Advice for Dermatology Residency Applicants

I won't sugar coat it - applying to dermatology residency is competitive. Successful applicants often have excellent clerkship grades (high pass to honors), compelling research experiences, higher than average STEP scores, and multiple strong letters of recommendation from dermatologists. But unfortunately, more derm applicants meet those high standards than there are spots. Remember that programs also want residents who are kind, reliable team players who demonstrate resilience, curiosity, and a clear commitment to dermatology. What helps applicants stand apart is a compelling personal narrative, one that links their story, upbringing, experiences, and interests to why they sought to become a physician and dermatologist in the first place.

In hindsight, medical school was an incredibly privileged time where we are able to immerse ourselves in different specialties and get a taste for the true breath of medicine. Each specialty contributes differently to a patient's care and has their own unique insights into what makes someone a good physician. Don't pigeon-hole yourself too early, as you may inadvertently cut yourself out of an experience that introduces you to a specialty you might love. At the same time however, many medical schools don't introduce us to dermatology in the same way they do to internal medicine, ob/gyn, or neurology. If you think you may be interested in dermatology, you will have to be proactive. I recommend shadowing, attending interest group events, or jumping onto research projects within your first two years. The earlier you see what dermatology really is, the more time you'll have to explore whether dermatology is the right fit for you. Early exposure also ensures you have time to delve deeper into research projects and develop deeper relationships and stronger letters.

No, but it helps. Students without a home program often rely on away rotations to gain exposure, build mentorship, and secure letters. Many students match successfully without a home program, but they often have to be more deliberate about networking, finding research mentors, and building a cohesive application.

I'd argue that mentorship is one of the strongest predictors of success in medicine, not just dermatology. Having both clinical and research mentors is ideal. Mentors help guide research, write impactful letters, connect you with opportunities, and provide feedback on your personal statement and application. They serve as both role models and future colleagues, and some even go on to become friends.

No. Most applicants don't know whether they'll pursue a fellowship (rheum/derm, med derm, peds derm, Mohs, cosmetics, dermpath, etc) until residency. At this stage, programs moreso value curiosity, commitment, and an openness to learning.

• Clinical excellence (strong clerkship performance)
• Research (ideally dermatology-related, but really any scientific contribution is valued)
• Leadership and service (mentorship, volunteering, advocacy, teaching)
• Professionalism, teamwork, and resilience
• Life experiences

Board scores probably matter less than you'd think. With the caveat that I have not served on an admissions committee for residency, experience suggests to me that board scores are either ignored entirely or serve largely as a threshold or filter.

NO. I remember very distinctly the stress and anxiety I felt while waiting for prelim interview invites to roll in. Since dermatology interview invites come in batches in coordinated release dates much later in the cycle, I started looking to my preliminary apps to gauge the strength of my derm application. This was a mistake. I remember that many of my co-applicants received preliminary invites almost immediately after submitting ERAS, while it took many weeks for me to receive even one. Prelim/TY programs are very niche and often have very specific criteria in selecting interviewees that is so different from Derm programs that the two applications should be considered distinct processes in many ways. (Many prelim/TY are very careful with who they interview so that they don't waste spots interviewing applicants who would never actually consider moving to train with them for a year.) From my experience, it became clear that there was no real correlation between a successful dermatology application and the number of prelim invites I received. Almost all of my prelim invitations came months after submitting ERAS, and I received zero invites to non-academic prelims outside of my hometown (Bay Area, California).

The main components are:

• Dean's Letter/MSPE (Medical Student Performance Evaluation)
• Personal Statement
• ERAS CV (like the AMCAS, the ERAS CV is templated - you do not upload your own resume/CV)
• Letters of Recommendation (minimum of 3, maximum of 4)
• Supplemental program questions (required by some institutions)

The components of an ERAS CV include your personal and biographic information, education (medical education, clerkships, electives, and training), experience (clinical, teaching, volunteer, research), publications and presentations, professional and honorary society memberships, honors and awards, certifications and licensure, and professional and personal interests.

Keep it to one page. Be authentic, highlight formative experiences, and show why dermatology excites you. Avoid a generic essay that could apply to any specialty. Instead, tell a story that reflects your values, curiosity, and career goals.

