Internal Medicine Has 12% More Applicants Than Four Years Ago
On the day programs opened ERAS 2027 applications, 24,322 people had applied to internal medicine, against 21,646 at the same point of ERAS 2023. Programs interviewed 41% of the applicants who sent a gold signal and 3% of those who didn't.
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That is a 12% increase, comparing the same day of each cycle. Of the 20 specialties with at least 300 applicants, 17 grew; internal medicine had the smallest increase. Over full seasons, the change from ERAS 2023 to 2026 was +15%. By applicant type, the same-day change since ERAS 2023 was +9% for MDs, +10% for DOs and +15% for international graduates.
Below are five seasons of AAMC ERAS data for internal medicine: who applies, how many applications they send, how signals are used and how often programs interviewed applicants who did and didn’t signal them, split by MD, DO and international medical graduate.
The international-graduate share of applicants rose 3 points
In ERAS 2026, 28,643 people applied to internal medicine. The pool was 32.8% MD, 13% DO and 54.2% international graduates. 41.8% applied to no other specialty, a count that treats required preliminary and transitional years as another specialty.
Applicants are down 5.4% from the same day last year
| Season | All | MD | DO | Intl. grads | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERAS 2027so far, vs. same day of 2026 | ▼−5.4% | ▲+0.3% | ▼−1.8% | ▼−10.2% | ▼−21.9% |
| ERAS 2026vs. 2025 | ▲+7.0% | ▲+5.9% | ▲+3.5% | ▲+8.7% | ▼−8.0% |
| ERAS 2025vs. 2024 | ▲+7.4% | ▲+4.9% | ▲+5.8% | ▲+9.7% | ▼−1.2% |
| ERAS 2024vs. 2023 | ▲+3.4% | ▼−1.8% | ▲+2.3% | ▲+7.8% | ▲+9.5% |
The median applicant sends 38 applications, down from 47
By type in ERAS 2026: MDs 23, DOs 38, international graduates 73. The middle half of applicants sent between 19 and 89. The overall median is the ninth highest of 23 specialties covered here.
On the programs’ side, the median internal medicine program received 1,692 applications in ERAS 2026, against 1,929 in ERAS 2023.
About 20% of a program's applicants signal it
In ERAS 2027, 98% of internal medicine applicants used gold signals, and the median signaling applicant used 3 gold and 12 silver.
At the median program, 22% of applicants had signaled it, up from 18% in ERAS 2026. The median program received 363 signals; the busiest tenth received 1,043 or more.
Signals per applicant by season: 2024: 7 · 2025: 3 (gold), 12 (silver) · 2026: 3 (gold), 12 (silver) · 2027: 3 (gold), 12 (silver).
A gold signal multiplies the interview rate about 13-fold
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| Did not signal | Silver signal | Gold signal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All applicants | 3% | 25% | 41% |
| MD | 11% | 50% | 62% |
| DO | 8% | 45% | 60% |
| Intl. graduates | 0.9% | 9% | 24% |
At 99% of programs, signaled applicants were interviewed at a higher rate than those who didn’t signal.
These are last season’s rates. Track who is sending internal medicine interview invites this season.
A DO's signal returns 96% of what an MD's does; an international graduate's, 39%
An MD who signaled an internal medicine program was interviewed at 62% of the median program, the ninth highest of 21 specialties with interview data. For DOs, internal medicine ranks the third most DO-friendly of 16.
An international graduate who signaled (24%) did better than an MD who didn’t (11%), one of the few specialties where that holds.
These are outcomes by group, not the effect of belonging to one. The groups differ in exam timing, visa needs and U.S. clinical experience, and none of that is controlled here.
The most common backup is family medicine, chosen by 31%
| Also applied to, ERAS 2026 | Share of applicants |
|---|---|
| Internal Medicine (primary care) | 51% |
| Family Medicine | 31% |
| Internal Medicine (preliminary)PGY-1 year | 30% |
| Transitional YearPGY-1 year | 11% |
| Pediatrics | 9% |
| Neurology | 5% |
Rows marked PGY-1 year are preliminary and transitional programs, which specialties that start at PGY-2 require. Categorical programs in another specialty are the real backup plan.