Resources

• Child life specialists are pediatric health care professionals who work with children and families in hospital and community settings to help promote coping and adjustment to the challenges of hospitalization, illness, disability and other life changing events.Interventions such as play, explaining a new diagnosis in developmentally appropriate language, providing psychological preparation for procedures, incorporating self-expression activities and opportunities that encourage normalization, and promote children’s continued growth and development are a few examples of child life work.
• For more information on the child life profession, ​click here.

• The Child Life Studies diploma program ​closed in September 2016.  Stream 1 of the Masters of Child Life & Pediatric Psychosocial Care program was established to prepare students at a graduate level with the knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours to practice as entry level child life specialists. The Stream 1 program has been endorsed by the Association of Child Life Professionals.  This provides students with assurance that their course work in this program meets requirements for professional certification.

Stream 1 is for individuals interested in pursuing academic and clinical training to prepare for a career as a child life specialist.  Stream 2 is for those individuals who are already working with children, youth and families as a health care professional and are interested in advancing their knowledge and skills in pediatric psychosocial care.  Only Stream 1 leads to child life certification eligibility.

The majority of the courses in this graduate program are online so you can complete them from where you reside.  Most courses include several synchronous virtual sessions with pre-determined dates with the remainder done via asynchronous learning.  There are however, intensive on-campus residencies for both Streams of learners that are completed over a 4-day period in the fall term.  Please view the schedule for Stream 1 or Stream 2 for more details on when these occur.

• Our online learning program consists of several learning modalities to ensure the coursework is interactive, engaging and of high academic quality. In many cases, online learning offers more choice, is adaptable to various learning styles and allows for flexibility in your learning environment. Our diverse faculty hold a wealth of expertise and the interactions with your classmates, sharing knowledge, perspectives and experiences will add to the quality of your online learning experience, while creating a community of practice. Faculty will be part of delivering lectures, facilitating discussions, evaluating assignments and providing timely feedback.

It's important to consider that with online coursework, required readings need to be completed and lectures viewed ​before​ you begin taking part in the weekly discussion boards.  Online learning requires good time management throughout each semester.

For each 3-credit course you take, you can estimate an average of 8-10 hours per week for required readings, online discussions and assignments.  Some weeks will be heavier when assignments are due in addition to your weekly lectures, readings, and discussion board engagement.  This means as a full-time student with 2-3 courses you may have up to 30 hours of academic work each week.

• New students are only admitted each fall. Please review the course schedules for Stream 1 and Stream 2 as each course is scheduled to occur once per year in either the fall, winter or spring/summer semester. 

The minimum requirement for all graduate programs is an Honours bachelors degree, OR a minimum 4-year degree.  Both will be considered.

Our ​​minimum​​ requirement for admission is a B+ average in your ​final year of study.​ Applicants may apply during the fourth year of their degree.  The pre-admission GPA for eligibility purposes would then be calculated using the 10 most recent upper level courses (300 and 400 level courses) towards your degree.  Post-graduate degree coursework (excluding college level courses) will also be considered in GPA calculation and calculated on a case by case basis.

Yes, please provide transcripts of academic work completed to date at ALL post-secondary institutions attended. ​Unofficial​ transcripts can be uploaded in the university online application portal.  Official transcripts will be required once an official offer has been received and must be sent directly from the issuing institution(s).

Visit the School of Graduate Studies Tuition and Fees page for more information.

Applicants whose native language is not English will be required to demonstrate proficiency in the use of the English language, as outlined in the Graduate Calendar.  Similar to several other graduate programs, a minimum acceptable TOEFL (iBT) score will be 92 overall with a minimum of 22 for reading 24 for speaking, 24 for listening and 22 for writing.  Alternately an overall minimum IELTS score of 7.0 will be required.

No.  The email address for your references should be included within your online application.  This will then prompt the application portal to send a confidential reference form to your referee(s).  Referees will submit their completed reference through their unique link to the online application portal.  Official transcript(s) of academic work completed to date at all post-secondary institutions attended, must be sent directly from the issuing insititution(s).  ​Please note that unofficial transcripts will be considered within your application.​

• We do not accept late applications. All applications must be complete by the deadline.