This is controversial and I don't think there is one right answer. However, I suspect there is some value to it for programs in which you have a clear, compelling, and honest reason to do so. If a program has something unique that stands out to you and complement your specific interests, adding a few sentences highlighting the connection shows genuine interest. However, generic statements about specialty clinics or lines where you can easily exchange the name of one institution for another is not helpful and may even come across as insincere.

Hobbies make you more memorable and give interviewers conversation starters. Be ready to talk about them too - if you list "painting" somewhere in your application, expect to be asked what you've painted recently.

Board scores probably matter less than you'd think. While I have not served on an admissions committee for residency, experience suggests to me that board scores are either ignored entirely or serve largely as a threshold or filter. Programs still care about test performance, but strong clinical grades, thoughtful letters, and research now weigh more heavily than ever.

NO. Not everyone needs a research year, and the arms race to do one only exacerbates issues in our field surrounding inequity and low-quality research (see excellent article by McCrae et al, MDEdge 2025). Moreover, some evidence indicates that taking a research year is not even associated with long-term research productivity or a future academic career (Fritsche M et al, Arch Derm Res 2023).

That being said, a research year can help if you lack exposure to dermatology, have limited academic productivity, or want to bolster your application for highly competitive programs. However, many students match without a research year if they have strong mentorship and some dermatology projects.

Programs value research experiences that demonstrate initiative, sustained effort, and productivity (whether that be publications, abstracts, or poster presentations). Both basic science and clinical projects are valued, though basic science often requires more time, commitment, and risk. More compelling than a long list of superficial projects is evidence of true commitment, persistence, and intellectual engagement with one or a few research endeavors, even if this results in fewer total research items.

Engagement and passion matters over numbers. This explains why there is no magic number. Many matched applicants have 2–5 publications or abstracts while plenty unmatched applicants have far more. What matters is your ability to discuss your role and what you learned.

Yes. Non-derm research shows intellectual curiosity and perseverance. Over time, however, it's important to engage in projects related to dermatology both to familiarize yourself to the field but also to signal that you understand some of the evolving questions and future directions.

What matters most is building a cohesive story through your research. Programs want to hear what you learned, how your interests evolved, and how this shaped the type of dermatologist you hope to become. It's obvious when research is done for the sake of building a resume, especially when projects are scattershot and disconnected. While it's fine if early projects are unrelated (especially when you're just finding mentors), programs are more impressed by a few in-depth, thoughtful projects than by a long list of small, unrelated contributions.

While letters from other dermatologists carry a certain weight, what matters most is the strength and depth of the letter itself. A letter from someone who knows you well will always read more convincingly than a letter from someone who barely worked with you. A strong letter should argue your case by speaking to your character, clinical skills, and future potential.

Most applicants aim for at least two letters from dermatologists while a third can be from an attending in a different specialty, especially if that faculty member worked closely with you over time. In some cases, a letter signed jointly by two mentors can also be impactful. However, programs may have their own distinct preferences (some may require that all letters come from dermatologists while others appreciate a mix of specialties), and so I recommend referencing the websites of the programs you are considering before finalizing your letter writers.

For applying to prelim/transitional year programs: programs realize that you are applying to a be a prelim/TY intern and not a categorical (internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, etc) resident. They don't expect letters or personal statements arguing your case for why you want to become an internist (or pediatrician, surgeon). However, it may be helpful to have 1 of your 3-4 letters be from someone in that subspeciality, whether it was your sub-internship clerkship director or an attending you worked with in a clerkship/sub-internship.

The best opportunities often come at the end of a clerkship, sub-internship, or research experience. A good approach is to first ask for feedback, either midway through or at the end of your time working together. If the feedback is positive and you've developed a good relationship, that's a natural time to ask if they would be willing to write a letter on your behalf for residency. If they agree, follow up with an email that includes the following:

• Your CV
• A short summary of why you're applying to dermatology
• A few specific vignettes or strengths you'd like them to highlight
• If available, your personal statement (faculty often appreciate having it for context)

Maximize your time during electives and research projects. Even a few weeks of working hard and showing enthusiasm can lead to a strong letter if you're proactive, professional, and engaged.

Don't feel pressured to already know the nuances of dermatology – that's what residency is for! Nobody expects a medical student to walk in already knowing all of Bolognia. Showing up engaged and willing to learn is far more important than memorizing esoteric details. Your main goal is to familiarize yourself with common dermatologic diagnoses, describe morphology, and taste how dermatologists reason clinically.

