Undergraduate education serves to both broaden and deepen knowledge of a specific discipline while also aiming to develop transferrable skills. In terms of physiology majors, published transferable skills encompass four broad areas: critical thinking, communication, professional behaviours, and laboratory proficiency^1,2. While these skills are often developed through laboratory and independent research project courses, opportunities can be limited due to funding and space constraints. In addition, the size and need to cover content limits opportunities in lecture-based courses. More broadly, we observed that undergraduates were under-prepared for independent research courses and were unaware of the diverse range of science-related careers. To address this gap and help build transferrable skills, we created Research Readiness and Advancing Biomedical Discoveries, a third-year course for life science students. Central to the course is a scaffolded research proposal assignment aimed at solving real-world problems. Online pre-class modules and in-class group work cover topics such as project management and good laboratory practice (see https://experientialmodules.utoronto.ca/research-readiness/). To assess the usefulness of the course in the long term, we surveyed former students one to four years post course completion (Univ. Toronto REB#18345). Survey questions included statements rated on a five-point Likert scale and open-ended prompts. For the latter, two research assistants independently identified and grouped the responses into themes. Of the 63 former students who completed the survey (a 29% response rate), the majority (n = 52) had taken the course three or four years before. Almost two thirds were pursuing advanced degrees: the most common being in research-based graduate programs (41%). Most of the remainder were employed in science-related positions. Responses to the quantitative questions were favourable with students agreeing or strongly agreeing that the course improved their skill set to achieve future goals (4.14 +/- 0.10, mean +/- SEM, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree); consider flexible career paths (4.16 +/- 0.10) and in helping them prepare for research opportunities (4.00 +/- 0.12). The most common themes that emerged from the open-ended prompt: “What aspects of the course helped with your current career pursuits” were: working in teams (68% of respondents), developing and writing an original research proposal (68% of respondents) and applying your knowledge (59% of respondents). While this study was for a single course, we believe that our results are broadly applicable and encourage educators to incorporate teamwork, proposal writing, and assignments requiring the application of knowledge into the curriculum. Our results also illustrate the value of surveying former students to learn the aspects of a course that are most useful for graduates.