What should an undergraduate student in a specific discipline gain in the course of his/her studies? All too often, the answer to this question is not formally defined, and answers differ, sometimes largely, even between members of the same academic faculty. In our study we focused on the life sciences faculty and explored both undergraduate students' and faculty members' perspectives regarding this question. Eighty-two faculty members and 124 sophomores responded to a written questionnaire. In response to the question: "What do you think a graduated student should gain during his/her years of study?" they were asked to rate on a scale from 1 to 4 (1= not important at all...4=most important) eight factors: knowledge, lab experience, scientific writing, research skills, understanding the dynamic nature of science, science applicability to everyday life, historic viewpoint and motivation to continue in the field. Twenty-one faculty members of the 82 who responded to the written questionnaire were also individually interviewed. The findings show that there was a consensus, between both populations, on the importance of providing basic knowledge during undergraduate studies. Significant differences (P less than 0.01) existed regarding the importance of lab experience, research skills, scientific writing and understanding of the dynamic nature of science. (Contains 1 table.)