Urology Has 19% More Applicants Than Four Years Ago
On the day programs opened ERAS 2027 applications, 635 people had applied to urology, against 534 at the same point of ERAS 2023. Programs interviewed 39% of the applicants who signaled them and 2% of those who didn't.
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That is a 19% increase, comparing the same day of each cycle. Of the 20 specialties with at least 300 applicants, 17 grew; urology had the 11th-largest increase. Over full seasons, the change from ERAS 2023 to 2026 was +8%. By applicant type, the same-day change since ERAS 2023 was +20% for MDs, +30% for DOs and +3% for international graduates.
Below are five seasons of AAMC ERAS data for urology: 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 MD share of applicants fell 3 points
In ERAS 2026, 607 people applied to urology. The pool was 72.8% MD, 12% DO and 15.2% international graduates. 65.4% applied to no other specialty, a count that treats required preliminary and transitional years as another specialty.
Applicants are up 8.5% from the same day last year
| Season | All | MD | DO | Intl. grads | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERAS 2027so far, vs. same day of 2026 | ▲+8.5% | ▲+13.2% | ▲+13.0% | ▼−22.1% | ▲+3.1% |
| ERAS 2026vs. 2025 | ▲+5.2% | ▲+1.9% | ▲+21.1% | ▲+13.2% | ▼−11.2% |
| ERAS 2025vs. 2024 | ▲+5.5% | ▲+12.5% | ▼−12.3% | ▼−13.9% | ▼−15.1% |
| ERAS 2024vs. 2023 | ▼−1.3% | ▼−7.9% | ▲+8.3% | ▲+36.2% | ▼−25.2% |
The median applicant sends 40 applications, down from 88
By type in ERAS 2026: MDs 40, DOs 37, international graduates 36. The middle half of applicants sent between 31 and 53. The overall median is the eighth highest of 23 specialties covered here.
On the programs’ side, the median urology program received 111 applications in ERAS 2026, against 70 in ERAS 2023.
Most applicants a program sees have signaled it
In ERAS 2027, 99% of urology applicants used signals, and the median signaling applicant used 30.
At the median program, 67% of applicants had signaled it, up from 61% in ERAS 2026. The median program received 122 signals; the busiest tenth received 170 or more.
Signals per applicant by season: 2026: 30 · 2027: 30.
Without a signal, interviews are rare
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| Did not signal | Signaled | |
|---|---|---|
| All applicants | 2% | 39% |
| MD | 2% | 46% |
| DO | 0% | 22% |
| Intl. graduates | 0% | 7% |
41% of urology programs interviewed no one who hadn’t signaled them. At 98% of programs, signaled applicants were interviewed at a higher rate than those who didn’t signal. With rates this low, applications beyond an applicant’s signals rarely turn into interviews.
These are last season’s rates. Track who is sending urology interview invites this season.
A DO's signal returns 47% of what an MD's does; an international graduate's, 15%
An MD who signaled an urology program was interviewed at 46% of the median program, the eighth lowest of 21 specialties with interview data. For DOs, urology ranks the third least DO-friendly of 16.
An international graduate who signaled (7%) did better than an MD who didn’t (2%), 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 general surgery, chosen by 13%
| Also applied to, ERAS 2026 | Share of applicants |
|---|---|
| General Surgery (preliminary)PGY-1 year | 20% |
| General Surgery (categorical) | 13% |
| Internal Medicine (categorical) | 11% |
| Family Medicine | 6% |
| Internal Medicine (primary care) | 4% |
| Internal Medicine (preliminary)PGY-1 year | 4% |
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.