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Transform Lives: Become a Child Life Specialist
Child life specialists are child development experts who engage in developmentally approvate medical play to prepare pediatric patients for medical procedures and ensure life remains as normal as possible for children in healthcare settings and other challenging environments. The Child Life Specialist Co-Major includes coursework required by the Association of Child Life Professionals for eligibility to complete official child life internships and take the Child Life Professional Certification Exam. This is the only co-major preparing students for careers as child life specialists in Ohio.
Curriculum and Courses
This program addresses the following topics: child life theory and practice; death, dying, and bereavement; therapeutic/medical play; family dynamics, child and adolescent development; and social science research. In addition, students complete a field experience in child life (e.g., volunteer hours with children, child life practicum).
- FSW 245 Children and Families: Ages Conception – 12
- FSW 261 Diverse Families Across the Life Cycle
- FSW 295 Research and Evaluation Methods
- FSW 318 Child Life Theory and Practice
- FSW/SOC 435 Death Studies
- FSW 445 Therapeutic Play
- FSW 475 Family Theories
- FSW 481 Adolescent Development in Diverse Families: Ages 13-25
Admissions Requirements
Beginning Fall 2025, the Child Life Specialist Co-Major will be open to all Miami undergraduate students from any major.
Additional Opportunities
Alumni have been hired as certified child life specialists across the country including:
- Dayton Children’s Hospital
- Riley Children’s (Indianapolis)
- Nationwide Children’s (Columbus)
- Children’s Medical Center (Dallas)
- Rady Children’s (San Diego)
- Mott Children’s (Ann Arbor)
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center
- Cleveland Clinic
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- Children’s National Hospital (Washington, DC)