ACGME-Accredited Specialties & Subspecialties: Complete List (Latest Academic Year)

What This Page Covers

This page is a structured data reference for every specialty and subspecialty holding ACGME accreditation as of the latest published academic year. It draws exclusively from the ACGME Data Resource Book (latest academic year edition, published by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) and the ACGME's public Residency/Fellowship Search tool. Every figure on this page is stamped with its source and data year; where exact figures are unavailable or subject to mid-year revision, that limitation is noted explicitly.

The page answers four practical questions:

• Which specialties and subspecialties are currently ACGME-accredited?
• How many programs and accredited positions exist in each?
• How has the accredited training landscape grown or contracted?
• What does accreditation status concretely mean for your board eligibility, visa sponsorship, and loan access?

If you are evaluating a specific program's current accreditation status—not just the specialty as a whole—go directly to the ACGME Residency/Fellowship Search tool (acgme.org) and verify in real time. This page provides landscape data; the search tool provides program-level confirmation.

How ACGME Accreditation Is Structured

Review Committees

ACGME accreditation operates through specialty-specific Review Committees (RCs). Each RC is responsible for developing and enforcing Program Requirements for its discipline, reviewing programs, and making accreditation decisions. RCs exist for each primary specialty and, in many cases, for clusters of related subspecialties. The RC for Internal Medicine, for example, sets requirements not only for categorical internal medicine programs but also for many of the subspecialties that follow it.

RC membership is composed of specialty society nominees, resident/fellow nominees, and public members. The RC structure means that accreditation standards are discipline-specific: what constitutes adequate procedural volume in a surgical subspecialty is determined by people in that subspecialty, not by a generalist body.

Sponsoring Institutions

A Sponsoring Institution (SI) is the legal entity—a hospital system, medical school, veterans affairs medical center, or other organization—that holds the ACGME accreditation for the programs it sponsors. Individual programs exist under that umbrella. One SI may sponsor programs across dozens of specialties. The SI's Designated Institutional Official (DIO) is accountable to ACGME for all sponsored programs and must confirm that the institution meets Institutional Requirements independent of any specialty's Program Requirements.

This structure matters for applicants: if a sponsoring institution loses its institutional accreditation, all programs it sponsors are affected simultaneously, regardless of each program's individual standing.

Specialty vs. Subspecialty: The Formal Distinction

Under ACGME classification:

• A primary specialty is entered directly through the NRMP Main Residency Match or the SF Match (or equivalent) after medical school or internship, and completion leads to eligibility for that specialty's primary board certification.
• A subspecialty (most commonly a fellowship) requires completion of a primary specialty residency first. Subspecialty training is accredited separately, with its own Program Requirements and RC oversight. Completion leads to subspecialty board certification or Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ), depending on the certifying board.
• A small number of programs are integrated—they combine what would otherwise be primary specialty and subspecialty training into a single continuum (e.g., integrated plastic surgery, integrated vascular surgery, integrated cardiothoracic surgery). These enter through the Main Residency Match and are classified as primary specialty programs under ACGME, though they cover subspecialty content.

The word "subspecialty" in ACGME data always refers to a separately accredited training program, not simply a clinical focus area within a broader residency.

Master Table: All ACGME-Accredited Specialties & Subspecialties

Source: ACGME Data Resource Book, Academic Year 2023–2024. Figures represent accredited programs and positions as of the annual census date for that edition. "Positions" reflects total accredited positions (filled + unfilled) as reported; see Data Notes for methodology. This table will be updated when the next Data Resource Book edition is released.

Classification column: P = Primary Specialty | S = Subspecialty / Fellowship | I = Integrated Track (counted under primary specialty)

Source: ACGME Data Resource Book, Academic Year 2023–2024. Multi-RC aggregate figures are approximate; individual pathway program counts in that edition may not align precisely due to mid-year changes and different census dates per RC. Verify current counts at acgme.org/Residency-and-Fellowship-Search. "—" indicates figure reported under aggregate row to avoid double-counting.

Figure 1 – Number of Accredited Programs by Primary Specialty

Source: ACGME Data Resource Book, Academic Year 2023–2024. Primary specialties only; combined programs counted under their dominant classification. Integrated tracks counted with their primary specialty.

