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Loma Linda University's Master of Science in Child Life Specialist program is one of the few graduate programs in the nation endorsed by the Association of Child Life Professionals—and its location on the same campus as Loma Linda University Children's Hospital makes it one of the most distinctive training environments in the country. In just two years, students complete 74 quarter units, a 100-hour practicum experience, and a 600-hour internship, gaining hands-on clinical experience through small class sizes, dedicated faculty mentoring, and immersive community engagement. Rooted in a whole person care philosophy, the program prepares graduates to support children and families navigating illness, hospitalization, and stress—and the vast majority of alumni go on to succeed both in employment and on the child life professional certification exam.
🧭 Begin Your Child Life Specialist Journey
- Applications for Fall 2027 will open on November 2, 2026! No application fee required.
📸 Program Snapshot
- 2-year completion time
- 74 quarter units
- 100-hour practicum experience + 600-hour internship
- One-on-one academic and internship advising
- Small class size to maximize learning
- Multiple clinical experiences within the Loma Linda University Health system of care
- Faculty mentoring and support
- Rooted in a Christian commitment to compassionate, whole person care and respect for all persons
Program Director
Prof. Michelle Minyard-Widmann
MS, CCLS
Assistant Professor, Counseling and Family Sciences
Director, Child Life Specialist MS Program
Director of Clinical Training
Prof. Alisha Saavedra
MA, CCLS
Assistant Professor, Counseling and Family Sciences
Director of Clinical Training, Child Life Specialist MS Program
🔎 More About Our Child Life Specialist MS Program in California
As one of the few graduate programs in the nation endorsed by the Association of Child Life Professionals, students can expect a high level of both preparation and personal interaction as they embark on their career. Since inception, we have kept our commitment to maintaining small class sizes. Loma Linda University shares the same campus as Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, enabling the program to provide in-class clinical training by utilizing the hospital staff and their facilities as a working lab. All core child life courses are taught by certified child life specialists with ten or more years of clinical experience. Additionally, we collaborate with our nursing department to teach within our program.
Students gain a wide range of clinical experiences within the community, including the opportunity to facilitate and actively participate in our Family Grief Support Group, Teddy Bear Clinic, Annual Child Life Symposium, Family Health Fair, Grief Camps, and Teen Retreats. Students also have the opportunity to engage in research within our department. Additionally, students enrolled in the program engage in global community work in areas such as China, Belize, Bolivia, and Honduras, where they provide lectures on psychosocial care of children and their families and facilitate Teddy Bear Clinics.
🗓️ Program Timeline
Most candidates enter the Child Life Specialist MS program in Fall Quarter and complete at the end of Spring Quarter in their second year. This requires seven consecutive quarters of full-time coursework and commitment to the practicum experience and internship.
Please Note: The curriculum of this program includes attendance during the summer terms.
Sample Plan of Study
This sample plan of study is provided as a general guide to illustrate the typical sequence of courses for this program. Course offerings, sequencing, and scheduling are subject to change based on curricular revisions, faculty availability, and student progression. Students who take a Leave of Absence (LOA) or enroll on a part-time basis should expect their program completion term to be extended. Students are encouraged to consult with their academic advisor for individualized academic planning.
Year 1
| Summer | Units | Fall | Units | Winter | Units | Spring | Units |
| CHLS 505 | 3 | CHLS 504 | 3 | CHLS 609 | 3 | ||
| COUN 576 | 3 | CHLS 606 | 3 | CHLS 503 | 3 | ||
| CHLS 509 | 3 | CHLS 501 | 3 | RELR 568 | 3 | ||
| CHLS 506 | 3 | MFAM 553 | 3 | CHLS 584 | 3 | ||
| CHLS 502 | 3 | MFAM 644 | 3 | MFAM 501 | 3 | ||
| Total Quarter Units | 15 | 15 | 15 |
Total Year 1 Units: 45 units
Year 2
| Summer | Units | Fall | Units | Winter | Units | Spring | Units |
| MFAM 568 | 3 | CHLS 607 | 3 | CHLS 604 | 2 | CHLS 605 | 2 |
| MFAM 516 | 2 | CHLS 508 | 3 | CHLS 701* | 6 | CHLS 702* | 6 |
| CHLS 608 | 1 | CHLS 507B | 3 | ||||
| CHLS 700* | 2 | MFAM 515 | 3 | ||||
| CHLS 507A | 3 | ||||||
| Total Quarter Units | 6 | 15 | 2 | 2 |
Total Year 2 Units: 25 units
*(14) Clinical training units are non-academic and do not count toward the 70-unit total.
Total Program Units: 70 units
💬 Student Story
My hope for my career is to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children and families by serving as an advocate and a source of support during some of their most challenging moments. That is why the supportive learning environment, hands-on clinical opportunities, and patient- and family-centered approach to healthcare made Loma Linda University the ideal place to pursue my education and professional goals.
