The Association of American Medical Colleges has updated its Electronic Residency Application Service to streamline the application process for both medical school graduates and programs.
The ERAS platform, managed by AAMC, now includes new data, tools and interview management features for residency and fellowship applicants in the 2026 cycle. Updates include an enhanced Residency Explorer tool that features data from more than 5,000 programs across 40 specialties, new specialty-specific webinars and guides, and expanded capabilities for residents to customize their applications.
AAMC has also centralized interview scheduling into a single management system, enabling applicants to receive invitations, track interviews and manage their schedules in one location, according to a Sept. 10 news release.
ERAS is widely used by medical school graduates to submit application materials to multiple residency programs at once. In recent years, the platform has faced scrutiny from various specialties that have expressed concerns about its growing limitations and administrative burden for applicants.
The updates come as the U.S. faces a projected shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, according to AAMC data. While the number of residency slots is largely set by federal funding caps, hospitals face intense competition for top candidates. By streamlining applications, centralizing interview scheduling and providing richer applicant data, the changes could help fill residency programs faster and strengthen the pipeline from medical school to practice.