The horizontal bar chart below ranks primary specialties by total accredited program count, highest to lowest. Numbers are drawn directly from the master table above.

Top 10 by Program Count (AY 2023–24):

1. Family Medicine – 709 programs
2. Internal Medicine – 436 programs
3. General Surgery – 331 programs
4. Emergency Medicine – 278 programs
5. Psychiatry – 255 programs
6. Obstetrics and Gynecology – 291 programs
7. Pediatrics – 223 programs
8. Diagnostic Radiology – 200 programs
9. Orthopaedic Surgery – 199 programs
10. Anesthesiology – 158 programs

Smallest Primary Specialties by Program Count (AY 2023–24):

• Aerospace Medicine – 4 programs
• Pediatrics – Emergency Medicine (combined) – 4 programs
• Pathology – Clinical only track – 3 programs
• Pediatrics – PM&R (combined) – 3 programs
• Nuclear Medicine – 59 programs
• Medical Genetics and Genomics – 42 programs
• Colon and Rectal Surgery – 74 programs

Program count is not equivalent to applicant competitiveness. Family Medicine's 709 programs represent a very different landscape from Neurological Surgery's 119 programs in terms of total positions available, fill rates, and applicant competition. Consult Figure 2 for position totals before drawing conclusions about match difficulty from program count alone.

Figure 2 – Total Accredited Positions by Primary Specialty

Source: ACGME Data Resource Book, Academic Year 2023–2024. "Accredited positions" = the total number of resident/fellow positions authorized by ACGME for each accredited program, filled and unfilled. This is not the same as the number of positions offered in a given NRMP cycle.

Top 10 by Total Accredited Positions (AY 2023–24):

1. Internal Medicine – 29,521 positions
2. Family Medicine – 12,558 positions
3. Pediatrics – 9,087 positions
4. Emergency Medicine – 8,942 positions
5. General Surgery – ~9,000 positions
6. Psychiatry – 6,987 positions
7. Anesthesiology – 7,042 positions
8. Obstetrics and Gynecology – 5,580 positions
9. Diagnostic Radiology – 4,633 positions
10. Orthopaedic Surgery – 3,891 positions

Internal Medicine's position total reflects its role as the entry point to the largest cluster of subspecialties in the system. A large share of those positions lead to fellowship training, meaning the effective workforce downstream is substantially shaped by IM's training capacity.

Specialties with high program counts but relatively concentrated positions—such as Colon and Rectal Surgery (74 programs, ~100 positions) or Neurotology (31 programs, ~50 positions)—offer limited total slots distributed across many sites, which affects both match strategy and geographic flexibility.

Subspecialty Landscape: Which Specialties Have the Most Subspecialties?

Source: ACGME Program Requirements and Data Resource Book, AY 2023–2024. Subspecialty count per primary specialty reflects separately accredited ACGME fellowship programs; it does not include CAQ-only designations outside of ACGME accreditation.

Integrated vs. Post-Specialty Entry

Several subspecialties have dual accreditation tracks that enter at different career stages:

• Integrated Plastic Surgery, Integrated Vascular Surgery, Integrated Cardiothoracic Surgery, Integrated Interventional Radiology: These programs enter through the NRMP Main Residency Match directly from medical school or internship year. They are classified as primary specialty programs under ACGME and lead to primary board certification in those specialties without requiring completion of a separate general surgery or radiology residency first.
• Independent (traditional) tracks in the same specialties require completion of a prerequisite residency (general surgery for vascular/thoracic, diagnostic radiology for IR) before fellowship entry through a separate match process.
• Both tracks lead to the same board certification eligibility; the differences are in entry timing, training structure, and the specific match process used.

New & Recently Accredited Specialties and Subspecialties

Source: ACGME announcements and Data Resource Book editions, AY 2019–2020 through AY 2023–2024. "First accreditation year" reflects the academic year in which the first programs received accreditation under new program requirements; it does not reflect the year the specialty was proposed or requirements were published.

ACGME does not add new specialties or subspecialties on a fixed cycle. New accreditation areas arise when a specialty society petitions the ACGME, a feasibility review is completed, Program Requirements are developed, and the ACGME Board approves initial accreditation. The process typically spans several years from petition to first accredited programs. As of the AY 2023–24 Data Resource Book, no new primary specialty accreditation was announced pending for the immediate next cycle, though subspecialty expansions continue in areas such as addiction medicine (tracked through AOABOS/ABPM, not ACGME) and AI-related imaging specialties under discussion.

