Two-Phase Match

Frequently Asked Questions:
Internship Training Directors - The Two-Phase Match

THE TWO-PHASE MATCH

1. Why is the APPIC Match conducted in two phases?
2. What is the timeline for Phase I?
3. What is the timeline for Phase II?
   

THE TWO-PHASE MATCH

1. Why is the APPIC Match conducted in two phases?

Prior to the 2011 APPIC Match, applicants were placed into positions each year via a one-time matching process. Positions that weren't filled in the Match were then offered in the APPIC "Clearinghouse," in which applicants would tend to apply for vacancies as quickly as possible while programs would make relatively quick decisions regarding whom to interview and to whom they would make offers. Both applicants and programs reported experiencing considerable pressure to move as quickly as possible, and feedback from applicants described the Clearinghouse process as chaotic, fast-moving, and highly stressful.

Beginning with the 2011 APPIC Match, the Clearinghouse process was eliminated, and two separate matches were conducted:

Phase I of the Match is, in many ways, simply a new way to describe the process that had previously been in place each year. Phase I Match participants apply to internship sites in the fall (typically November), interview with sites (typically December and January), and then submit Rank Order Lists and receive their Match results (typically in February). Most applicants will be placed into internship positions during Phase I, and thus will not need to participate in Phase II.

Phase II of the Match begins immediately upon the conclusion of Phase I, and includes only (a) applicants who registered for Phase I but did not obtain a position in Phase I, and (b) positions that remained unfilled from Phase I along with any new positions that become available after Phase I. The purpose of this second Phase is to provide applicants with a more equitable, organized, and humane way of seeking unfilled internship positions. Phase II is essentially a completely separate Match that is conducted in an accelerated manner, taking about a month from beginning (submission of applications) to end (receipt of Match results), and is expected to fill the vast majority of positions that were left unfilled in Phase I.

Upon conclusion of Phase II of the Match, APPIC will operate a  Post-Match Vacancy Service throughout the spring and summer in order to fill any remaining unfilled positions or new positions that become available.

2. What is the timeline for Phase I?

Here is the timeline for Phase I of the 2021 APPIC Match:

Friday, Feb. 5, 2021 11:59 pm Eastern Time	Deadline for submission and certification of Rank Order Lists for Phase I.
Friday, Feb. 19, 2021	APPIC Phase I Match Day: Results of the Match will be released to applicants and training directors.

3. What is the timeline for Phase II?

Here is the timeline for Phase II of the 2021 APPIC Match:

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2021	Deadline for applicants to register for either Phase of the Match
Friday, Feb. 19, 2021 11:00 am Eastern Time	List of programs with available positions is posted on NMS web site Applicants may begin submitting applications via the AAPI Online
Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021 11:00 am Eastern Time	Deadline for submission of applications (some programs may continue to accept applications after this deadline) Training Directors begin reviewing and downloading applications
Mon., Mar. 15, 2021 11:59 pm Eastern Time	Phase II Rank Order List Deadline
Mon., Mar. 22, 2021	APPIC Phase II Match Day