Application Information

The residency program selects the best qualified candidates regardless of race, gender, cultural background, color, national origin, handicap or age. We regularly have more than 150 applicants for each of our positions. As such, we are unable to interview many very good applicants. Upon careful review of all applications, our Recruitment Committee extends offers for interviews to roughly the top 3% of our applicant pool. Our leadership team is responsible for the final ranking of candidates. Criteria used by the committee for selection include academic achievement, clinical competence, moral and ethical qualities, compassion, social responsibility, collegiality and enthusiasm.

Candidate requirements include:

  • A completed application form through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)
  • Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) from the candidate’s medical school
  • Recommendation letters from three faculty members
  • Medical school transcripts
  • A personal statement
  • Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduate (ECFMG) certification, if applicable
  • COMLEX and/or USMLE exams (for osteopathic applicants)
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS FOR UMKC INTERNAL MEDICINE RESIDENTS (PDF)

Applicant Selection for Interviews

We are proud to have an abundance of allopathic, osteopathic and international graduates apply to our residency. We regularly have more than 100 applicants for each of our positions.

Consistent with American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) and Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) recommendations, we encourage applicants to signal all programs to which they are most interested, including home and away rotation programs. While we will preferentially review applications from those that signal our program, we will also select some applicants for interview after holistic review from the pool of non-signaled applicants. While signaling does not guarantee an interview, we are unlikely to interview any applicants that do not signal us. It does not matter if it is a gold or silver signal.

The general qualities we look for during application review include:

  • Performance in medical school
  • No more than three years from medical school graduation
  • Performance on USMLE exams
    • Passing all USMLE/COMLEX exams on the first attempt
    • Must have passing scores for Step 1/CK (or COMLEX equivalent) prior to submission of rank list
  • Humanism and community service
  • High-quality letters of recommendation
  • Hands on clinical experience within the past year
  • Clinical experience in the U.S.
  • Meaningful personal statements
  • Additional requirements for applicants requiring a J-1 Visa include:
    • Agreement to obtain ECFMG certification before Feb.1

Timeline for Application Review

All applications are reviewed systematically. We will be extending interview invitations from October 3 - December 12, or until all interview spots are filled. As encouraged by the AAIM, interview offers will be released exclusively on Tuesdays and Fridays after 2pm Central Time. 

Statement Regarding Post-Interview Communication

In accordance with our policy on clear communication, we wish to share our process of developing a rank list. We rank each applicant using a standardized method considering all components of the ERAS application and interviews. We do not incorporate post-interview communications in our ranking process unlike some other programs.

This year, UMKC opted into the NRMP’s voluntary program rank order list lock pilot.  This will provide interested applicants the opportunity to visit the program/city after we have submitted our rank list, but before the applicant rank order list submission deadline.  Whether interviewees choose to visit will not impact our ranking of them.

Post-Interview Feedback

We would be glad to receive feedback from applicants about the interview experience. We will happily discuss any questions or concerns. However, we do not expect or encourage post-interview communication as part of a high-quality application. We want you to be assured that we are absolutely committed to a fair process for all applicants.