My go-to resources for medical students include approachable resources that I think provide a solid foundation:

• AAD Basic Dermatology Curriculum (https://www.aad.org/education/basic-dermatology-curriculum) – a free, structured set of modules designed for medical students
• Dermatology Secrets – concise and easy to read, great for quick learning and review
• Fitzpatrick's Color Atlas – great kodachromes
• Lookingbill and Marks' Principles of Dermatology – straightforward and approachable framework for common derm conditions
• VisualDx (https://www.visualdx.com/) – interactive platform for building differentials and seeing image-based examples

Big caveat here: I did not do any away rotations. That being said, I recognize and appreciate that away rotations are challenging. They place you in an unfamiliar environment with new expectations and culture which can feel like an uphill battle. They're stressful, but they can also be valuable opportunities.

Kudos if you pursue them, and best of luck!

They aren't mandatory, but many applicants do 1–2 away rotations to demonstrate interest in specific regions or programs. They also give you the chance to be evaluated directly by faculty who might write letters. If your school doesn't have a home program, away rotations are especially helpful.

I don't think there is a clear right or wrong answer here. However, I recommend choosing programs where you may want to train. Consider location, size, culture, and research opportunities. Be aware that some programs are idiosyncratic about away rotators and that an away rotation does not guarantee an interview. Some programs may only interview those who did aways, while some programs rarely interview any.

Not always, but a dermatology Sub-I or advanced elective can help you develop deeper clinical experience and obtain letters.

Show enthusiasm, be kind, and don't be late. Programs notice students who are proactive, conscientious, and fun to be around.

With the advent of signaling, there is probably little benefit to applying to programs you did not signal. Programs are overwhelmed with applicants and use signals as a strong indicator of interest. Applying without signaling may yield very few interview invites.

It depends on your risk tolerance. Some applicants apply broadly in dermatology only; others dual-apply in internal medicine, pediatrics, or family medicine as a backup.

For applicants who would not be equally happy matching into dermatology or internal medicine, dual-applying to both may end up being more stressful than it's worth (two personal statements, two sets of letters, two interview cycles, etc). If you're only considering categorical IM as a fallback in a scenario where you don't match derm, keep in mind that many prelim programs allow interns to stay on and convert their preliminary year into a categorical medicine residency. If you opt to rank some prelim programs such that you still match at a prelim even if you don't match derm, you can consider becoming a categorical IM resident at that time without having to spend time and energy dual applying. (If you consider doing this, I recommend asking programs if they've had prelims fold into their categorical program so that you can gauge whether this is even an option.)

This choice is deeply personal depends on your degree of burnout, geographic preferences, and your interest in different areas of medicine. I think many of us agree that dermatology sits squarely within the house of Medicine and that being a good dermatologist requires a solid foundation in internal medicine. I see real value in doing a preliminary year. However, many of my friends completed TY years and are thriving. They are excellent dermatologists and better physicians than me in many ways.

In full disclosure: I genuinely love internal medicine. At one point, I even considered combined medicine/dermatology programs. In another life, I might have been a cardiologist. I enjoy caring for acutely ill patients, guiding them through critical illness, and thinking through undifferentiated shock, ventilation, the nuances of antibiotics, and cardiac hemodynamics. If all of that sounds energizing, a prelim year may be right for you. If that sounds horrible and draining, maybe a transitional year could be the better fit. TY programs usually offer more variety, elective time, and a somewhat lighter workload.

Ultimately, both a prelim year or TY are acceptable paths. The key is to choose the experience you think you'll enjoy, one that fits your needs, and one from which you'll take away something meaningful.

Address it directly but briefly in your application or interviews. Emphasize what you learned, how you grew, and why it won't affect your future performance. Hoping it'll get overlooked is probably wishful thinking.

• Submitting a generic personal statement
• Submitting letters, emails, or personal statements addressed to the wrong institution
• Not demonstrating sustained interest in dermatology
• Overemphasizing test scores
• Poor interview preparation
• Being unprofessional on rotations or during interviews
• Applying to programs without signaling (low yield)
• Prioritizing disconnected, high-volume, low-quality research

I want to start off by saying that I deeply empathize with the stress and anxiety that comes with trying to match in a specific region. Not only is it already hard enough to try to match any derm program, but geographic limitations make the situation that much higher stakes. A career in medicine requires a lot of sacrifice, but some of the hardest ones are when it pulls you away from your friends and family.

