The MSRA gets you as far as radiology shortlisting. It no longer contributes to final ranking, which is why a guide from two or three years ago can send your preparation badly out of balance.
How the MSRA weighting moved
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 current NHS England ranking rules use the MSRA for shortlisting only. Interview performance alone decides appointability. For candidates who meet that bar, final ranking is 40% portfolio and 60% interview.
NHS England says its radiology pages for the next recruitment round will be finalised by Friday 2 October 2026. Until that refresh, the portfolio document in force is the 2026 Clinical Radiology ST1 Portfolio review guidance. That gives you a firm date to check again, while the published current process is the one to work from now.
What happens from application to offer
The latest verified process begins with longlisting. This is the eligibility check against the person specification and application evidence. Passing it allows you to sit the MSRA; portfolio verification and interview selection come later.
Longlisted candidates are ranked by MSRA for shortlisting. Interview places go down that ranking until the available capacity is filled. Any guaranteed 2027 invitation score remains unpublished, and an old cut-off came from a different cohort and selection process. The MSRA scores and competition guide explains why those old numbers need care.
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. If the later upload changes the evidence used for a declared category, that domain scores zero. After MSRA shortlisting, only the top 800 candidates are asked to upload their supporting evidence. Read the 2026 Clinical Radiology ST1 Portfolio review guidance before choosing a category.
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.
One rule is easy to miss. The interview score alone determines appointability. The published thresholds are a minimum 48 overall, at least 22 in each station, no score of 1, and 6/10 or more on the combined unweighted clinical prioritisation question. Candidates who clear all four requirements are ranked at 40% portfolio and 60% interview.
The portfolio has five domains, with one given extra 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, counts twice. Use the exact descriptor for the recruitment round and make sure dates, authorship and your personal role are visible in the evidence itself. And where one achievement genuinely fits several radiology domains, you may claim it in each. That differs from the once-only evidence rule in ophthalmology.
The ratio is high, and the missing data matter
NHS England's published Round 1 figures show how quickly Clinical Radiology tightened before the Prioritisation Act changed recruitment:
| 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 |
A 2027 post figure and a radiology-specific breakdown of the 2026 prioritisation result remain unpublished. NHS England's overall figures cannot supply either missing number. Use the ratios above as dated competition history.
The 2027 dates published so far
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 MSRA, evidence-upload and interview dates were still unpublished at the time of writing. The specialty's pages are due to be finalised by Friday 2 October 2026, and Clinical Radiology is not participating in Round 3. Watch the specialty recruitment page and the messages attached to your application. 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.
Before an IMG commits to ST1
If your route to foundation competence sits outside a recent UK Foundation Programme or another accepted route, you will usually need the 2024 CREST form. Arrange it early. A valid CREST can make you eligible for ST1. 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. Treat that as the current pattern and check the official sponsorship guidance for your round. Arrangements differ across the UK nations, and the immigration decision remains separate from the Certificate of Sponsorship.
The harder question is whether a non-priority IMG will reach interview in 2027. Prioritisation now applies from shortlisting through offers. At the time of writing, the additional 2027 rules on significant NHS experience and/or immigration status were still due in early autumn 2026, so nobody could state whether a particular trust-grade history would change your status.
Check the live NHS England prioritisation rules, then read our Prioritisation Act guide against your own facts. If you expect to remain non-priority, compare the cost of an ST1 attempt with 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; prioritisation still sets the available interview pool.
Radiology can end an application at the MSRA shortlist, long before the portfolio is read. See where the free questions put your baseline. The one-off course fee is there if a larger bank would earn its keep.
A few radiology loose ends
How much does the MSRA count for radiology?
It counts for shortlisting. The interview alone decides appointability, then final ranking is 40% portfolio and 60% interview under NHS England's current published rules; the next-round pages are due to be finalised by Friday 2 October 2026.
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 the top 800 shortlisted candidates later upload the evidence for verification.
Is Clinical Radiology realistic for IMGs in 2027?
It can be. Priority status controls access to shortlisting, while prior radiology experience may make the Portfolio Pathway a better fit than restarting at ST1. Check the autumn 2026 prioritisation regulations and the refreshed radiology guidance before spending heavily.