👁️Ophthalmology 2026/27

Verified 9 October 2026

At a glance

Competition ratio

21.5 : 1

2,197 apps·102 posts

Very high

Source: NHS England 2025 ↗

Entry point

ST1

Training length

7 years

ST1 to ST7

Check out the free Pay Calculator to see how much you'd earn at each grade ↗

Your training journey

Step 1

Medical School

5-6 yrs

Step 2

Foundation Training

2 yrs

Current

Ophthalmology

7 years

ST1 to ST7

Step 4

CCT

Download the curriculum

Hear from doctors in the specialty

Recommended resources

The Ophthalmology Applicant’s Handbook, UK Edition

Written by Dr Habiba Ahmed, the ophthalmologist in our tips videos

The whole route into UK ophthalmology, in one book

The Ophthalmology Applicant’s Handbook: UK Edition

Dr Habiba Ahmed, MBChB MSc FRCOphth FEBO

The MSRA, portfolio scoring and the structured interview in turn, how to build the portfolio behind them through audit, research, teaching, leadership and clinical exposure, and what the job is actually like, from first surgical skills to subspecialty training.

See the book on Amazon

Application process

New for 2027

In 2027, UK graduates and others in the priority group are offered interviews and training posts first. Read more here.
Shortlisting is now the MSRA alone: once you self-score 19 or more, you are ranked on your MSRA and the top 350 go on to evidence verification. Your verified self-assessment still decides the interview list and is half of your final score.

Key dates for August 2027 entry

National run-through recruitment coordinated by NHS England (South West) on behalf of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.

Applications

Advert published

By 5pm Wednesday 21 October 2026

Applications open

At 10am Thursday 22 October 2026

Applications close

At 4pm Thursday 19 November 2026

MSRA

MSRA invitations

To be confirmed

MSRA (January sitting)

Tuesday 5 January to Wednesday 20 January 2027

Shortlisting & Evidence

Self-assessment and evidence upload

Monday 18 January to Tuesday 2 February 2027

Offers

Self-assessment feedback

Thursday 25 February 2027

Interviews

Invitations to interview

Monday 15 March 2027

Offers

Preferences open

Thursday 18 March 2027

Interviews

Online interview dates

Monday 22 & Tuesday 23 March 2027

Interview feedback released

Thursday 25 March 2027

Offers

Initial offers released

At 5pm Tuesday 6 April 2027

Hold deadline

Friday 9 April 2027 (time to be confirmed)

Upgrade deadline

At 4pm Wednesday 14 April 2027

Source: NHS England 2027 ↗

Lead recruiter

NHS England South West

National Ophthalmology ST1 recruitment in partnership with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.

NHS recruitment helpdesk NHS England Ophthalmology ST1 page

Top-rated trusts for Ophthalmology, as rated by doctors

Get ready for your Ophthalmology interview

We're starting right now with IMT for The Schema, but depending on which specialties get more waiting list sign ups, resource development will be focused more towards that.