Today’s hospitals, clinics, and schools need qualified Child Life professionals to work with children having chronic or life-threatening illnesses, as well as with their families. From performing assessments to applying coping strategies, Certified Child Life Specialists play an important role in providing care to children and their families facing difficult health conditions. In addition to hospitals, child life specialists are employed in hospice programs, camps, early intervention programs, courtrooms, dental practices, support/bereavement groups, programs in the community, private practice, etc. Child life specialists continue to advocate for and apply their skills in many venues, wherever their knowledge and expertise can protect the emotional integrity of children facing severe stressors.

This program's course work is designed to prepare you for CCLS certification.

NOTE* The Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) credential is the exclusive child life certification and is issued by the Child Life Certification Commission, a subsidiary of the Association of Child Life Professionals.  The CCLS credentialing program is a rigorous, examination-based professional certification designed to promote the proficiency of child life professionals by identifying a body of knowledge, establishing a level of comprehension, and verifying mastery of critical child life concepts. For more information, visit http://www.childlife.org/certification.

UCSB Extension/Division of Professional and Continuing Education offers courses that have been reviewed, earned pre-approval and are listed on the Association of Child Life Professionals Programs Offering Pre-Approved Courses or Academic Programs Offering Child Life Course
Our courses are a stepping stone to help you reach the next step towards becoming a CCLS.

The program requirements are defined in the Program Course Schedule. If planning to apply for an internship, please read: Does the Child Life program offer support for securing an internship/practicum?

Additional Details

Program Course Schedule

If you complete 5 courses with us, you will receive a Certificate of Completion of our Professional Certificate:

Courses are offered across 4 academic quarters: fall, winter, spring, and summer. For more information, visit the Approved Academic Calendar. 

***All courses are offered in an interactive online asynchronous format. Students are required to complete weekly assignments through GauchoSpace, UCSB's Moodle course management system. Students are not required to be in front of the computer or online at any particular time.

Requirements

Applying for Candidacy

Program Cost

The individual course's cost is $600 (14 days earlier Early Birds Discount $50 off). Individual course fees are paid upon enrollment. Estimated costs are subject to change and do not include fees for course materials. For more information, visit our Help Center.

 

FAQ

For more information, visit Frequently Asked Questions - Child Life in our Help Center.

 

 

Application

Child Life Student

“The Child Life certificate program has allowed me to learn at a flexible pace and has provided me with the knowledge I need to be successful. All of my instructors are experts in the field and have been great motivators.”

-Alexx Friesen