Ophthalmology ST1
The ophthalmology ST1 application, stage by stage
Applying for ophthalmology specialty training is one application on Oriel, followed by three assessments: the MSRA, the self-assessment and the interview. Here is what each stage decides, and the dates for the round that opens in October 2026.
At a glance
- Intake
- August 2027
- Application window
- 22 October to 19 November 2026
- Shortlisting
- MSRA score, once you self-score 19
- Final score
- 50 evidence folder, 50 interview
- Interview threshold
- 40% to reach the offer stage
- Competition, 2025 round
- 21.54 per post (2,197 applications, 102 posts)
Your OST1 application goes in once, on Oriel
Recruitment to ophthalmology ST1 is run nationally rather than by deanery. For the August 2027 intake there are two adverts on Oriel, one for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and one for Wales, and you can apply to one of them only. If both of your applications are still live when the window closes, the one submitted first is withdrawn.
The window opens at 10am on Thursday 22 October 2026 and closes at 4pm on Thursday 19 November 2026.
The MSRA alone decides the shortlist
This is new for 2027. The recruiter puts it plainly: "the shortlisting score will be solely the MSRA score and will not include the self-assessment score." The self-assessment still sets a floor: "candidates self-scoring less than 19 points will not progress beyond the MSRA stage." Everyone at or above it is ranked on the MSRA, and the top 350 go forward to have their evidence checked.
After that the MSRA drops out of the reckoning: "The score from the MSRA will not be included within the total score." It decides who gets looked at, and nothing about who gets an offer.
The self-assessment is half of the final score
You upload your self-assessment and evidence between Monday 18 January and Tuesday 2 February 2027. It is scored across ten domains and then verified against that evidence. A verified score below 20 ends the application there, and the highest-ranking 260 are invited to interview.
The verified score is worth up to 50 points of the final total. Most of what it counts was done months or years before the portal opens, which is why it is worth scoring early rather than in January.
The interview is two stations, worth the other half
Invitations go out on Monday 15 March 2027, and the interviews are held virtually on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 March. There are two of them, each up to ten minutes with five minutes of reading beforehand: one a consultation focused on clinical knowledge, the other a difficult communication or ethical scenario, both with an actor playing a patient or carer.
The interview is scored out of 50, the same as the evidence folder, and you need at least 40% in it to reach the offer stage. That shape is what ophthalmology interview prep has to fit: short, timed answers, spoken out loud to somebody playing a patient.
Where you train is decided after you are scored
Preferences open on Thursday 18 March 2027, and initial offers are released at 5pm on Tuesday 6 April 2027. Which of your preferences you can reach depends on where your total ranks you.
Ophthalmology specialty training is run-through, ST1 to ST7, so the post you accept decides where you train for seven years.
Ophthalmology ST1 2026/27, date by date
From the recruiter's timeline for the August 2027 intake, in UK time.
- Applications open: Thursday 22 October 2026, 10am
- Applications close: Thursday 19 November 2026, 4pm
- Invitations to the MSRA: not yet confirmed
- Self-assessment and evidence portal: Monday 18 January to Tuesday 2 February 2027
- Self-assessment feedback: Thursday 25 February 2027
- Invitations to interview: Monday 15 March 2027
- Preferences open: Thursday 18 March 2027
- Interviews: Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 March 2027
- Interview feedback: Thursday 25 March 2027
- Initial offers: Tuesday 6 April 2027, 5pm
Read next
- What the ophthalmology ST1 portfolio actually requires
The ten domains behind the self-assessment, what each is capped at, and the rules that decide whether a piece of evidence counts.
- How the ophthalmology ST1 self-assessment is scored
The ladders underneath those domains: what a poster, a paper or an audit is actually worth.
- What changed in the 2027 ophthalmology ST1 evidence folder
The five domains whose rules tightened for this round, and what to check before you claim each item.
- Ophthalmology ST1 interview format: the two stations
What the recruiter publishes about each station, and what it does not say about how they are marked.
- Ophthalmology ST1 interview practice
Answer interview stations out loud to an AI voice, then read feedback aligned to the mark scheme.
Sources
Last reviewed October 2026. Always check the current guidance before relying on any of it.