The information presented here will help specialty and program leaders learn more about program signaling and provide them guidance on how to participate for the 2026 ERAS residency season.
For Individual Residency and Fellowship Programs: Do not complete a participation agreement. They will be automatically opted in when the 2026 ERAS season opens on June 4, 2025. Programs may choose to opt out within the Program Management tab in the Program Director’s WorkStation (PDWS).
What is a Program Signal?
A program signal is an applicant’s opportunity to express their genuine interest in a residency program. A program signal only indicates the applicant's interest at the time of application. It should be understood that their interest could change throughout the cycle, after interviews, life events, or interactions with a given program.
Program signals are designed to be used by programs as a single data point among many data points available to them and offers those programs an added tool in their holistic review toolkit. Programs are encouraged not to misinterpret missing signal responses or use missing responses to filter or screen out applicants. Applicants with missing information may have skipped the program signaling section at the time they completed their application.
Learn more by reading Preliminary Program Signaling Data and Their Impact on Residency Selection and reviewing the ERAS Statistics webpage.
Program Signaling for the 2026 ERAS Season
Program signals are available to all ERAS residency and fellowship applicants (July and December fellowship cycles) applying to specialties that opt-in to participate in program signals.
Due to the complexity of program signaling and in the interest of protecting applicants, the AAMC requires each interested specialty to agree to participate in program signaling. Individual programs should strongly consider their decision to participate in program signaling before taking the action to opt out in the PDWS.
The AAMC seeks to ensure that specialties that choose to participate in program signaling for the 2026 ERAS season:
- Are properly trained and equipped to use program signals as a part of a holistic review of applicants when deciding who to invite to an interview.
- Understand and have reviewed the research outcomes to date.
- Make an informed decision about the number of signals available to applicants for their individual specialty together with AAMC assessment experts.
- Have ample time for early communication to applicants and advisors regarding specialty participation.
Where will Applicants Find Specialties and Programs that are Participating in Program Signaling?
Once the 2026 ERAS season opens on June 4, 2025, visit the ERAS Participating Specialties and Programs page. Click on a specialty title. If that specialty is participating in program signals, check the box at the top of the page to see the list of programs within that specialty that have chosen to participate in program signaling.
AAMC Guidance for Home and Away Rotation Program Signaling
The AAMC suggests that applicants signal programs they are most interested in, regardless of whether they are home or away rotations. This is the most fair and equitable process for all applicant types (MD, DO, and IMGs) and provides all programs that participate in receiving signals with the same information about interest level.
Timelines for Specialties and Programs Seeking to Participate in Program Signaling for the 2026 ERAS Season
July Fellowship Cycle
- March 28, 2025: Deadline for specialties to sign the participation agreement. This participation agreement is intended to be signed by one specialty-approved association executive committee member (e.g., president, CEO, appointed chairman, etc.). The specialty organization and leadership must provide and communicate to the AAMC the number of program signals they wish to use.
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June 18, 2025 by 5 p.m. ET: July cycle programs have from the date registration opens in April 2025 until June 18, 2025, to register with the ERAS program for participation (programs are automatically opted in to program signals upon registration; they may choose to opt out).
September Residency Cycle
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March 28, 2025: Deadline for specialties to sign the participation agreement. This participation agreement is intended to be signed by one specialty-approved association executive committee member (e.g., president, CEO, appointed chairman, etc.). The specialty organization and leadership must provide and communicate to the AAMC the number of program signals they wish to use.
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August 20, 2025 by 5 p.m. ET: September cycle programs have from the date registration opens in April 2025 until Aug. 20, 2025, to register with the ERAS program for participation (programs are automatically opted in to program signals upon registration; they may choose to opt out).
December Fellowship Cycle
- August 29, 2025: Deadline for specialties to sign the participation agreement. This participation agreement is intended to be signed by one specialty-approved association executive committee member (e.g., president, CEO, appointed chairman, etc.). The specialty organization and leadership must provide and communicate to the AAMC the number of program signals they wish to use.
- October 29, 2025 by 5 p.m. ET: December cycle programs have from the date registration opens in September 2025 until Oct. 29, 2025, to register with the ERAS program for participation (programs are automatically opted in to program signals upon registration; they may choose to opt out).
Specialty Level Participation in Program Signaling
Contact the ERAS Program to set up a meeting with ERAS leaders who can answer any additional questions you may have about participating in program signaling for the 2026 ERAS season and can help facilitate signing your specialty’s participation agreement.