Applicants to the MS degree in the Child Life Specialist Program must meet the School of Behavioral Health admission requirements as outlined in the Loma Linda University Catalog and give evidence of academic ability, professional comportment and mature judgment. Additional admission requirements include:
- Bachelor’s degree in the social sciences or equivalent
- Minimum grade point average 3.0 (on 4.0 scale) in bachelor’s coursework for at least the final 45 units prior to graduation
- GRE is not required
- Health clearance
- Prior to matriculation students must pass a background check
- Official transcripts on file
- Three letters of recommendation as specified
- Written statement of purpose for applying to the Child Life program
- Volunteer experience in a hospital setting is preferred
- Interview with department faculty as scheduled (on-campus group interviews are scheduled for mid-January through late March; other on-campus and phone interviews are scheduled individually)
- Those for whom English is not their first language must present a minimum score of 80 for the computer test and 550 for the pencil test on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
- Those who are not citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. must provide a valid student visa
| Enrollment Quarter | Application Opens | Application Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2027 | November 2, 2026 | March 12, 2026 |
🔭 Mission and Vision
The department's mission is to facilitate wholeness by promoting health, healing, and hope to individuals, families, and communities through education, research, professional training, community service, and global outreach. Our vision—transforming relationships—reflects our belief that meaningful change begins with human connection, and that every interaction between a child life specialist and those they serve has the potential to heal.
💬 Graduate Story
Growing up I struggled trying to figure out God's purpose for my life. Recently an LVN told me, "Melissa, God gave you the assignment to be a Child Life Specialist." I believe that God placed me at Loma Linda University knowing that I would have the opportunity to gain a higher education, train with amazing mentors during fellowship, and serve families in the Emergency Department every day. I am grateful to God and to LLU for my career success and am looking forward for what's to come.
🧸 The Child Life Specialist Profession
Child Life Specialists are grounded in child development and dedicated to helping children and families navigate the stress of illness, hospitalization, and other challenging experiences. They use play, education, preparation, and self-expression to promote coping and healthy development—and they extend that care to the whole family, providing guidance and support to parents, siblings, and other loved ones. Child Life Specialists also serve a broader educational role, helping caregivers, administrators, and the public better understand and respond to the needs of children under stress.
Adapted from the Association of Child Life Professionals.
💬 Graduate Story
The Child Life Specialist MS program at Loma Linda University enriched me with more than academic knowledge alone—it gave me a strong foundation of clinical skills, mentorship, and a sense of community. I grew in ways I wouldn't have imagined, both professionally and personally. Most of all, I was challenged to stretch beyond my comfort zone, reflect deeply, and grow into a more intentional and prepared professional. This program provided the space for me to turn my passion into a profession—where play, advocacy, and healing come together.
📈 Program Outcomes
Program outcomes are clear, measurable statements that describe what students will know, be able to do, or demonstrate by the time they complete a degree program. They define the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities students should achieve and serve as the foundation for curriculum design, instruction, and assessment.
- Integrate the contextual psychosocial issues of infants, children, youth, and families in child life practice.
- Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams in diverse settings.
- Identify as a professional child life specialist through membership and participation in professional organizations.
- Apply the concepts of ethical and legal standards of the profession.
- Demonstrate awareness of the impact of health in communities and global settings.
- Maintain a current understanding of research findings and participate in research that examines child life practice.
- Satisfactorily complete a supervised child life practicum and internship that aligns with clinical practice standards.
🤝 Practicum and Internship
A Child Life Practicum is designed as an introductory experience for individuals interested in pursuing a career in child life. Through experiential learning and observation of Certified Child Life Specialists, child life practicum students begin to increase their knowledge of basic child life skills related to play, developmental assessment, and integration of child life theory into interventions with infants, children, youth and families. Child life practicum students will increase their skill level by interacting with infants, children, youth, and families in stressful situations, health care settings and/or in programs designed for diverse populations. Through these experiences, child life practicum students will enhance their knowledge of the child life profession and investigate the process of applying child life and developmental theory to practice. Practicums are not required for child life certification but are highly recommended by hospitals that offer internships, as they help students build clinical skills and strengthen their internship readiness.
A Child Life Internship is a supervised clinical training experience that prepares students to apply child life theory in real healthcare settings and related community-based settings. During an internship, students work closely with Certified Child Life Specialists to develop skills in therapeutic play, developmental assessment, grief and loss, procedure preparation and support, and family-centered care for infants, children, youth, and families. The internship helps students build professional competence, strengthen communication and critical thinking skills, and gain the hands-on experience required for entry into child life practice and certification eligibility. As a requirement to sit for the Child Life Certification Exam, students must complete a (minimum) 600-hour clinical child life internship under the direct supervision of a Certified Child Life Specialist.
➕ Add a Certificate to Your MS Program
Students entering an MS degree program within the Department of Counseling and Family Sciences who are interested in obtaining certification in Play Therapy or Drug & Alcohol Counseling will receive a tuition waiver for the certificate program of their choice. Students interested in this benefit are required to enroll in elective courses specified by their academic advisor.
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💡 Frequently Asked Questions
We typically accept up to 15 students per Fall quarter. We do not have rolling admissions.
We require a 600-hour internship and a 100-hour practicum to graduate from our program.
Our program includes an embedded clinical course designed to prepare students for clinical experiences, as well as a full-time Child Life Director of Clinical Training who provides advising, education, and preparation for applying to practicums and internships.
Students need to apply, interview and be selected for either a practicum and/or internship at LLUCH.
Child Life alumni are employed in traditional Child Life Specialist hospital positions across the country, and many are employed in the community in private practice, hospice/palliative care, government-funded programs, and non-profit organizations.
