The MSRA gets you as far as the radiology interview. It no longer contributes to final ranking, so a guide from two or three years ago can give the MSRA too much weight in your preparation. For 2027 it does carry a new floor: at least 201 in each of the two papers.
The MSRA is left out of the final score
A 14 March 2023 HEE Freedom of Information response put the MSRA at 40% of the final Clinical Radiology selection score. That figure belongs to the process covered by the response. The 2027 NHS England ranking rules keep the MSRA out of the final score. Interview performance alone decides appointability. For candidates who meet that bar, final ranking is 30% portfolio and 70% interview.
That weighting "has changed for 2027", in NHS England's words; the 2026 split was 40% portfolio and 60% interview. The radiology pages checked for this update were reviewed by NHS England between 8 and 13 October 2026.
Selection runs from the MSRA to weighted final ranking
Your application is followed by the MSRA. Longlisting, the eligibility check against the person specification and application evidence, now comes after MSRA results. Its first phase spot-checks applicants who have 18 months or more of radiology experience after foundation. Portfolio verification and interview selection come later.
You need at least 201 in each MSRA paper to continue. Shortlisting by MSRA score happens only if eligible applicants exceed interview capacity; when it does, interview places go down the MSRA ranking until that capacity is filled. There is no published score that guarantees a 2027 invitation, and an old cut-off came from a different cohort and selection process. The MSRA scores and competition guide explains the limits of those old numbers.
The portfolio begins inside the Oriel application, before the MSRA. You declare an evidence category for each domain, and those choices lock when you submit. Choosing category E in all five domains means you will not be invited to sit the MSRA. If the later upload changes the evidence used for a declared category, that domain scores zero. Only candidates invited to interview or placed on the reserve list upload their supporting evidence. The Clinical Radiology ST1 Portfolio review guidance, which no longer carries a year in its title, sets the category requirements.
The interview is online through Qpercom and has two stations of up to 15 minutes each. Station A contains two portfolio questions, a question about your understanding of the specialty and a skills question. Station B covers clinical prioritisation, coping with pressure and uncertainty, and working within a team.
The interview score alone determines appointability.
The 2027 thresholds are a minimum of 48 out of 80 overall, at least 22 in each station, 6/10 or more on the clinical question and at least 4/10 on every other question. The 2026 rule against any score of 1 has gone. If you clear all four requirements, your final rank is weighted 30% to portfolio and 70% to interview.
Commitment to Specialty carries double weight
Each domain is graded from category A to E: A scores 4, B scores 3, C scores 2, D scores 1 and E scores 0. The five domains are:
- Commitment to Specialty;
- Leadership and Management;
- Teaching and Training;
- Audit and Quality Improvement;
- Academic Achievements.
Domain 1, Commitment to Specialty, still counts twice. The current guidance changes domains 1, 4 and 5 from the 2026 version, so a category chosen from last year's wording needs checking again. Your chosen category must match the exact descriptor for the recruitment round, with dates, authorship and your personal role visible in the evidence itself. Where one achievement genuinely fits several radiology domains, you may claim it in each. The ophthalmology portfolio uses a once-only evidence rule instead.
Competition exceeded 11 applications per post in 2024 and 2025
NHS England's published Round 1 figures record more than 11 applications per post in 2024 and 2025. These figures pre-date the Prioritisation Act's recruitment changes.
| Entry year | Applications | Posts | Applications per post |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3,068 | 350 | 8.77 to one |
| 2024 | 3,719 | 312 | 11.92 to one |
| 2025 | 4,011 | 356 | 11.27 to one |
The 2027 vacancy figure is still to be confirmed, and a radiology-specific breakdown of the 2026 prioritisation result remains unpublished. NHS England's overall figures cannot supply either missing number. The ratios above are dated competition history.
Radiology interviews run from 11 to 17 March 2027
National Round 1 applications open at 10:00 on 22 October 2026 and close at 16:00 on 19 November 2026. The interview window runs from 11 January to 2 April 2027, with initial offers due by 17:00 on 6 April. The full hold and upgrade sequence is in our 2027 dates guide and on NHS England's recruitment timeline.
Radiology's own timetable puts the MSRA from 5 to 20 January 2027, results by 17 February, interviews from 11 to 17 March and offers on 6 April.
Clinical Radiology is not participating in Round 3. The specialty recruitment page and the messages attached to your application will carry the updates. Our Oriel walkthrough covers the application, priority-status review and offer controls; your Oriel invitation remains the instruction for your appointment.
Standard Clinical Radiology training takes five years to CCT. The Interventional Radiology route takes six.
IMGs may need to compare ST1 with the Portfolio Pathway
If your route to foundation competence sits outside a recent UK Foundation Programme or another accepted route, you will usually need a CREST form; for 2027 either the 2024 or the 2027 version is accepted. It needs arranging early enough to support the application. A valid CREST can make you eligible for ST1, while priority status and portfolio evidence remain separate requirements.
IMG Connect's 2026 guidance says most overseas radiologists use the GMC Portfolio Pathway, formerly CESR, instead of restarting at ST1. That is especially relevant if you already have substantial radiology training abroad. The GMC Portfolio Pathway leads to the Specialist Register through evidence of equivalent knowledge, skills and experience. Its outcome is specialist registration, while an NTN training programme leads to CCT.
The reported arrangement for NTN training posts in England is central handling of visa sponsorship after an Oriel offer through NHS England's National Overseas Sponsorship Team. The official sponsorship guidance is the source for the current pattern in your round. Arrangements differ across the UK nations, and the immigration decision remains separate from the Certificate of Sponsorship.
For a non-priority IMG, the consequence in radiology is that an ST1 application may stop before interview. The live NHS England prioritisation rules and our Prioritisation Act guide set out how your status is decided.
If you expect to remain non-priority, the decision is whether the time, cost and likely outcome of an ST1 attempt compare well with taking a radiology job that supports Portfolio Pathway evidence. The IMG options guide sets out trust-grade, SAS and Portfolio routes while the radiology fill rate remains unpublished. A high MSRA preserves any opening your group is allowed to contest.
Practise the MSRA questions used for radiology shortlisting and check the current portfolio and interview model: try ProMSRA free / see pricing.
Clinical Radiology questions
How much does the MSRA count for radiology?
It sets a floor of 201 in each paper and decides interview places when eligible applicants exceed capacity. The interview alone decides appointability, then final ranking is 30% portfolio and 70% interview under NHS England's 2027 rules.
What does the radiology portfolio need?
You declare a category in the Oriel application for each of the five domains, with Commitment to Specialty double-weighted. Those declarations lock at submission, and candidates invited to interview or placed on the reserve list later upload the evidence for verification.
Can IMGs enter Clinical Radiology in 2027?
They can. Whether an ST1 application makes sense depends on your priority status and prior radiology experience. The 2027 regulations added no route based on NHS experience, so a trust-grade history does not change your status by itself. Prior radiology experience may make the Portfolio Pathway a better fit than restarting at ST1. The 2027 radiology guidance will help you judge whether spending heavily on an ST1 application makes sense for you.