My advice is to pull the hardest you can on the levers you have: ERAS geographic preferences, program signals, personalized personal statements, personalized letters of recommendation, and your interviews.

1. ERAS geographic preferences: Don't waste these! If matching to a specific region it matters that much, making it clear is far more important than trying to play coy to far-flung programs.

2. Program signals: send gold/silver signals to the closest programs and work your way out in a centrifugal manner

3. Personal statements: have a line in the personal statements for the nearby programs about how important it is to you that you match in the area

4. LOR: if you are close enough to your letter writers, consider asking them to specifically comment about how important it is that you match in the area

5. Interviews: the response to "why [insert program name]" can and probably should re-emphasize your desire to match in the area

Most dermatology residency interviews are single-day events, though some research-track programs may span two days and include a 5-20 minute research talk. Each program has its own style. At some programs, interviews are more casual and resemble a freeform conversation lasting 5–10 minutes. Others structure each interview around 1–3 standardized behavioral questions before allowing time for open discussion. Still others run very structured behavioral interviews, where you are asked a series of standardized behavioral and/or situational questions with strict time limits for your responses. Behavioral questions focus on your past actions and experiences, asking for concrete examples of how you've handled situations. Situational questions, conversely, present you with hypothetical scenarios and probe how you would handle them, assessing your future problem-solving abilities.

• Tell me about yourself.
• Why dermatology?
• What are you most proud of?
• How do you handle stress?
• Where do you see yourself in 5–10 years?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Tell me about a mistake or a failure.

• Describe yourself in one word.
• What would your worst enemy say about you?
• If you were an animal, which would you be and why?
• What is your guilty pleasure?

YES. Mock interviews with faculty or peers are invaluable. Before each interview, review the program website and prepare questions that show you've done your homework. Have thoughtful questions ready to ask your interviewer(s) - not asking any questions can signal lack of interest!

Many programs now follow a pact discouraging post-interview communication and request that applicants do the same. If a program specifically asks you not to send thank-you notes, I would not send them. I know applicants who never sent a single email or letter and still matched at their top choice, so it's certainly not required nor will it be held against you if you don't.

That said, if you made a genuine connection with someone or had a sincere follow-up question, it is reasonable to send a thoughtful note. Just keep in mind that program directors and faculty receive many emails a day, so a generic thank-you note adds little value and may even go missed.

• What is the patient population like?
• What is the balance between clinical training and research?
• What unique strengths does your program have?

• What EMR do you use?
• How are didactics structured?
• What is your clinic workflow like?
• Do you feel supported by faculty? How approachable are the faculty for clinical questions or mentorship?
• What research opportunities have you personally pursued? How easy is it to get involved?
• How do residents typically spend their electives? How flexible is that time?
• What is your favorite thing to do in [city]?

***My hot take – do not ask about the call schedule.*** Yes, I recognize that call impacts your residency experience. However, asking about call during your interview generally has little upside and several potential downsides.

1. It can come across as if you are primarily concerned about workload rather than learning, which risks making you seem lazy, not a team player, or weary of the challenges that come with residency.

2. You will not remember the details of call at each program. They're so specific and particular that even the residents at each program can't remember the ins and outs sometimes.

3. You can always ask about call AFTER the programs have submitted their rank list and before you submit yours.

In my opinion, point 3 alone underscores how little value there is in bringing up call during the interview. The details surrounding call are far more useful to gather later, after programs have already submitted their lists and you are making your own decisions.

NO. I remember very distinctly the stress and anxiety I felt while waiting for prelim interview invites to roll in. Since dermatology interview invites come in batches in coordinated release dates much later in the cycle, I started looking to my preliminary apps to gauge the strength of my derm application. This was a mistake. I remember that many of my co-applicants received preliminary invites almost immediately after submitting ERAS, while it took many weeks for me to receive even one. Prelim/TY programs are very niche and often have very specific criteria in selecting interviewees that is so different from Derm programs that the two applications should be considered distinct processes in many ways. (Many prelim/TY are very careful with who they interview so that they don't waste spots interviewing applicants who would never actually consider moving to train with them for a year.) From my experience, it became clear that there was no real correlation between a successful dermatology application and the number of prelim invites I received. Almost all of my prelim invitations came months after submitting ERAS, and I received zero invites to non-academic prelims outside of my hometown (Bay Area, California).

