Application Process

COVID-19

The recruitment cycle during 2023-2024 is the fourth during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the situation is less fluid, there are still some uncertainties. Below is our most current information, and we will be providing updates periodically. Please look to the SF Match website or contact or program coordinator for more information.

Matching Program

Our residency positions are filled through the Ophthalmology Matching Program. Since we have an integrated internship, matched applicants will NOT need to apply through the NMRP. The next available positions will start internship July 1, 2024 and residency July 1, 2025. These positions will be filled through the Ophthalmology Matching Program process in the Fall of 2023. Please have your application submitted by the suggested SF Match deadline of Sept. 1, 2023. We have a short, 400 word secondary essay on “Why do you want to come to UK?” that will be due Wednesday, Sept. 6. This short secondary application is the best opportunity to signal interest in our program. The completed statement can be sent in the text of an email or as an attachment to: madison.seward@uky.edu. Please include your name at the top of the statement.  While we hope to have a masked review process in the future, the current SF Match system does not allow this, and being able to sort through and track these statements is greatly aided by attaching a name.

We plan on sending email reminders to those that submitted applications to our program. We will inform applicants invited for an interview in October and allow them to select from interview dates starting at 10 a.m. EST the following day. Updates and specific dates will be provided.

Track Hurdle

During the 2022-2023 interview cycle, 442 applicants submitted a secondary application to our program and were all individually and holistically reviewed. Forty percent of applicants were female (based on pronoun usage), 14% were self-identified UnderRepresented Minorities (URiM), Step 1 score mean was 239 (range 194-269), and Step 2 mean was 251 (range 192-283). We extended invitations to interview and alternate selections to a total of 53 candidates.  Forty-five percent were female and 19 percent URiM. Regionally, 44 percent were from medical schools in the south, 30 percent from the midwest, 15 percent from the west, 2 percent from the northeast, 2 percent from Puerto Rico, and 4 percent international. The mean USMLE Step I score was 242, with a range of 199 to 265, and Step 2 was 255, with a range of 215 to 276. We do not have a minimum score to consider an applicant for an interview. 

We attempt to review applications holistically, with particular attention to diversity, inclusion, and life distance traveled. We are also a state institution and have a mission of identifying and training a subset of residents that will likely remain in the state to provide needed care for the patients in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Importantly:  please utilize the secondary application essay (see more below) to provide any personal information you feel comfortable sharing that will aid in our identification of these characteristics.

Interview Process

Interviews will again be virtual this year, which we feel is of great benefit to applicants. We are also excited to have a possibility to showcase our department and facilities to those interested during the open house period in January. Similar to the past two virtual recruitment cycles, the interview day will likely be a morning only session split into two groups that will either interview with faculty or interact more informally with our residents. There will be a few short presentations from the program director and chief resident. Interviewees will be sent additional content about our program prior to the interview, including a tour of our facilities. We are also planning on a few virtual hang-outs during the summer and continuing to enhance our social media content.

Our first virtual hang-out will be held on August 23rd at 8pm EST. We set the time later in the evening to accommodate for multiple time zones. Please click the link below to register for this event and get to know our residents and program better. We look forward to seeing you there!

Virtual Hang-Out Registration

Important Dates to Remember

  1. We must receive the San Francisco Match Application file and a short secondary application to be completed once you have applied to our program by Sept. 1, 2023 for you to be considered for an interview. This secondary application consists of a maximum 400 word statement describing why you wish to pursue your residency education at the University of Kentucky, which will be due on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023.  Please utilize this essay to provide any personal information you feel comfortable sharing that will aid in our identification of characteristics important in considering your application holistically. This statement can be submitted to our program coordinator. Please view our program description on SF Match for more details regarding the secondary application.
  2. We will inform applicants invited for an interview in October and allow them to select from interview dates starting at 10 a.m. EST the following day. There are four positions available. 
  3. Ophthalmology resident interviews for Fall 2023 will be held on three dates: 
    1. Friday, Dec. 1
    2. Friday, Dec. 8
    3. Friday, Dec. 15
  4. Invitations will be initially sent to a list of applicants the exact size of the number of interview slots available. We also have a small list of alternate applicants that we expect to interview at our program as interviews are dropped/added during the process. These applicants therefore are screened and considered the same as those initially invited for interviews, and will be notified of openings per the SF Match interview process.
  5. While we understand and appreciate that applicants may need to change or cancel interviews, we prohibit changes within a week of the scheduled interview date out of respect for our staff and fellow applicants.

Please note all applicants must be a graduate from an LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education) or an ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) accredited medical institution. We will only accept a J-1 Visa – trainee program. We do not sponsor an H-1B Visa.

Questions by phone or email may be directed to the residency program coordinator, Madison Seward at madison.seward@uky.edu.