Graduate employability is an increasing priority in higher education, particularly for non-vocational nutrition and health science qualifications1. However, limited research has examined the role of undergraduate capstone placements in fostering career readiness within these disciplines. Prior studies have demonstrated gaps in the teaching and assessment of employability skills within Australian and United Kingdom science programs 1,2. Work-Integrated learning (WIL) initiatives have been proposed to bridge these gaps by embedding authentic, capstone research experiences into the undergraduate science curricula.
This study evaluated perceptions of career readiness and research aspirations among undergraduate students completing a capstone Research Integrated Learning (RIL) placement course in the Bachelor of Health and Medical Sciences (BHMS) at Adelaide University, including Nutrition major students. The RIL curriculum incorporates a project placement experience within research teams supported by targeted skills development modules and authentic assessments. Surveys evaluated the perceived impact of completing RIL on students’ acquisition of transferable employability skills and motivation to pursue postgraduate research study. Students and placement supervisors completed surveys before and after the course during 2025-2026. Perceived employability skills and readiness for careers were evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale (1=not at all ready to 5=extremely ready). Open-ended questions provided opportunity for further reflection. Interim data were analysed descriptively.
Preliminary findings highlight an elevation in the proportion of students who reported that they felt ‘work-ready’ following course completion (pre-course 41% n=13/31 post-course 68% n=15/22). Following course completion, students reported increased readiness across key employability domains including digital literacy, written communication, professionalism and leadership. Oral communication skills assessed through video and conference presentations demonstrated the largest improvement (mean ± SD: pre-course 3.11±1.25; post-course 3.75±0.97). Supervisors’ evaluations indicated that the curriculum strengthened transferable skills supporting students’ self-reported perception through external recognition. Interestingly, after their RIL experience fewer students responded ’yes’ when asked whether they wanted to continue on to higher research degrees (pre-course 48% n=15/31 post-course 32% n=7/22). One possible explanation is that the RIL experience increased students’ awareness of employment pathways beyond traditional research careers as previously reported3.
Qualitative insights indicated that students valued the authentic assessments, structured support and opportunities for independent learning, citing their relevance to future career pathways. Students also identified opportunities for improvement, including enhanced supervision structures, clearer assessment guidance and increased exposure to laboratory-based research.
This evaluation suggests that capstone research placements and authentic assessments can meaningfully support the development of career-relevant competencies among nutrition and health science students. Findings support the use of the RIL framework to guide authentic assessment design and innovative interdisciplinary teaching approaches for employability within non-vocational nutrition and health science degrees. These findings are particularly relevant for nutrition programs where research and communication skills are central graduate competencies and career destinations are broad.