Higher education plays a key role in the creation of a competent and adaptable workforce. In 2006, an immersive, 16-week, experiential learning program was created to foster professional development in upper-level equine science students. The objective of this study was to assess participants’ perception of content knowledge, hands-on skills, career preparation, and personal growth gained from the program. Students (n=27; 61% response rate) provided reflective feedback via Likert-type (4=very much; 3=somewhat; 2=slightly; 1=not at all) questions, and open-ended queries to elaborate on ordinal responses. In general, students felt that the program played a key role in preparing them for a career in the horse industry or the animal, veterinary or medical sciences (mean response 3.82±0.09). While students indicated the program was effective in facilitating desired improvement in equine-related knowledge and hands-on skills (3.77±0.08 and 3.74±0.09, respectively) and enhanced understanding of research (3.63±0.12), personal growth in transferable skills was also a prominent outcome (3.48±0.11). Eighty-nine percent of respondents reported improvements in communication, and/or the ability to work with and value others, as the most useful outcomes related to transferable skills. Overall, results suggest that learning content and technical skills in an immersive, authentic environment additionally facilitates gains in interpersonal competencies.