Royal Society of London Fellowships

Eligibility

Each year, the Fellows of the Royal Society elect up to 85 new Fellows and up to 24 new Foreign Members.

Candidates must have made 'a substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics, engineering science and medical science'.

Each candidate is considered on his or her own merits and can be proposed from any sector of the scientific community. Every effort is made to encourage nominations of women candidates and candidates from the emerging disciplines.

Elections are managed through the e-Lect election system.

Summary

The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth. Fellows and Foreign Members are elected for life through a peer review process on the basis of excellence in science.

There are approximately 1,800 Fellows and Foreign Members, including around 85 Nobel Laureates. Each year up to 85 Fellows and up to 24 Foreign Members are elected from a group of around 800 candidates who are proposed by the existing Fellowship.

Search the Fellows Directory.

Read more about the Fellowship.

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

Each candidate for Fellowship or Foreign Membership must be nominated by two Fellows of the Royal Society, who sign a certificate of proposal. The certificate includes a statement of the principal grounds on which the proposal is being made and is available for inspection by other Fellows. The completed certificate of proposal must be received by 30 September each year.

The President of the Royal Society may additionally encourage suggestions for candidates from Vice-Chancellors of universities and Chairs and Chief Executives of Research Councils. These suggestions must also be received by 30 September each year.

The proposing Fellows are responsible for informing the candidate that he or she has been nominated. The proposers must ensure, in consultation with the candidate, that all information relevant to the nomination is up to date.

There is no limit on the number of new nominations made in any year. For the 2024 elections, there were around 650 candidates for election as Fellows and over 100 candidates under consideration for Foreign Membership.

Once nominated, candidates remain eligible for election for seven years. If not elected within this period, an individual may be proposed as a candidate again after a break of three years and then remains eligible for election for a period of three years. This three year cycle may be repeated without limit.

The Society does not provide details of the identities of nominated candidates to anybody outside the Fellowship, except those individuals consulted in confidence during the refereeing process.

Fellows who wish to nominate a candidate should use the online election system e-Lect or log into the eFellows Room to download the appropriate forms and guidance notes.