This qualitative study explores students’ engagement in transformative learning in a Human Anatomy course in an undergraduate university environment. Although Mezirow’s (1975, 1978, 2000) Transformation Theory has been applied and discussed with regard to adults in postgraduate, pre-service and in-service programmes, it has received little consideration concerning undergraduate students who have entered university straight from high school, and thus for the first time. This lack of focus is unfortunate in relation to the probable developmental ability of students at this age and the goals that are ascribed to undergraduate education. In accordance with critiques of Mezirow’s (1975, 1978, 2000) Transformative Learning Theory, Freire’s (1970, 1981) philosophy of emancipatory education, Burbules’ (1986) concept of power relations in the learning environment; and other gaps in the literature, this exploratory study addresses one main question and five sub-questions. The main question is: How can the introduction of transformative learning in a first-year Human Anatomy course improve students’ understanding of the subject? The study employed participatory action research design to address how the introduction of transformative learning in a first-year Human Anatomy course could improve students’ understanding of the subject. The population consisted of a first-year Human Anatomy foundation class of forty-four students who were registered for the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery Extended Curriculum Programme (MBChB ECP) degree in 2017, at a health sciences university in South Africa. Data were collected using open-ended questionnaire, student self-reflective report and observation checklist. The data were analysed using logical analysis through coding and classification (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Creswell, 2014; Maddison, 2005; Miles & Huberman, 1994; Wolcott, 1994; 2014) and the Atlas.ti program (www.atlasti.com). The findings indicate that for the students in the study, participating in the process of transformative learning included seeing personal relevance in the Human Anatomy course, and topics or issues dealt with during the Human Anatomy class, identifying tensions due to differing perspectives, and exploring deeper by considering fundamental assumptions and contexts. Instead of being an individual process, as suggested by Mezirow’s Transformation Theory, students’ descriptions emphasise a social procedure or practice that is shaped by sharing experiences and working together to understand the assumptions that underlie their experiences. The students wrote about changes in their assumptions that resulted from their experiences, which involved cognitive-affective reflection and cognitive-behavioural action. The factors that facilitated transformative learning involved exploring multiple perspectives, which included challenging the traditionally presumed authority of the lecturer, discipline, and academic knowledge; challenging the more traditional way of organising lessons; and building or creating relationships by concentrating on interpersonal support. By making use of the power of experience, issues or topics in Human Anatomy dealt with in the class moved beyond the dichotomies that are critiqued in the literature to incorporate emotion and cognition in learning, integrated individual and social learning and change, and provided students with a different experience of power. The notion of power in transformative learning is advanced further and the implications for practice and theory around the role of undergraduate education in transformative learning are discussed. Recommendations include the need for future research to improve on the methodology by including more course categories at various levels of study and other universities.