General Psychiatry Programs 2026

National Resident Match Program (NRMP) Match Data

Most students who are interested in pursuing a child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) fellowship first complete a general psychiatry residency. The Match process through NRMP connects medical students to certified programs. General psychiatry programs have been highly competitive over the past several years. In Figure 1, data is shown representing individuals who were certified applicants into the field of general psychiatry and how many successfully matched from 2018 – 2026. See Figure 2 for general psychiatry match rates since 2018, which are shown to be steadily increasing.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Complementing an increase in interested medical students, there has been a 70% increase from 2018-2026 in the number of certified general psychiatry programs participating in the NRMP Match, as shown in Figure 3. General psychiatry positions offered by certified programs have been filled at a steady rate of 99% for the last 8 years.

Figure 3.

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Data

The growth of the field is also evident in the ACGME data. ACGME tracks data on all accredited general psychiatry programs and active general psychiatry residents in those programs, regardless of whether they participate in the NRMP Match. From 2018 to 2026, the number of accredited general psychiatry programs has increased by 42% (see Figure 4). The number of active general psychiatry residents increased by 43% from 2018-2025. (see Figure 5).

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

CAP Fellowship Programs

National Resident Match Program (NRMP) Match Data

The NRMP Match oversees the Specialties Matching Service® (SMS®), which facilitates fellowship matches across more than 70 subspecialties, including child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP). In 2026, 343 residents out of 388 applicants (88%) successfully matched into child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) fellowship programs through the NRMP Match. Of the 127 certified CAP fellowship programs, 73% filled all available positions, and overall, 86% of available fellowship positions were filled.

The number of CAP fellowship programs being filled through the NRMP specialty match has remained relatively steady in recent years, with a slight increase in 2026 to over 70% of the available positions filling. (Figure 1). CAP match rates have remained stable since 2018, with a slight decrease in 2026 (see Figure 2). Since 2018, there has been a 38% increase in the number of applicants to CAP fellowships participating in the NRMP Match process as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Data

The ACGME oversees the accreditation of residency and fellowship programs in the US. ACGME tracks data on all accredited CAP fellowship programs, regardless of whether they participate in the NRMP Match. Steady growth in the CAP subspecialty is demonstrated in the ACGME data. The overall number of ACGME-accredited CAP fellowship programs rose by 13% from 2018 to 2026 (Figure 4). Additionally, the number of active CAP fellows increased by approximately 21% from 2018 to 2026.

Figure 4.

Applying to Psychiatry Residencies and CAP Fellowships Home