Core Psychiatry had one of the largest ratio rises among MSRA specialties. Applications went from 4,650 for 492 posts in 2024 to 10,677 for 489 posts in 2025. The published competition ratio rose from 9.45:1 to 21.83:1 in a year. NHS England's modelling counted 1,136 appointable UK graduates for about 480 posts, roughly 2.4 per post. Its separate all-appointable-applicant calculation gave a ratio of 12.4 to one.
Those post totals come from different recruitment snapshots, so 489 and about 480 belong with their own source. Both snapshots show far more appointable candidates than places. A raw score of 186 is the floor in each paper. A competitive rank will demand more.
The growth is visible on NHS England's 2024 and 2025 competition-ratio pages. Its prioritisation impact modelling supplies both appointable calculations. Your personal odds still depend on the cohort and priority rules.
Your MSRA result is the selection process
After eligibility checks, the MSRA alone decides Core Psychiatry CT1 offers. Interview and portfolio stages are absent. The Core Psychiatry MSRA rules require a raw score of at least 186 in each paper, so both papers must clear their own floor.
Your result shows both paper scores, an overall score and a rank. That rank is calculated within the Core Psychiatry applicant cohort. If overall scores are tied, the raw Professional Dilemmas score is considered first, followed by the raw Clinical Problem Solving score.
A successful score can be transferred between Psychiatry recruitment rounds within the same 12-month cycle, provided the selection process remains unchanged. Round 1 for an August intake always requires a new sitting. An eligible later-round transfer is ranked afresh against that Psychiatry cohort, so its rank can rise or fall. Offers stay with their original round. The choice to transfer or resit is made in the application and becomes final at submission. A resit supersedes the earlier outcome even when the new score is lower, with no route back to the old result.
The marking outcome is final. The cross-specialty distinctions are set out in our MSRA resit and score-transfer guide.
The confirmed dates stop short of the MSRA window
The national 2027 Round 1 timeline is confirmed. The Psychiatry-specific MSRA and booking dates were still unpublished at the time of writing.
- Applications open at 10:00 on Thursday 22 October 2026.
- Applications close at 16:00 on Thursday 19 November 2026.
- Requests to review an Oriel priority-status decision close at 17:00 on 24 November 2026.
- The national interview window runs from 11 January to 2 April 2027, although Psychiatry does not use an interview.
- Initial offers are due by 17:00 on 6 April 2027.
- The hold deadline is 09:00 on 9 April; upgrades close at 16:00 on 14 April 2027.
For the 2026 cycle, the main MSRA window ran from 6 to 19 January. A second window from 12 to 25 February was reserved for people applying only to GP, Core Psychiatry or both, subject to capacity. Applying to another MSRA specialty put you in the January group. NHS England had not confirmed the same split for 2027. The month remains uncertain until NHS England publishes the window or your invitation arrives.
Your message and booking instructions in Oriel control the appointment. Our Oriel walkthrough and full 2027 dates page provide the wider sequence. A date remembered from the last cycle is not a booking.
The national Round 3 timetable closes applications on 29 July 2027 for posts commencing between January and March 2028, but Core Psychiatry CT1 participation remains uncertain. By contrast, the Psychiatry posts page carries anticipated regional numbers for a February 2027 intake, including Northern Ireland, with each minimum and maximum still "to be confirmed". NHS England's confirmed specialty list, published on 6 July 2026, includes Psychiatry ST4 alone. At the time of writing, the posts page anticipates a CT1 campaign, but its relationship to that national timetable remains unconfirmed.
Core Psychiatry CT1 remains absent from the confirmed list.
The 2026 person specification is the current eligibility check
The 2026 Core Psychiatry CT1 person specification is the latest published version. The 2027 document was still pending on 3 August 2026. It supports an early self-screen, but the new version will need another check when it appears.
- You need a recognised medical degree, the right to work in the UK, and full GMC registration and a licence to practise at the time of application.
- Existing eligibility for a CCT or CESR in Psychiatry, or for the Psychiatry specialist register, excludes an application.
- You need recent evidence of foundation competence. The routes include current UK Foundation Programme employment, a current GMC-approved specialty programme with an NTN or DRN, a UK Foundation Programme Certificate of Completion, or 12 months of medical experience after full registration (or equivalent post-licensing experience) plus CREST.
- You need a valid driving licence or a commitment to arrange alternative transport for emergency and domiciliary care across the programme.
The specification also expects a demonstrated interest in Psychiatry and a realistic understanding of the work. If CREST is your route, the accepted form and its supervision and signatory rules determine whether the evidence is valid. Our CREST form guide follows those rules from the official guidance.
NHS England has not published a Psychiatry breakdown
The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act applied at the offer stage for 2026 entry. NHS England published national results and a separate statement about GP; the Psychiatry-specific prioritisation fill figure remains undisclosed. GP's 100% category and the 98% figure across all specialty posts apply to their stated scopes alone.
For 2027, your MSRA result still sets your Psychiatry rank, but priority status can determine whether that rank is considered for an offer. Check NHS England's live prioritisation page before applications close; our guide to the Act explains the surrounding rules.
Core Psychiatry CT1 training runs for 36 months
Core training runs for 36 months, from CT1 to CT3. The MRCPsych examination has multiple-choice papers and the Clinical Assessment of Skills and Competencies (CASC). Higher training then usually runs from ST4 to ST6. One ST4 application can preference posts across all single and dual-specialty pathways. Availability still varies by recruitment round.
Priority status changes the calculation for IMGs
IMGs make up about 40% of the psychiatric workforce, according to a Royal College of Psychiatrists briefing. That workforce share tells you little about access to a CT1 post under the 2027 rules. The College's Psychiatry Medical Training Initiative is closed to new placements following the national MTI shutdown on 31 March 2026. Doctors already in placements can complete them; a replacement route remains unconfirmed.
If you qualify for a priority route, that route and its supporting evidence need to match your Oriel answers. Without a priority route, a high MSRA score remains necessary for a good rank while priority status is decided separately. Psychiatry's own 2026 non-priority outcome is unknown, so a precise success percentage would fill a data gap with guesswork. You can still submit as a non-priority applicant if you meet the person specification. Our view is that this application should be one strand of a wider plan. Our 2027 MSRA guide for IMGs deals with the decision to sit, while the routes still open to IMGs covers trust-grade and clinical fellow work, SAS careers, the Portfolio Pathway and alternatives outside UK training.
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Core Psychiatry questions before you apply
What MSRA score do you need for Psychiatry?
The fixed appointability floor is 186 raw in each paper. A competitive target depends on the 2027 cohort, and the offer cut-off remains unpublished. For the August 2025 intake, an NHS England FOI response recorded 531 as the lowest MSRA score attached to an accepted offer anywhere; that pre-Act cohort is useful history rather than a 2027 forecast.
Can you transfer last year's MSRA score?
Transfer is available within the published 12-month Psychiatry cycle while the selection process remains unchanged. Round 1 for the August intake requires a fresh sitting. An eligible transfer is re-ranked against its new cohort, and the submitted transfer decision is final.
Do IMGs still have a chance in 2027?
Yes. Prioritisation now applies at shortlisting as well as offers, and the Psychiatry-specific 2026 outcome remains undisclosed. If you are a non-priority IMG, serious MSRA preparation belongs alongside credible employment and career routes.