51Many barriers discourage underrepresented students from pursuing science careers. To 52 access graduate education, undergraduate students must first gain exposure to a particular 53 subject and subsequently accumulate related coursework and research experience. Many 54 underrepresented students lack exposure to developmental biology due to limited 55 undergraduate course offerings and finite resources at smaller institutions. To address this 56 disparity, a group of University of Michigan graduate students and postdoctoral fellows created 57 a portable short course focusing on developmental biology, titled "Developing Future Biologists" 58 (DFB). This weeklong educational initiative provides hands-on laboratory sessions, interactive 59 lectures, and professional development workshops to teach students about developmental 60 biology and increase awareness of scientific career options. To evaluate course effectiveness, 61we developed a pre-post assessment, incorporating main ideas from the BioCore Guide. 62Student understanding of basic concepts and perceived experience in developmental biology 63 increased in DFB participants, despite the abbreviated nature of the course. Here, we provide 64 all course materials and an in-depth analysis of the assessment we created. The DFB portable 65 short course model is an easily adaptable tool that connects undergraduate students with 66 opportunities for advanced study and lowers barriers for underrepresented students in science, 67 technology, engineering, and mathematics.