Application and Matching Cycle Deadlines and Information
Non-ACGME
Advanced Colorectal and Advanced Thoracic
2025-2026 Fellowship Matching Process schedules
To apply to a Fellowship Council fellowship is a 3-step process.
STEP 1: The first step is for prospective applicants to complete an application by creating an account beginning on Friday, August 1, 2025, at 9:00AM (Pacific). To do so, click Create Application. The application deadline is Thursday, October 30, 2025, at 6:00PM (Pacific).
STEP 2: The second step is the interview process where applicants will be invited to interview by programs.
STEP 3: The third and final step is the matching process where programs and applicants rank each other and submit final rank order lists. The matching process will be conducted via a separate Fellowship Council matching process system.
Access the Frequently Asked Questions page and Applicant User Guide and Program User Guide
For violations information, review the Fellowship Council Matching Service Participation Agreement carefully when logging into the matching process site for the first time and also visit the Matching Policies and Procedures page.
**Letter of Recommendations: It has come to our attention that the fellowship council domain is being blocked. We recommend to please include your letter writer’s personal email so they can receive the link to upload the letters. Only if they experience issues with uploading, please have them email the letter to [email protected]
Dates:
- Friday, August 1, 2025 : Fellowship Council Application Process Opens at 9:00AM (Pacific)
- Wednesday, September 3, 2025 : Fellowships Gain Access to Applications at 9:00AM (Pacific)
- Thursday, October 9, 2025 : Rank Order List Opens at 9:00AM (Pacific)
- Thursday, October 16, 2025 : Quota Change Deadline
- Thursday, October 30, 2025 : Fellowship Applications Close at 6:00PM (Pacific)
- Wednesday, November 5, 2025 : Rank Order List Certification Deadline at 12:00PM (Pacific)
- Wednesday, November 19, 2025 : Scrame Date at 9:00AM (Pacific)
- Thursday, November 20, 2025 : Date for Announcement of Fellowship Matches at 9:00AM (Pacific)
- Saturday, August 1, 2026 : Fellowships Begin
As a reminder, programs and applicants may only certify one rank order list when participating in the application processes with concurrent match dates.
An applicant who accepts a position through another national match plan or by agreement outside the FC Matching Process must withdraw PRIOR to the Fellowship Council rank order list deadline on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. Failure to do so is a violation of the Fellowship Council Matching Service Participation Agreement (FCMSPA), which all applicants agree to upon signing onto the matching system. The violation will be investigated by the Fellowship Council. Applicants who elect to participate in the matching process and certify a rank order list by Wednesday, November 5, 2025, are prohibited from accepting a position through any other national matching service or by agreement outside the match after the rank order list deadline.
The Fellowship Council will oversee the fellowship experience and will use its best efforts through accreditation to make the clinical experience a positive one. However, the Fellowship Council cannot guarantee that turnover within the faculty or within the program’s administration will not occur, either prior to or during the applicant’s tenure in the program. The match is with the program not the faculty. The listing of an applicant by a program on its certified rank order list or of a program by an applicant on the applicant’s certified rank order list establishes a binding commitment to offer or to accept an appointment if a match results. Failure to do so is a violation of the terms of the agreement agreed to at the initial login to the site. If a violation is confirmed, the applicant or program may be subject to penalties, as described in the Fellowship Council Violations Policy.
If an applicant is requesting a matching process commitment dissolution, the applicant must submit a Matching Process Commitment Dissolution Form to the Fellowship Council office for review by the Fellowship Council’s Communications Committee and its Board of Directors.
If a program is requesting a matching process commitment dissolution, the program must complete a Member Change Form and return it to the Fellowship Council office for review by the Fellowship Council’s Communications Committee and its Board of Directors. No matching process commitment dissolution will be permitted without the Member Change Form being completed. Applicants match with programs and not with Program Directors or other faculty members associated with the program.
On Scramble Day
- If an applicant does not match with a program, or a program does not match with an applicant, they will receive an email notification on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, between 9:00AM and 9:30AM (Pacific).
- Applicants and programs who do not match will then need to log into their account on fellowshipcouncil.org and click on Access Matching Process Site.
- From there, programs and applicants may click on the Reports link and access the Available Programs or Available Applicants report.
Applicants may contact any of the programs on that list directly regarding their open position. Programs will have access to available applicants and their application and letters of recommendation via the Available Applicants report. For applicants to change their availability status at any time so that they are no longer on the Available Applicants report, they must log in to their account, click on their user name in the upper right-hand corner, and select “No” on the Available line. For programs that are not available for the scramble or do not wish to participate in the scramble process, you may remove yourself off the list by editing your user profile.
For more information, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions page and Applicant User Guide and Program User Guide
On Announcement of Fellowship Matches Day
Matching result notification emails will be sent on Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 9:00AM (Pacific), letting both programs and applicants know if they matched and the specific match results (where applicants and programs matched) will not be available until the Date of Announcement of Fellowship Matches, Thursday, November 20, 2025, between 9:00AM and 9:30AM (Pacific).
At that time, programs and applicants may also log into their account fellowshipcouncil.org and click on Access Matching Process Site to view the matching process results. Please refer to the program and applicant user guides for more detailed information on viewing matching results.
If you have any questions about the matching process, please contact the Fellowship Council office at 310-437-0555 or email [email protected]
FC Office Hours : Mon-Fri 8:00AM-4:00PM (Pacific) except holidays.