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FCPsych Part 1 Guide 2027: Format, Syllabus and How to Pass

Written by a South African doctor who wrote the primaries · Updated 1 October 2026 · ~10 min read

The FCPsych Part 1, officially the FC Psych(SA) Part I and widely called the FCPsych Part 1, is the first examination of the Fellowship of the College of Psychiatrists of South Africa, run by the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA). It is two 3-hour digital papers of multiple-choice questions testing the basic sciences that underpin psychiatry.

It catches a lot of candidates off guard because the content is broad, basic-science-heavy and quite different from day-to-day ward work. If you are a community service doctor, a medical officer or a doctor between posts with your sights on a psychiatry post, this is the exam to plan around. This guide walks through exactly what the exam covers, the books that matter, where to find the exam date and a study plan that actually fits around a clinical job. Everything about the exam itself comes from the CMSA's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026.

FCPsych Part 1 key facts

Here is the FC Psych(SA) Part I at a glance, as published by the CMSA.

What is the FCPsych Part 1 exam format?

The FCPsych Part 1 is two digital written papers of multiple-choice questions, each lasting 3 hours.

Each paper has 100 questions, split into two sections of 50. It is deliberately a basic-science exam. The College wants to know that you understand the neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and pharmacology beneath the disorders you treat, and the psychology, phenomenology, ethics and research methods behind good practice, not just the clinical management you already do on the ward.

The arithmetic matters for pacing: 3 hours for 100 questions gives you 108 seconds per question. That is comfortable if you know the material, and tight if you have to reason every question from first principles. Timed practice is how you close that gap.

What does the FCPsych Part 1 cover?

The FCPsych Part 1 covers four 50-question blocks across two papers, so each block is a quarter of your mark.

The table below sets the CMSA paper structure alongside the matching sections of Certiva's FCPsych Part 1 question bank.

Exam counts are from the CMSA regulations; bank counts are Certiva's.

Two things stand out. First, psychology alone carries 50 questions, the same as neuroanatomy and psychopharmacology combined, so it deserves far more time than many candidates give it. Second, neurophysiology and genetics is a full quarter of the exam on its own. Neuroanatomy and psychopharmacology feel the heaviest because the textbooks are thick, but the marks are spread evenly across the four blocks.

What each area looks like in practice

• Neuroanatomy: cortical functions, the basal ganglia and dopamine pathways, the limbic system and Papez circuit, the thalamus and hypothalamus, internal capsule, cerebellum and spinal cord, blood supply, ventricles and CSF, and cranial nerves.
• Psychopharmacology: receptor pharmacology, antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilisers, anxiolytics and sedatives, ADHD medications, cognitive enhancers, sleep pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and CYP enzymes, drug interactions and adverse effects.
• Neurophysiology and genetics: the resting membrane and action potentials, synaptic transmission, neurotransmitter receptors, sensory, pain and motor pathways, long-term potentiation and memory, and genetics and neurodevelopment.
• Ethics, law and phenomenology: descriptive psychopathology, medical ethics, consent and capacity, confidentiality, the Mental Health Care Act and forensic psychiatry in South Africa.
• Research and public mental health: study design, bias, measures of effect, sensitivity and specificity, validity and reliability, qualitative research, and mental health policy and service organisation.
• Psychology: psychoanalytic and neopsychoanalytic theory, learning theory and conditioning, life span development, trait theory, motivation, emotion, intelligence, psychotherapy and psychometrics.

How many questions are in the FCPsych Part 1?

There are 200 multiple-choice questions in the FCPsych Part 1: 100 in each of two 3-hour papers.

Each paper is made up of two 50-question sections, as set out in the CMSA regulations. Because the structure is fixed and public, you can plan your revision time in proportion to it rather than guessing what is "high yield".

When is the FCPsych Part 1 written?

The FCPsych Part 1 is written in one of the CMSA's two examination semesters each year.

In 2027 the FC Psych(SA) Part I written papers are on Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 February 2027 (first semester) and Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 July 2027 (second semester), according to the CMSA 2027 written timetables. The exact dates, and the registration deadlines that come before them, are published in the CMSA written examination timetable. Check it when you start planning, then work backwards to set your 12-week start date.