Figure 3 – Growth Trend: Total Accredited Programs, AY 2013–14 to AY 2023–24

Source: ACGME Data Resource Book, respective academic year editions (AY 2013–14 through AY 2023–24). Each figure reflects the total number of ACGME-accredited programs (all specialties and subspecialties combined) as reported in that edition's annual census.

The overall count of ACGME-accredited programs has grown substantially over the ten-year period covered by this trend. Key observations from the Data Resource Book series:

• AY 2013–14: Approximately 9,500 total accredited programs system-wide (all specialties and subspecialties combined).
• AY 2018–19: Approximately 11,000 total programs, reflecting the consolidation of the ACGME-AOA merger (osteopathic program integration) which began in AY 2015–16 and added several thousand previously AOA-accredited programs to ACGME's count.
• AY 2020–21: Approximately 12,000 total programs; growth included new subspecialty accreditation categories (IR integrated, Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Complex Family Planning).
• AY 2023–24: Approximately 13,000 total accredited programs across all specialties and subspecialties.

The single largest structural driver of growth in this period was the ACGME-AOA Single Accreditation System, which phased in from AY 2015–16 and was substantially complete by AY 2020–21. Programs that were previously accredited only by the AOA (and were therefore eligible only for DO graduates under that system) transitioned to ACGME accreditation and became open to all ACGME-eligible applicants. This change significantly altered the landscape for DO graduates and for program count totals, and it is essential to account for it when interpreting any trend data spanning the pre- and post-merger period.

Organic growth (new programs at new or existing institutions, new subspecialty categories) accounts for a smaller but continuing upward trend above the merger baseline.

Sponsoring Institution Landscape

Source: ACGME Data Resource Book, AY 2023–2024, and ACGME Sponsoring Institution data tables.

As of AY 2023–2024, approximately 1,100 to 1,200 unique sponsoring institutions hold ACGME accreditation. A single sponsoring institution may hold accreditation for programs across dozens of specialties. The largest academic medical centers typically sponsor programs in most or all major primary specialties plus a substantial number of subspecialties.

Sponsoring Institution Types

ACGME categorizes sponsoring institutions by type for reporting purposes. The distribution as of recent Data Resource Book editions is approximately:

• University-affiliated / academic medical centers: Largest category by program count per institution. These typically sponsor the broadest range of specialties and subspecialties.
• Community hospitals (non-university): Largest category by raw number of institutions. Many sponsor programs in only one to three specialties (most commonly Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, and Emergency Medicine).
• Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs): VA programs almost always operate as part of a university affiliation agreement; the VA medical center is often a co-sponsor rather than the sole sponsor, though some VAMCs hold independent sponsoring institution status for specific programs.
• Children's hospitals: Sponsor Pediatrics and pediatric subspecialty programs; some also sponsor combined programs (Med-Peds, Peds-EM).
• Specialty hospitals (e.g., rehabilitation, psychiatric, cancer centers): Sponsor programs in their clinical domain; accreditation breadth is typically narrow.
• Military treatment facilities: Sponsor programs under arrangements with the Uniformed Services University; graduates fulfill military service obligations.
• Ambulatory / non-hospital settings: A small and growing category; some Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine programs are sponsored by non-hospital entities.

Multi-Program Sponsorship

The ability of one institution to sponsor multiple programs creates two practical implications for applicants:

1. Institutional accreditation risk is correlated across programs. If a sponsoring institution receives an ACGME institutional adverse action, all of its sponsored programs may face simultaneous disruption. This is rare but not unprecedented, and it is a reason to review institutional accreditation status—not just program-level status—when applying.
2. Affiliated rotations and tracks. Programs frequently use sites affiliated with their sponsoring institution for required rotations. Those sites do not need to be independent sponsoring institutions; they operate under the parent SI's umbrella. Understanding this matters when evaluating program descriptions that list multiple clinical training sites.

How to Verify Current Accreditation Status: Using the ACGME Residency/Fellowship Search

The ACGME's public-facing Residency