Internal Medicine Residency
The largest categorical residency pathway in the United States by number of positions offered, and a common entry route into subspecialty fellowship training.
Answer in brief
Internal Medicine training in the United States generally lasts generally 3 years, plus optional fellowship. Entry is through ERAS and the NRMP Match after medical school. Historically offers a comparatively large number of positions filled by international medical graduates. Position counts and fill rates vary by reporting year.
Training length
Generally 3 years, plus optional fellowship. Program length is set by the accredited program requirements for the specialty, and optional fellowship training adds further years.
2025 Match figures (PGY-1)
Reported by the NRMP for the row Internal Medicine (Categorical).
- Positions offered
- 10,941
- Positions filled
- 10,584
- Filled by IMGs
- 4,718
"Filled by IMGs" combines US citizen and non-US citizen graduates of international medical schools. Source: Advance Data Tables for the 2025 Main Residency Match, NRMP. Verified 2026-09-18.
Across all specialties in the 2025 Match, 40,041 PGY-1 positions were offered and 37,667 were filled. The PGY-1 match rate was 67.8% for US citizen IMGs and 58% for non-US citizen IMGs.
Considerations for international medical graduates
Historically offers a comparatively large number of positions filled by international medical graduates. Position counts and fill rates vary by reporting year.
Sources
- 1.Main Residency Match results and data — National Resident Matching Program (NRMP)
- 2.Accredited residency and fellowship programs — Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
- 3.ERAS for residency applicants — Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)