For International Medical Graduates (IMGs) navigating the residency application process, understanding IMG-friendly specialties is key. Based on the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®)’s Advance Data Tables for the 2025 Main Residency Match, the following specialties demonstrated the highest percentages of filled positions by both US and non-US IMGs. Before diving into these specific fields, let’s briefly examine the overall match statistics to provide context.

Match 2025 General Statistics

37,667 PGY-1 Positions Filled

19,044 US MD Senior (93.5% Match Rate)

7,773 US DO Senior (92.6% Match Rate)

803 US MD Graduate (45.9% Match Rate)

276 US DO Graduate (43.8% Match Rate)

3,108 US IMG (67.8% Match Rate)

6,653 Non-US IMG (66.7% Match Rate)

 

Top IMG Friendly Specialties of 2025 by Ratio 

Specialty	IMG %	Positions	Number Filled	MD Senior	MD Grad	DO Senior	DO Grad	Others	U.S. IMG	Non-U.S. IMG
Anesthesiology	7%	1,805	1,804	1,301	49	308	13	2	47	84
Child Neurology	18%	195	185	118	2	32	0	0	5	28
Dermatology	3%	30	30	24	0	5	0	0	0	1
Emergency Medicine	15%	3,068	3,003	1,377	65	1,078	35	2	315	131
Family Medicine	31%	5,357	4,552	1,501	90	1,482	52	0	626	801
Internal Medicine (Categorical)	45%	10,941	10,584	3,782	148	1,882	51	3	1,145	3,573
Medicine-Dermatology	13%	8	8	7	0	0	0	0	0	1
Medicine-Emergency Med	21%	34	34	20	1	5	1	0	6	1
Medicine-Medical Genetics	20%	5	5	4	0	0	0	0	0	1
Medicine-Pediatrics	7%	398	395	319	4	42	2	0	12	16
Medicine-Preliminary (PGY-1 Only)	13%		1,455	1,108	18	137	1	0	52	139
Medicine-Preventive Med	50%	8	8	4	0	0	0	0	0	4
Medicine-Primary	27%	411	400	232	11	48	3	0	24	82
Medicine-Psychiatry	9%	25	23	19	0	2	0	0	1	1
Interventional Radiology (Integrated)	13%	52	52	39	1	4	1	0	0	7
Neurodevelopmental Disabilities	67%	7	3	1	0	0	0	0	2	0
Neurological Surgery	7%	268	265	228	14	5	0	0	2	16
Neurology	29%	932	925	492	7	154	3	0	46	223
Obstetrics-Gynecology	6%	1,587	1,586	1,109	50	314	18	1	50	44
OB/GYN-Preliminary (PGY-1 Only)	38%	17	8	4	0	1	0	0	1	2
Orthopedic Surgery	2%	929	929	724	43	131	9	0	8	14
Otolaryngology	2%	394	393	351	10	24	1	0	2	5
Pathology	36%	622	619	263	20	104	7	0	57	168
Pediatrics (Categorical)	28%	3,135	2,988	1,476	23	640	8	0	251	590
Pediatrics-Medical Genetics	19%	28	27	17	0	5	0	0	0	5
Pediatrics-Preliminary	13%	25	23	19	0	1	0	0	1	2
Pediatrics-Primary	60%	58	55	18	0	4	0	0	3	30
Peds/Psych/Child Psych	0%	29	29	27	1	1	0	0	0	0
Physical Medicine & Rehab	8%	240	240	126	4	90	1	0	10	9
Plastic Surgery (Integrated)	3%	221	221	197	16	2	0	0	2	4
Psychiatry	14%	2,388	2,380	1,433	40	542	22	0	153	190
Radiation Oncology	17%	12	12	9	0	1	0	0	1	1
Radiology-Diagnostic	11%	151	147	86	6	35	4	0	7	9
Surgery (Categorical)	12%	1,778	1,774	1,114	147	261	37	1	100	114
Surgery-Preliminary (PGY-1 Only)	49%	1,194	673	267	11	64	3	0	88	240
Thoracic Surgery	4%	54	54	50	0	2	0	0	0	2
Transitional (PGY-1 Only)	12%	1,860	1,617	1,054	18	346	4	0	89	106
Vascular Surgery	11%	102	102	84	4	2	0	1	2	9
Total PGY-1	26%	40,041	37,667	19,044	803	7,773	276	10	3,108	6,653

 

Top IMG Friendly Specialties by Number of IMGs

 

Internal Medicine (Categorical)	4718
Family Medicine	1427
Pediatrics	841
Psychiatry	343
Emergency Medicine	446
General Surgery (Preliminary)	328
Pathology	225
Neurology	269
OB/GYN-Preliminary (PGY-1 Only)	3
Transitional Year	195
General Surgery (Categorical)	214
Anesthesiology	131
OB/GYN	94
Internal Medicine/ Pediatrics	28
Child Neurology	33
Diagnostic Radiology	16
Neurosurgery	18
Orthopedic Surgery	22
PM&R	19
Interventional Radiology	7
Plastic Surgery	6
Dermatology	1

 

According to the NRMP:

The top five IMG friendly specialties for US-IMGs were:

Internal Medicine (categorical) (1,145)

Family Medicine (626)

Emergency Medicine (315)

Pediatrics (categorical) (251)

Psychiatry (153)

The top five IMG friendly specialties for Non-US IMGs were:

Internal Medicine (categorical) (3,573)

Family Medicine (801)

Pediatrics (categorical) (590)

General Surgery (Preliminary) (240)

Psychiatry (190)

Other IMG Friendly Factors

In addition to statistical data, IMG residency candidates should take other factors into account when selecting medical specialties.

The Competitive Edge: USMLE Scores in Specialty Matching: In more competitive fields, strong USMLE scores are often a crucial factor for residency applicants to stand out.

Showcasing Your Passion: Leveraging Previous Work and Clinical Experiences: To demonstrate your commitment and deep interest, it’s crucial to highlight relevant previous work and clinical experiences in your residency application, no matter the specialty.

Supporting documents – Another way to prove your interest and dedication to a specialty is having specialty-specific supporting documents. You should work hard to obtain specialty-specific Letters of Recommendation and a Personal Statement for each specialty you plan on applying to. Learn more at Residency Statement

Finances –  Applying to residency can be expensive. The suggested minimum applications for IMG candidates is 100 programs per specialty, which adds up to thousands of dollars. Make sure you assess your specialty decision carefully to make the best use of your resources.

Program choices and opportunities – Your choice may depend on how large the specialty you choose is and the number of programs you qualify to apply to, based on your professional credentials and each program’s application requirements. If you pick too narrow a specialty, you may need to prepare a backup specialty.

Choosing a specialty will take time, care, and consideration. While some specialties are less competitive than others, no one specialty is a guaranteed “in.” No matter which specialty you pick, you will still have to put lots of hard work into your MyERAS Application materials, program research, and more.

Visit Match A Resident to see how our Customized Program Lists can help you prepare for a successful Match season!

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