Info Session Set for Students Interested in Child Life Specialist Careers

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Child life specialist careers are options for anyone majoring in human development and family sciences, nursing, curriculum and instruction, and more.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The School of Human Environmental Sciences in the U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences is holding an information session is for any students interested in careers as child life specialists.

The session is Wednesday from 3:05-4:05 p.m. in the AFLS Building, Room D-115.

Topics to be covered are volunteering, practicums and internships; when to apply for an internship and guidelines on volunteer hours; and interviewing tips. Bumpers College students Abby Ann Williams and Abigail Miller, both human development and family sciences majors, will offer guidance and advice.

The session is open to all students, but will be especially informative for majors in human development and family sciences, nursing, and curriculum and instruction.

Becoming a certified child life specialists requires a bachelor's degree (in any major), specific course work and clinical experience, then passing the Certified Child Life Specialist Exam.

"This information will help students who are thinking about a career in child life," said Donia Timby, instructor in human development and family sciences. "Abby Ann has completed one practicum for child life and Abigail is getting ready to start her first practicum experience in January. They are going to give tips for the application and interview process. These practicum experiences will help students have a better chance of obtaining child life internships."

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.