Why choose a child life minor at BGSU in Ohio?
- Unique program. BGSU is just one of three public universities in Ohio that has an undergraduate child life program. Our minor is offered through the human development and family science program.
- Enhance your resume. If you’re planning to work with children, a child life minor can make you more marketable in a competitive job market.
- In-demand career. There’s currently a shortage of child life specialists in the U.S. A minor in child life can help you earn certification and find a rewarding job.
- Outstanding career prep. Our students graduate well prepared to take the certification exam and compete for jobs at top pediatric hospitals and in community settings.
- Supportive, connected faculty. Our faculty – which includes a certified child life specialist – teaches courses using real-world examples, role-playing exercises and case studies. We are a multidisciplinary team with expertise in many areas of child development and family science who cares about your success.
- Pathway to certification. BGSU offers the required academic coursework to be eligible for certification through the Association of Child Life Professionals. Our faculty advisors work closely with students who want to become certified child life specialists to ensure they meet requirements.
Career – what can you do with a child life minor?
A child life minor is a great way to gain the knowledge and skills you need to work in any field that involves children and families.
It is particularly useful to students majoring in:
- Human development and family science
- Nursing
- Psychology
- Public health
- Social work
- Sociology
The child life minor offers the family-focused child development coursework that you may not find in the curriculum for your major.
Graduates with a child life minor work in a variety of healthcare and community settings. There is a huge shortage of child life specialists at children’s hospitals, which require child life specialists to have a child life certification.
Career paths
- Children’s hospitals
- Home health care
- Hospice agencies
- Cancer and bereavement support centers
- Early intervention programs
- School systems
- Crisis support service agencies
- Disaster relief services
- Child advocacy programs
- Foster care agencies
Curriculum
The BGSU child life minor has a family-centered approach and uses trauma-informed principles that are central to what child life specialists do. Courses provide a broad understanding of child development and address how to help the entire family.
The minor consists of 21-23 credit hours, including a relevant practicum experience. The earlier you declare a minor in child life, the easier it will be to finish the necessary coursework.
You will graduate with the skills and knowledge to:
- Represent and communicate child life practice and psychosocial issues of infants, children, youth and families
- Utilize theories of child and adolescent development, stress and coping, and family systems in healthcare and community settings
- Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively in diverse settings
- Apply therapeutic play activities to aid effective child coping while utilizing a family-centered approach
- Utilize coping strategies to decrease stress of hospitalization, illness, and loss and bereavement
Child life specialist certification
BGSU offers the coursework required to help you earn certification from the Association of Child Life Professionals as a child life specialist.
Certification isn’t required to have a successful career. But to practice as a child life specialist in a pediatric hospital, certification through the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) is required.
To earn certification, you must do more than complete the coursework in the child life minor. You also will be required to have a minimum of 600 hours of a child life clinical internship under the supervision of a certified child life specialist before you take the certification exam. See a full list of requirements for certification.
BGSU human development and family science majors who minor in child life complete all of the academic requirements for certification as part of their coursework. We work closely with students from other majors who want certification to help them meet requirements.
Sample courses
- Introduction to Child Life
- Therapeutic Play
- Child & Adolescent Development
- Medical Terminology or Trauma Informed Practice
The child life minor is offered through the School of Applied Human Development in the College of Education and Human Development.
Updated: 11/19/2024 01:14PM