Child life practicum at Dell Children's
Dell Children's Medical Center's Child Life Practicum is designed for current students interested in pursuing a career as a certified child life specialist.
The child life practicum is an opportunity to learn more about the child life profession and to observe and participate in child life services. The practicum student experience is focused on developing core skills in order to prepare students for a child life internship. These skills include rapport building, developmental and psychosocial assessment, increased comfort with the medical environment, play and therapeutic activities, working with a multidisciplinary team, the ability to identify coping and education strategies and professionalism. Practicum students will complete readings, written assignments and journals throughout the course of the semester to supplement hands-on learning.
Students will complete a 160 hour practicum over 12 weeks. Students will be at the hospital Tuesdays and Thursdays. A student's start and end times will vary throughout the semester and is dependent on the schedule of the assigned clinical area
Practicum placements are unpaid and do not guarantee future employment at Dell Children's Medical Center. At this time, if you complete a practicum at Dell Children’s you are not eligible to apply for our internship program. Housing, meals, transportation, and medical insurance are the responsibility of the student.
Practicum requirements
Applicants must currently be pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree and receive course credit for the practicum. At this time, the Dell Children’s Medical Center Child Life Department is only accepting applications for our practicum and internship programs from students who are affiliated with the colleges and universities listed below:
- Baylor University
- Eastern Washington University
- Ohio University
- Oklahoma State University
- Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center
- Texas Christian University
- Texas State University
- Texas Woman’s University
- The University of Central Oklahoma
- The University of Georgia
- The University of Iowa
- The University of Texas at Austin
How to apply
Applicants who meet the above requirements must submit an application to the child life education committee to be considered for an interview. Please submit all application materials together via email to dcmc-childlifestudents@ascension.org. A complete application must include all of the following:
- Completed and signed Child Life Practicum Application
- Two completed Child Life Practicum Reference Forms. One from an academic professor and one from someone who has directly observed the applicant’s work with children. Both reference forms need to be emailed directly from the person filling out the form to the student program coordinator at dcmc-childlifestudents@ascension.org
- Professional résumé including academic, child-related and other relevant experiences
- Unofficial academic transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they are received. Based on the quality of each candidate’s education and experience, a candidate may or may not be contacted for an interview. Not all candidates will be selected for an interview and not all interviewed candidates will be offered a practicum. Applicants who submit incomplete or falsified applications will not be considered.
Application deadlines
Spring 2026
Application deadline: September 5th
Initial Offer: October 7th
Fall 2025
Application Deadline: March 24th
Initial Offer: May 6th
Contact us
Dell Children’s Medical Center
Child Life Department
4900 Mueller Blvd.
Austin, TX 78723
Child Life Student Program Coordinator
dcmc-childlifestudents@ascension.org