MS in Child Life and Family-Centered Intendance

This program is endorsed by the Association of Child Life Professionals.

BU Wheelock'southward Child Life and Family-Centered Care program is a unique and historic program. It was the first academic program in the country and the showtime program to be endorsed past the Association of Kid Life Professionals (ACLP),  making information technology i of the virtually highly respected programs in the field. Our alumni have gone on to shape the future of this growing and of import profession.

As a educatee in our Child Life & Family-Centered Care master's program, you'll join a cohort of peers in a unique, concurrently practiced written report and fieldwork program designed to prepare you to successfully enter the Child Life profession.

Your coursework will focus on the psychosocial needs of children and families in health intendance settings and the implementation, documentation, and assessment of developmentally advisable child life interventions. Yous'll besides develop your skills in a clinical setting as an intern nether the supervision of both a Child Life Specialist and programme faculty member. Chiefly, you'll larn to effectively support children of different ages, cultures, and medical conditions, as well as the needs of their families in healthcare settingsand how child life specialists interact with the interprofessional healthcare squad.

See what some of our alumni have to say here!

Essential Questions

In this program, you will be required to complete a minimum of 48 credits. Full-time study is encouraged, and about students consummate our program in three semesters.

Our program is highly competitive. If y'all are not accepted, you are welcomed to reapply for the following semester.

This program requires applicants to verify that they have completed a minimum of 100 hours of volunteer or practicum nether a certified Child Life Specialist in a pediatric health care child life program before entering the plan. At least 50 of these hours should be completed by the application borderline. Applicants will submit a verification alphabetic character signed by their supervising practitioner. Successful completion of a child development course is highly recommended

To run across the types of financial aid bachelor to students at BU Wheelock, delight visit our website here for more information. For questions about fiscal help and your options for funding your graduate degree, delight email Wheelock Graduate Financial Assistance at wheaid@bu.edu to speak further.

BU Wheelock does offer some online courses, and you may exist able to incorporate some online coursework into your programme. Online coursework options will depend on course availability, certification requirements, and counselor approval. Required internships are completed at a range of hospital/healthcare settings.

Our internship integration is one of the characteristics that set'south our program autonomously from others. We offer two internships, one for 400 hours and a 2nd internship for 200 hours which meets the current ACLP expectations. Our program is designed to integrate internship experiences with classroom learning.

During the fall semester, students meet with our internship coordinator to discuss their previous experiences and make up one's mind what type of hospital or healthcare setting may be beneficial for their professional growth. Students are matched with two interviewing sites. Each site has indicated a willingness to accept a BU Wheelock student, but the final decision about who they will have is upward to the site. Should a educatee non exist accepted at either potential placement, they volition demand to discuss options with the child life faculty, including the possibility of needing to expect until the following twelvemonth to brainstorm their internship experiences.

Students have completed internships in a diverseness of healthcare institutions in the Boston, Worcester, and Providence area. Students should either have a machine or program public transportation options and costs to travel to their internship sites.

Students are commonly placed in hospitals located in Eastern Massachusetts. If y'all have a connectedness elsewhere and desire to pursue other options, you may piece of work with the internship coordinator to determine if this tin be arranged.

Yes, this program prepares students to sit for the Association of Child Life Professionals certification exam automatically upon graduation.

The get-to source for information virtually the profession, other academic courses, certification requirements, and professional development can be located on the website for our professional person association, the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) www.childlife.org. Student memberships are reasonable and you may want to consider joining now to keep up on bug in the field.

Programme Vision Statement

Every bit faculty and students of the Child Life and Family-Centered Care program:

Nosotros acknowledge and respect families every bit they nowadays themselves, honoring the multifariousness and individuality they possess.

We strive toward the provision of culturally sensitive intendance through acknowledgment of personal biases and commitment to lifelong learning.

We strive to reduce the negative bear upon of stressful or traumatic events on the psychosocial wellbeing of children, youth, and families through relationships built on trust, respect, and professional competence.

We piece of work to enhance the optimal growth and development of infants, children and youth through assessment, intervention, advocacy, and education.

We embrace the value of play equally a healing modality and a primal tool for facilitating communication, mastery, and coping.

We adhere to a code of ethics and standards of clinical practice outlined past the Clan of Child Life Professionals.

May 2021

Program Coursework

The programme is set up as a accomplice model, meaning you will take courses with other students entering the program at the same time as you. This has created an effectively supportive environment for learning. The program's core coursework focuses on the psychosocial needs of children and families in health intendance settings and the implementation, documentation, and assessment of developmentally appropriate child life interventions. The plan of study is outlined below:

Semester I (Autumn Entry/Leap Entry)

SED CL 520 Child Development and Family in Healthcare 4 credits
SED CL 521 Methods and Materials in Child life 4 credits
SED CF 737 Working with Parents 4 credits
SED HD 526 The Significant and Development of Play 4 credits

Semester Ii (Fall Entry/Spring Entry)

SED CL 522 Clinical Issues in Child Development and Kid Life 4 credits
SED CL 523 Clinical Internship (400 hours) and Seminar 8 credits
SED CF 617 Bereavement Care four credits

Semester Three (Fall Entry/Spring Entry)

SED CL 620 Child Life Programme Development iv credits
SED CL 621 Clinical Internship (200 hours) and Seminar 4 credits
SED RS 600 Introduction to Enquiry 4 credits
SED CF 510 Child and Adolescent Mental Wellness four credits

Career Outcomes

  • Certified Child Life Specialists work in a broad range of healthcare settings, from hospitals to community healthcare centers.
  • Graduates of our programme are also advocates for the advocacy of the Child Life profession, and many have taken on administrative leadership roles.

Plan Requirements

  • Visit the BU Bulletin for information on this program's bookish requirements.

Plan Faculty

Claire White, CCLS, is a Senior Lecturer and full-fourth dimension faculty member who is also the program manager.

Paul Thayer is a Clinical Associate Professor and full-fourth dimension faculty member.

Carolyn Gallagher, CCLS, is a Clinical Teacher and half fourth dimension faculty member who also coordinates the internship program.

Suzanne Graca, CCLS, is a Clinical Teacher and half fourth dimension kinesthesia member.

Ann Herzog, CCLS, is a Clinical Instructor and half time faculty member.

Contact Info

For more than information most this program and requirements for admission please contact, Plan Directors, Dr. Paul Thayer (pthayer@bu.edu) and Claire White (cmwhite@bu.edu).

Next Steps

Background Checks

Students who are admitted into BU Wheelock routinely participate in field experiences as a part of their respective program curriculum and requirements. Most field sites require criminal background checks to determine students' eligibility for participation. History of a criminal groundwork may disqualify students from participating in these required experiences, which in plough may impede the successful completion of one'due south caste program