Research-track interviews are often span two days. One day involves the standard dermatology interview day, where you interview alongside your advanced dermatology co-applicants. The second day usually focuses on research during which most programs require a short research talk (typically 5–12 minutes) followed by additional interviews with research faculty, potential mentors, and program leadership.

One thing to note is that some programs will arrange for you to meet/chat with potential mentors randomly throughout the interview season, even after your formal interviews are over. This can become a tedious scheduling nightmare, so be sure to keep your months of December-February as flexible as possible.

I recommend preparing multiple versions of your talk, ideally 2–3 PowerPoints of different lengths (e.g., 5, 10, and 15 minutes). This gives you the flexibility to adapt your talk depending on the program's expectations. The content should cover:

• 1-2 major research projects you have worked on.
• Your role in the work and the techniques you mastered.
• Your long-term research goals and how they align with your training as a physician-scientist and future career in dermatology.

Think of the talk not just as a scientific presentation, but as a narrative that shows your trajectory and vision.

Faculty may ask:

• Details of your experiments.
• Next steps or follow-up experiments you would propose.
• How your research connects to dermatology or could inform patient care.
• Your broader scientific interests and how you would carve out a niche.
• How you plan to balance clinical training with research productivity.

That's totally fine. In fact, it's more common for applicants' research to be completely unrelated to dermatology. While it may be easier for dermatologists to connect with dermatology research, research-track programs are more interested in candidates who demonstrate critical thinking, intellectual rigor, sustained commitment to scientific research, and a clear vision for their career.

During my own application cycle, my co-applicants presented work that ranged from CNS ischemic injury, innate immunity, COVID vaccine development, COVID diagnostic testing, xenobiotic sensing, and long non-coding RNAs. The specific field matters less than your ability to make your case that you are qualified to be dermatologist-scientist.

Many programs have T32 training grants to support research-track residents, but availability of slots and security of funding can vary year to year. Because the landscape evolves constantly and funding priorities are labile, the best approach is to discuss funding with the program director and the principal investigator of the T32 or relevant grant mechanism at each program.

• How many T32 (or equivalent) spots are there each year?
• Are all research-track residents guaranteed funding, or is it competitive?
• What alternative funding sources are available if T32 support is not secured?
• Which labs are available for residents to join?
• Are there restrictions on the type of research (basic science, translational, clinical, epidemiologic) that can be pursued?
• What mentorship structures exist for research-track residents?
• How is protected research time balanced with clinical responsibilities?

I've heard mixed answers from program directors on this, so I suspect that the answer is likely subjective and unfortunately program-specific. The reality is that 2+2 programs are highly competitive; most programs only offer 1-2 positions and there are often far more applicants than there are seats. If you apply only to the 2+2 track, you may be unnecessarily taking yourself out of the running for a categorical spot. However, some programs may question your commitment to research if you signal that you are willing to forsake a dedicated research spot for a purely clinical one.

For what it is worth, I only applied to the 2+2 track if the program offered one but I know several 2+2 residents who applied to both.

Online Web Resources:

• AAD Basic Dermatology Curriculum (https://www.aad.org/education/basic-dermatology-curriculum) – free
• DermNet (https://dermnetnz.org/) – free online resource
• VisualDx (https://www.visualdx.com/) – subscription-based interactive platform

Textbooks:

• Dermatology Secrets by Fitzpatrick
• Lookingbill and Marks' Principles of Dermatology
• Fitzpatrick's Color Atlas and Synopsis

• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-diga-podcast/id1234567890" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The DIGA Podcast – hosted by the Dermatology Interest Group Association (DIGA), which is a national organization for medical students interested in dermatology
• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/derms-and-conditions/id1234567891" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Derms and Conditions – a podcast from the team that brings you the Fall and Winter Clinical Dermatology Conferences
• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cutaneous-miscellaneous/id1234567892" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cutaneous Miscellaneous – resident podcast from the team that brings you the Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference series
• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grenz-zone/id1234567893" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Grenz Zone – Logan Kolb, DO, a dermatologist practicing near Rochester, MN, breaks down common skin rashes and lesions
• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dermasphere/id1234567894" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dermasphere – clinical dermatology updates from Luke Johnson, MD and Michelle Tarbox, MD

• American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) – Annual Meeting (largest in the world) + Summer Meeting
• Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID) – annual scientific meeting
• American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) – annual meeting
• Women's Dermatologic Society (WDS) – symposia and networking events
• Skin of Color Society (SOCS) – annual scientific symposium