Aspiring professionals must complete an internship to sit for the Child Life Certification Exam. Individuals are responsible for seeking out and applying to internships of interest.
Internship sites are responsible for their application process; however, ACLP strongly encourages sites to utilize the Internship Readiness Common Application. Programs are strongly encouraged to refrain from requesting additional documents during the initial submission of the application.
The following steps outline how to complete the Internship Readiness Common Application.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to determine the application process, as well as to submit their application, to any internship sites they would like to apply for.
Prior to beginning the application, applicants should determine all application requirements for each program they plan to apply at.
If the internship site utilizes the Internship Readiness Common Application, continue with the steps below.
*It is up to the applicant to review specific application requirements for each internship site.
One component of the Internship Readiness Common Application is an Eligibility Assessment. In order to submit the Internship Readiness Common Application, an applicant must have started their Eligibility Assessment.
After starting an Eligibility Assessment, applicants will then print the Evaluation Report from the Eligibility Assessment to submit as part of the application.
If the internship site utilizes the Internship Readiness Common Application fillable PDF, the applicant should complete the common application.
The Internship Readiness Common Application is a fillable PDF. Please note, the fillable PDF is a file downloaded to your computer as you complete, edit, and make changes. The file can be saved at any time to your personal device. Watch the tutorial video on how to download, fill out, save, and finalize the fillable PDF.
Please refrain from including any specific identifying information about an institution you worked at in your application. Instead, focus on describing your roles, responsibilities, and achievements in a general manner by using “this institution” or “this organization” in your application to avoid naming a specific hospital or program.
*It is up to the applicant to review specific application requirements for each internship site.
After completing the Internship Readiness Common Application, applicants are responsible for submitting the completed application to each internship site they are applying to.
A completed Internship Readiness Common Application includes the following components:
1. Evaluation Report from the Eligibility Assessment (in progress or completed)
Evaluation Report = Report from Eligibility Assessment. This can be found by logging into your account, and selecting "Evaluation Report" from the drop down menu on the top left (see photo below).
Select the "Print this page" button on the Evaluation Report to save it as a PDF (see image below).
2. Internship Readiness Common Application Fillable PDF
3. Unofficial transcripts
It is up to the applicant to review specific application requirements for each internship site.
The following videos were developed to help candidates complete the Internship Readiness Common Application Fillable PDF.
The following are resources related to internship for prospective applicants:
Still have questions about the Internship Readiness Common Application?
This page has over 50 common questions asked related to the Internship Readiness Common Application.
Questions range on topics of the fillable PDF components and use as well as questions commonly asked by academia, applicants, and internship sites.
The internship process is a key factor to the certification path and access into the profession. Several barriers have been identified over the past several years regarding the internship process.
The ACLP Board of Directors has identified the following directives which together form the Pledge for Internship Equity and Access. Academic programs and internship sites are encouraged to sign the pledge.