In real life: a curriculum for developing students’ self-efficacy and outcome expectations through purpose-driven career exploration and planning within a core STEM course

Career planning and exploration are often seen as "out of class" work-important but separate from disciplinary learning. This separation forces students to find time outside their already demanding schedules and to navigate unfamiliar higher education spaces, creating structural barriers and impeding access to these resources. In an effort to create more equitable access to career exploration and education, we developed the "in real life" (IRL) curriculum to provide students with opportunities to reflect on how their academic experiences align with their broader career goals within the context of their introductory biology course. Grounded in Marcia's Theory of Identity Development and the Social Cognitive Career Theory, the curriculum includes modules on identifying and articulating professional purpose, developing primary and parallel career plans, constructing resumes, developing interview strategies, and building professional networks. Implemented over two semesters at a large R1 university, the IRL curriculum helped students shift from a destination-driven approach to a purpose-driven approach in relation to their careers, increased their career-related self-efficacy, and gave them a better understanding of career outcome expectations. IRL helps students contextualize how the knowledge and skills from class align with their career paths, emphasizing the importance of bringing career development into a disciplinary learning space.