Following successful submission of all application components, our program's Admissions Committee will review and score each application.  The top Stream 1 applicants will be invited to participant in our admissions interviews.  These are heaviliy weighted in candidate selection.  There are not admissions interviews for Stream 2.  Following the full review and scoring process, top candidates will be recommended for admission.  All applicants will receive email confirmation on the status of their application.

• There are many programs that provide a good foundation for our program. Please make sure that the program you choose will provide an Honours bachelor's degree and there are course options to meet our child development prerequisites. It is important to also consider having a minimum 10 courses at the 300 and 400 level that can be used within your GPA calculation. We also recommend that during your undergraduate years, you look for volunteer opportunities in child life programs to work towards the 100 required hours of exposure to child life programming.

• No, Stream 1 can only be completed as a full- time student due to the course schedule and clinical internships. Stream 1 is a two year full- time program (6 semesters)

No. We are not able to offer individual courses or co-ordinate an internship.  Candidates must be accepted into the full-time Stream 1 program.  All courses build upon child life competencies, scaffold knowledge and skills across the curriculum and incorporate application to practice as a primary focus.

• No, the hours would not count as they do not take place in a child life program. The 100 volunteer hours must provide exposure to a child life program and the form must be signed by a child life specialist. It is important to have exposure to child life prior to starting our program to apply in course work and to provide a foundation for your clinical education in year 2 of the program. **Some alternative experience has been considered due to volunteer limitations during COVID.  Please see our volunteer hour requirements on our website for the most up to date information.**

We do not have a current listing of available volunteer opportunities across Canada.  Contacting Volunteer Resources departments at community settings, children's hospitals and general hospitals is a great place to start. They can advise on what volunteer opportunities may be available within their child life program.

*This is not an internship or placement where you need to work alongside a child life specialist. We require you to have exposure to volunteering with children, youth and families in a child life program that is overseen by a child life specialist.*

• Yes, your application will still be accepted. Should you be offered admission into the program, you will receive a conditional offer with the expectation that your hours be complete before June 30 (of the year you are applying). You are still required to submit the volunteer hours form for the hours that are in progress at the time of your original application, and a final form once the 100 hours have been completed.

• While our program would like to make recommendations on specific courses to take, we cannot attest to the quality of other courses, or when they are offered at each institution. We do require a minimum of 2 courses that cover normative growth and development (physical, cognitive, social and emotional development) from birth to 18 years, and follow the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) definition of these. Our Child Development course work review form is available so applicants can submit course work prior to application.  Our review team will review and inform future applicants on whether their courses meet prerequisite eligibility requirements.  Those that have had their forms reviewed prior to application should include their reviewed form within their application.

To meet the program's admissions eligibility criteria, all applicants must have a minimum of 2 undergraduate courses in normative child development. Together, these courses should address development (physical, cognitive, social and emotional development) from birth through 18yrs. of age. This means you could have two courses which both cover birth to 18yrs; one that covers birth to 18yrs and one for a specified age range (e.g. adolescent development); or several courses which when combined together cover this developmental age range (e.g. course in infant development, course in early & middle childhood & course in adolescent development). Courses that incorporate lifespan development will not meet this criteria, as the focus must be on children and youth to ensure sufficient coverage of content. This foundation in typical development provides a base to then apply in graduate course work, and in future assessment of pediatric patients

• Stream 1 students will commence their first clinical internship in the Fall of their second year of study. Upon successful completion, their second clinical internship will commence in the Winter semester of their second year.

• We cannot guarantee clinical internships.  The role of our Clinical Education Coordinator is to oversee and facilitate the selection and matching process for both the fall and winter internships.  The selection and matching process involves trying to achieve the best matches considering both student and internship site preferences (the majority of internship partners prefer to interview prospective interns).

• Before joining our program, you will be asked to sign a statement of understanding that outlines that interns may have to move within Canada to complete clinical internship requirements. Students are responsible for their own transportation and all associated costs in order to meet this program requirement.

• When possible your Clinical Education Coordinator can connect you with alumni and internship site contact who may be able to suggest housing options.  Ultimately, securing housing is the responsibility of the intern.

