed application will include transcripts and the ACLP Eligibility Assessment. The Eligibility Assessment can be in progress at the time of applying, however, applicants must have all coursework completed prior to internship start date.
Once the application is complete, it must be submitted electronically through the following link - https://tinyurl.com/childlifeinternshipapp. You must submit your complete application at one time. Do not submit extra/additional items.
Phoenix Children’s follows the application, offer, and acceptance guidelines as specified by the ACLP. Applications must be submitted by the deadline dates below. For more detailed information about internship dates/deadlines, please visit the ACLP website - ACLP Internship Application Dates
| Internship Session | Application Deadline | Initial Offer Date | Acceptance Date |
| Fall | March 15 | 1st Tuesday of May | Following Wednesday |
| Spring | September 6 | 2nd Tuesday of October | Following Wednesday |
After applications are received and reviewed, a candidate may be contacted to schedule an interview. Internships are highly competitive. If an applicant is not selected for interviews, our program will send notification via email during the selection window (between application deadline and initial offer date). We strongly recommend candidates apply to multiple sites/programs as we only select a maximum of three interns per semester.
Please direct any questions to - CLinternship [at] phoenixchildrens.com (CLinternship[at]phoenixchildrens[dot]com)