The Department of Surgery

General Surgery Residency Program

Application Information

Interviews for 2025-2026 will be completely virtual. Meet and greets will be provided the night before each interview date, also virtual.

Requirements

• No minimum USMLE score, however you must have passed on first attempt.
• One year of US experience is required for Foreign Medical Graduates (Only highly-qualified FMG applicants will be considered.)
• J-1 Visa ONLY
• Must be ECFMG certified prior to match
• No minimum year of graduation
• Osteopathic medical students must have taken the USMLE in addition to the COMLEX

Submission

All applicants should submit through Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Our residency program is listed as "University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville" and our program ID is: 4404711321. The application must also include:

• Résumé or Curriculum Vitae
• Personal Statement
• Transcript
• Dean's Letter
• USMLE scores
• Three Letters of Recommendation
• ABSITE scores if applicable

APPLICATION DEADLINE - OCTOBER 15

For the 2025 ERAS cycle, our program will be receiving information from the supplemental ERAS application offered through the AAMC's ERAS program. Applicants will be required to complete the MyERAS application, and participation in the supplemental ERAS application is optional. In its second year of use, the supplemental ERAS application is designed to help students share more information about themselves and assist our program in finding applicants that fit our programs' setting and mission. There is no cost to applicants and participation is optional.
The supplemental ERAS application includes:

• geographic preferences (by region and by urban or rural setting)
• information about their most meaningful experiences and other impactful life events, if applicable; and
• program signals.

Process

After the applicant has submitted this information through ERAS, the completed application will be reviewed by the Pre-Selection Committee. Interviews for invited applicants will take place October-January.

By the Numbers

Candidate Interview Information

Sample Agenda

The interview experience at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine begins the evening prior to the interview day with a Zoom Meet & Greet with our current residents beginning at 6:30p.m. This is a casual event so relax, enjoy, and begin learning more about the people involved with this program. A formal email with the Zoom information for both the Meet & Greet and the interview day will be provided in advance from the coordinator.

A typical interview day begins at 7:00a.m. with introduction and program overview by one of the residents. This is followed by a welcome from the Chairman, Michael B. Freeman, MD, and Program Director, Andrew Russ, MD at 7:45a.m. Interviews begin at 8:00a.m. with each candidate interviewing with three faculty members, fourth year residents, the Associate Program Director, the Program Director, and the Chairman. 

Interview invitations will go out October 23, 2024 or later