• The Clinical Education Coordinator will work with international students to determine if internship opportunities outside of Canada are possible. We have unfortunately, not had any to date.  Communication to any potential internship site must be facilitated by the Clinical Education Coordinator. The related procedures including affiliation agreements between McMaster University and internship sites, etc. will need to be investigated.

• We prefer that all preceptors and interns do not have a prior relationship so that assessment and evaluation of performance in the clinical education courses is unbiased and free of any conflict of interest.

• All clinical preceptors are required to meet the Association of Child Life Professionals requirements for supervision which includes a minimum of 4000 hours of paid experience as a Certified Child Life Specialist (equivalent to 2 years of full time employment).

• Students may identify where they have an interest in completing an internship based on the internships being offered (this varies each year). The Clinical Education Coordinator is responsible for all final placement decisions in collaboration with internships sites(following the completion of their internship candidate interviews) and the program's Students Affairs Committee.  She will work with each child life intern to ensure a best fit.

• Yes, some sites offer more than one internship opportunity so one or more of our interns may be located at the same site. Internship locations vary year to year, so there is however no guarantee.

• Clinical skills seminar is a virtual class that takes place weekly via online, live classes for the semester during which clinical internships occur.

• Clinical skills seminar allows each child life intern to reflect, process and learn with, from and about one another's experiences while completing their internship.  As each intern will be placed in a different area of child life practice, the opportunity to share evidence based practices, techniques and case study based scenarios broadens the clinical exposure for all learners and is unique to our clinical skills seminar. There are also opportunities for guest speakers and additional clinical knowledge to be gained as we follow a child life internship curriculum.

• The Clinical Education Coordinator is Allison Sohanlal and she can be contacted at sohan@mcmaster.ca

• Yes, we do not prescribe a specific title or regulated profession when we state health care professional. Stream 2 is suitable for those with professional experience working with children, youth and families in health care. Only after reviewing all application materials can we determine suitability for the Stream 2 option.

• Potential applicants should apply for Stream 1 if they are interested in becoming a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS). Stream 1 prepares students with the academic and clinical internships training necessary to practice as an entry level child life specialists. Stream 2 is appropriate for child life specialists and other health care professionals with experience working in healthcare who are seeking advanced practice skills and knowledge in pediatric psychosocial care to enhance their practice.

• Stream 2 can be completed as a full-time OR part-time student. During the application process, you will be asked to identify whether or not you intend to pursue full or part- time studies. The anticipated completion time for full-time Stream 2 students to complete all program requirements is one calendar year (fall, winter, spring semester).Part- time students have up to four years from initial enrollment to complete the degree. Most part-time students complete within 2 years (24 months).

Please refer to School of Graduate Studies Calendar (see attached links):

1. Click here for financial information
2. Click here for regulations for full and part-time status

As noted within the links above, students can transfer from full to part-time studies.  As per the University's policy, they will however, continue to be charged full-time tuition for the duration of their studies.  We therefore, strongly urge applicants to consider their work, personal and family life schedules when deciding between full and part-time studies.

• There is a residency period that is mandatory to attend at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario at the beginning of the program. This is four full days of in class learning with students and faculty. The remainder of courses will take place online. Please see the Stream 2 Course Schedule for more information.

• Academic references are a standard requirement for graduate study, and must be completed by a faculty member or instructor who can attest to your suitability for graduate coursework. Consideration on the use of an employer or professional reference will be provided on a case-by-case basis for those who have been out of school for more than 5 years.

• Yes. Faculty who taught in the child life diploma program can serve as an academic reference. Those who are also involved in the current Masters in Child Life and Pediatric Psychosocial Care program’s admissions committee will however, recuse themselves from reviewing your application if they act as an academic reference on your behalf.

• It's important to consider that with online coursework, required readings need to be completed before you begin taking part in the weekly discussion boards.  Online learning requires good time management throughout each semester. 
• For each 3 credit course that you take, you can estimate an average of 8-10 hours per week for required readings, online discussions and assignments.  Some weeks will be heavier when assignments are due in addition to your weekly lectures, readings and discussion board engagement.  This means as a full-time student with 2-3 courses you may have up to 30 hours of academic work each week.

• Visit the Stream 2 Financial Matters page for more information.