IMT applications: how the 30-point self-assessment is scored

Internal Medicine Training scores applicants on a 30-point self-assessment across six achievement domains, plus a 5-point bonus for applying only to IMT. This guide walks through each domain's bands for the 2026 cycle, how "highest band counts" scoring works, and the evidence worth keeping for every claim.

Last reviewed - requirement claims in this guide were checked against the cited official sources on that date. Published by Clerkfolio.

How IMT selection works

IMT (and the joint IMT/ACCS-IM vacancy) uses a self-assessment scoring route: you declare your achievements against a published matrix when you apply, and the score ranks you. There is no mystery matrix - IMT Recruitment publishes the domains, the bands and the points for every cycle, so you can score yourself before you apply and see exactly where you stand.

Official requirements

The 2026 self-assessment at a glance

  • A maximum of 30 points across 6 domains: postgraduate degrees and qualifications (4), presentations and posters (6), publications (8), teaching experience (5), training in teaching (3), and quality improvement (4).
  • Applicants who apply only to the joint IMT/ACCS-IM vacancy in Round 1 of national recruitment are awarded 5 further points - a binary 5 or 0, lost if you hold live applications to other specialties.

Each domain scores your single highest-qualifying achievement, not everything you have done - three local posters do not add up. That shapes strategy: the marginal point usually comes from reaching a higher band in a weak domain, not from stacking more of what you already have.

The six domains and their top bands

The full band tables live on the IMT Recruitment scoring page cited below and are worth reading in their exact current wording before you claim anything. The shape of each domain for the 2026 cycle:

Official requirements

Domain bands (2026 cycle, highest band counts)

  • Postgraduate degrees and qualifications (max 4): 4 points for a PhD or MD by research, 3 for a masters of 8 or more months, 1 for a postgraduate diploma or certificate. Intercalated degrees are excluded, and teaching qualifications belong in training in teaching instead.
  • Presentations and posters (max 6): 6 points for a first or second author oral presentation at a national or international meeting, 4 for a national or international poster, 3 for a regional oral, 2 for a local oral or a regional or local poster.
  • Publications (max 8): 8 points for first, joint-first or corresponding author original research (PubMed-cited or in press), 6 for co-authored original research, 5 for multiple other publications or a book chapter, 3 for a single other publication, 1 for published abstracts or non-peer-reviewed articles.
  • Teaching experience (max 5): 5 points for organising a teaching programme with regular teaching over 3 or more months with formal feedback, 3 for regular teaching within a defined programme over 3 or more months, 1 for occasional teaching with formal feedback.
  • Training in teaching (max 3): 3 points for a university-accredited higher teaching qualification of 60 or more credits, 1 for a teaching course with 6 or more synchronous hours.
  • Quality improvement (max 4): 4 points for completing all stages of two full QI or audit cycles, 3 for some stages of two cycles or all of one complete cycle, 1 for some stages of a single cycle.

Evidencing what you claim

A self-assessment is a set of claims, and claims need evidence: certificates, programme letters, feedback summaries, acceptance emails, PubMed IDs, and audit reports with your role stated. Keep the evidence from the moment the work happens - the band definitions are specific (author position, months of duration, formal feedback, complete cycles), so the document you keep needs to show the specific fact the band asks for, not just that the work occurred.

  • What a complete audit or QI cycle looks like and how to write it up - read the guide.
  • Building the feedback trail that teaching bands require - read the guide.
  • How the IMT route compares with other specialties' selection - read the guide.

Clerkfolio suggestion

Clerkfolio suggestion: score yourself long before the application window

Map your existing achievements against the current bands early - ideally in F1, not the week applications open. The two domains applicants most often find thin (training in teaching, and the second complete QI cycle) are exactly the ones that take months to fix. Clerkfolio includes the published IMT framework so you can self-score your logged evidence against it and see your genuine gaps. Self-scoring is your own assessment against the published criteria - it is not a prediction of your application outcome.

Sources and jurisdiction

Clerkfolio is independent and is not affiliated with the NHS, the GMC, the UKFPO, or any Royal College. This guide is general information, not advice about your individual training situation - always check the current official guidance and your own foundation school or deanery requirements.

One portfolio for your entire career

Clerkfolio is a portfolio app for UK medical students and doctors. Log achievements, teaching, audits and reflections once, keep the evidence when you change trust, deanery or nation, and map the same entries to specialty applications and ARCP capabilities when you need them. See features and pricing.

Related guides

Specialty training applications

Every UK specialty training application is decided by evidence: some specialties score a self-assessment, some grade a portfolio at interview, and some select on the MSRA. This guide explains the selection routes, what they have in common, and why the evidence you collect years earlier decides your options.

CST portfolio station

Core Surgical Training does not score a self-assessment. You are shortlisted on the MSRA, and your portfolio is graded by assessors at interview - 45% of the final score - against published A to E indicators, with a mandatory index page. This guide explains the 2026 process and the evidence each domain expects.

Documenting an audit or QIP

Quality improvement is a named foundation capability and a staple of specialty application frameworks, but a project only becomes portfolio evidence if each stage is written down. This guide covers audit vs QIP, the improvement cycle, and exactly what to document as you go.

Documenting teaching

Teaching you deliver only counts if it is documented. This guide covers what counts as teaching, what to record for each session, the Developing the Clinical Teacher SLE, and how to collect feedback so a one-off session becomes durable portfolio evidence.