Internal Medicine–Pediatrics Has 20% More Applicants Than Four Years Ago
On the day programs opened ERAS 2027 applications, 864 people had applied to internal medicine–pediatrics, against 723 at the same point of ERAS 2023.
By Rezumab · Data as of
That is a 20% increase, comparing the same day of each cycle. Of the 20 specialties with at least 300 applicants, 17 grew; internal medicine–pediatrics had the 10th-largest increase. Over full seasons, the change from ERAS 2023 to 2026 was +45%. By applicant type, the same-day change since ERAS 2023 was −1% for MDs, +1% for DOs and +54% for international graduates.
Below are five seasons of AAMC ERAS data for internal medicine–pediatrics: 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 12 points
In ERAS 2026, 1,200 people applied to internal medicine–pediatrics. The pool was 35% MD, 9.6% DO and 55.4% international graduates. 20.6% applied to no other specialty, a count that treats required preliminary and transitional years as another specialty.
Applicants are down 17.5% from the same day last year
| Season | All | MD | DO | Intl. grads | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERAS 2027so far, vs. same day of 2026 | ▼−17.5% | ▼−12.0% | ▼−10.1% | ▼−23.0% | ▼−20.3% |
| ERAS 2026vs. 2025 | ▲+16.6% | ▲+3.3% | ▲+23.8% | ▲+27.8% | ▲+3.5% |
| ERAS 2025vs. 2024 | ▲+10.0% | ▼−10.2% | ▲+8.1% | ▲+40.3% | ▼−0.9% |
| ERAS 2024vs. 2023 | ▲+12.9% | ▲+20.8% | ▼−15.9% | ▲+11.5% | ▲+17.5% |
The median applicant sends 12 applications, down from 18
By type in ERAS 2026: MDs 30, DOs 30, international graduates 4. The middle half of applicants sent between 3 and 30. The overall median is the second lowest of 23 specialties covered here.
On the programs’ side, the median internal medicine–pediatrics program received 177 applications in ERAS 2026, against 114 in ERAS 2023.
About 20% of a program's applicants signal it
In ERAS 2027, 99% of internal medicine–pediatrics applicants used signals, and the median signaling applicant used 5.
At the median program, 19% of applicants had signaled it. The median program received 36 signals; the busiest tenth received 87 or more.
Signals per applicant by season: 2027: 5.
The most common backup is pediatrics, chosen by 43%
| Also applied to, ERAS 2026 | Share of applicants |
|---|---|
| Internal Medicine (categorical) | 62% |
| Pediatrics | 43% |
| Family Medicine | 41% |
| Internal Medicine (primary care) | 40% |
| Internal Medicine (preliminary)PGY-1 year | 20% |
| Transitional YearPGY-1 year | 11% |
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.