Applicants MUST apply for the Foundation Programme (FP) before applying to Specialised Foundation Programmes (SFP) or Foundation Priority Programmes (FPP)
The Foundation Programme is a two-year, work-based training programme which bridges the gap between medical school and specialty / general practice training. The foundation programme is part of the continuum of medical education. It ensures that newly qualified doctors develop their clinical and professional skills in the workplace in readiness for core, specialty or general practice training. The Foundation Programme aims to ensure that all doctors deliver safe and effective patient care and aspire to excellence in their professional development in accordance with GMC guidance.
Training programmes are designed to ensure that all foundation doctors undergo a balanced programme which enables them to meet the competences and outcomes set by the GMC as described in the curriculum.
Non-urgent advice: UKFP 2025 Key Documents
Guidance, documents and forms for UKFP 2025 will be published on this webpage in due course (summer 2024). Please keep checking here for updates.
In the meantime, prospective applicants may find it useful to review the following Key Changes section.
UKFP 2025 Key Changes
Pre-allocation:
The following changes have been made to the Pre-allocation criteria for UKFP 2025:
- Criterion 2a “Primary Carer” and Criterion 2b “Significant Carer” have been merged into a single carer criterion which is now called “Significant Caring Responsibilities”.
- Criterion 3 “Medical Condition” has been renamed “Health Condition or Disability”.
- Criterion 4 “Unique Circumstances” has been renamed “Extraordinary Circumstances”.
Eligibility applicants:
Eligibility-route applicants should review the Eligibility Applications for UK Foundation Programme webpage for key changes to the eligibility application process.
UKFP 2024 Key Documents
Guidance, documents and forms for UKFP 2024 will remain published on this page, but are for reference only and must not be used by prospective applicants who wish to apply for UKFP 2025. They will be archived once documents are published for UKFP 2025.
Timeline:
UKFP 2024 Application Timeline [.pdf 148KB]
Applicant Guides:
UKFP 2024 Applicant Guide to the Pre-Allocation process [.pdf 408KB]
UKFP 2024 Pre-allocation withdrawal process [.pdf 131 KB]
UKFP 2024 Applicant Guide to Allocation – Preference Informed Allocation [.pdf 409KB]
UKFP 2024 Allocation Key Points v2 [.pdf 107KB]
UKFP 2024 Applicant Presentation [.pdf 769KB]
UKFP 2024 Applicant Handbook [.pdf 514KB]
UKFP 2024 Guidance on how to apply to the Foundation Programme [.pdf 1.3MB]
UKFP Competition Ratios (2021, 2022 and 2023) [.pdf 69.5KB]
UKFP 2024 Webinar recordings
The recordings of the following webinars can be found on our UKFPO webinars page.
- FP 2024 Pre-allocation webinar, 06 September 2023
- FP 2024 Preference Informed Allocation (PIA) webinar, 13 September 2023