Specialised Foundation Programme (SFP)

Recruitment Process

To apply for any of the Foundation Programmes, first you need to ensure you are eligible to apply. If you graduated (or are graduating) from a UK medical school, your medical school will confirm your eligibility on your behalf. For non-UK medical school graduates, your eligibility will be confirmed via UKFPO’s eligibility application process.

You should then consider applying for Specialised Foundation Programmes (SFP) via the main application on Oriel. These programmes tend to focus on research, leadership and management or medical education. Programmes are all recruited to through competitive selection methodology and will often require applicants to attend an interview. Applicants can apply for a maximum of two specialised units of application (SUoAs). Each SUoA will manage its own local selection process which may involve a short-listing and interview process.

*Applicants should refer to the specific SUoA (Specialised Unit of Application) website that you will be applying to, to see which achievements they will be taking into consideration for their shortlisting and interview processes. The foundation school websites will provide more information on the specialised posts they offer and their structure.

More information about how to apply, together with the timeline, is available in the Applicants’ Handbook on the Two-year Foundation Programme page.

There are also a number of Foundation Priority Programmes (FPP), which offer exposure to academia, some of which also provide the opportunity to undertake a postgraduate qualification. Please see the FPP section of our website for further details.