Who can write the FCPsych Part 1?

The CMSA requires a post-internship qualification and full registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), which in practice means you have completed community service.

That makes the Primaries something you can plan for while you are a medical officer or between posts. For full admission rules, read the current regulations on the CMSA FC Psych(SA) page and speak to the psychiatry department you hope to join.

Are there FCPsych Part 1 past papers?

No. The CMSA no longer publishes past papers.

All CMSA examinations have been written on an online platform since 2021, and the questions now stay in a secure bank. Any "FCPsych past papers" you find online will be old, unofficial or reconstructed from memory. The practical alternative is an FCPsych MCQ question bank mapped to the current paper structure, so the mix of topics you practise matches the mix you will face.

Which textbooks should I use?

You don't need a library; you need the right few books used well, one per section.

These are the references used in Certiva's bank. They are not a CMSA prescribed list, so check the official CMSA page for the College's own guidance.

• Waxman's Clinical Neuroanatomy (29th edition): neuroanatomy, including genetics and neurodevelopment.
• Carpenter's Neurophysiology (6th edition): neurophysiology.
• Stahl's Essential Psychopharmacology (5th edition): psychopharmacology.
• Swartz et al., Psychology: An Introduction (OUP South Africa): psychology.
• Burns & Roos, Textbook of Psychiatry (2nd edition): ethics, law and phenomenology, and research and public mental health.

For the legal framework, use South African sources rather than overseas texts. The goal is depth in each block, not breadth across everything.

How should I study for the FCPsych Part 1?

Give yourself 12 focused weeks, spend two weeks on each 50-question block, and practise questions from the first day.

The plan below gives each quarter of the exam equal time, then uses two weeks to consolidate each paper and the last two weeks for timed mock exams and targeted revision. Each week: read the reference chapter, then do that section's questions and read every explanation, right or wrong.

Make the plan work around a clinical job

• Learn actively, with questions from day one. Reading alone is a trap: it feels productive but doesn't test recall. For every question, read the full explanation and the exact textbook reference, whether you got it right or wrong. That's how a single question teaches you three facts instead of one.
• Track your weak subtopics, not just your overall score. "70% overall" hides the fact that you're at 40% in receptor pharmacology and 90% in cranial nerves. Track performance by subtopic so your revision goes where it actually moves your mark.
• Simulate the real paper before exam day. Pacing and stamina are skills you have to rehearse. Running out of time on a paper you knew is the most avoidable way to fail.
• Practise a few questions even on call. Ten questions on a post-call morning keep the momentum going when reading is impossible.

Common mistakes

• Treating it like a clinical exam and under-preparing the basic sciences.
• Leaving psychology to the end, even though it is a full quarter of the marks.
• Passive reading without timed question practice.
• Using overseas-only material that doesn't reflect South African ethics and mental health law.
• Leaving mock papers until it's too late to fix pacing.

How Certiva helps

Certiva's FCPsych Part 1 question bank has doctor-created and reviewed questions across six sections mapped to the FC Psych(SA) Part I.

• Explained, referenced answers. Every question has a teaching explanation and the textbook reference, so you can go straight back to the source.
• Practise by topic. Work through any of the six sections, from neuroanatomy to psychology, in the order your plan needs.
• Weakness tracker and smart revision. See the subtopics where your accuracy is lowest and revise those first.
• Timed mock exams. Each is 100 questions in 3 hours, the same length and timing as one real paper.
• A free 5-question sample. Try 5 free FCPsych Part 1 questions with full explanations, no account or card needed.
• Refund or more time. On eligible Exam Passes, if you answer at least 60% of the question bank and do every mock exam before your exam and don't pass, you can choose a refund or more time, claimed within 30 days of your result. Conditions apply: read the refund terms.

You can also take free ethics CPD courses and use the free CV maker for your post applications. See the Exam Pass options and pricing, or read more on the FCPsych Part 1 exam page.

Frequently asked questions

More exam guides

• FCS Part 1 guide
• FCP Part 1 guide
• FCPaeds Part 1 guide
• FCOG Part 1 guide
• FCA Part 1 guide
• Dip PEC guide

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