Guide for Prestigious Faculty Awards and Academic Societies
This guide is designed to assist department chairs, deans and faculty to pursue highly prestigious national and international awards, fellowships and society memberships. Not only do these awards and honors recognize the outstanding accomplishments of our faculty but they also feature into the ranking of universities through the Center for Measuring University Performance (CMUP) and the Association of American Universities (AAU).
Fellowship, Membership and Award Opportunities
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellows
Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers is for research projects conducted within Germany only. An academic host institution is required. In providing Humboldt Research Fellowships for experienced researchers, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables highly-qualified scientists and scholars from abroad, who completed their doctorates less than twelve years ago to spend extended periods of research (6-18 months; may be divided up into a maximum of three blocks) in Germany.
The Humboldt Research Award is granted in recognition of a researcher's entire achievements to date to academics whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.
Applications: Accepted on an ongoing basis; selection committee meets two to three times per year.
Timeline: The complete application should be submitted to the Humboldt Foundation at least four to seven months ahead of the prospective selection date. The selection committee meets every year in March, July and November. If an application has been approved, a fellow arriving from abroad may start the fellowship two months after the selection meeting at the earliest.
American Philosophical Society Resident Fellows
The APS Library & Museum invites scholars to apply for fellowships to do research in the collections. Fellowships are offered for short-term and long-term opportunities, for subject-specific research, and in digital humanities.
Postdoctoral fellowships are also available for recent Ph.D. graduates seeking hands-on experience in curatorial work and the opportunity to pursue an independent research project, preferably one related to the collections or programs of the Society’s Library & Museum.
Applications: Online form requires cover letter, Curriculum Vitae, research proposal (2 pages) that outlines the status of your work and what you will research at the American Philosophical Society Library; two confidential letters of reference.
Timeline: Due in early March.
American Physical Society Fellows
The APS Fellowship Program was created to recognize members who may have made advances in physics through original research and publication, or made significant innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology. They may also have made significant contributions to the teaching of physics or service and participation in the activities of the Society. Fellowship is a distinct honor signifying recognition by one's professional peers. Each year, no more than one half of one percent of the Society’s membership (excluding student members) is recognized by their peers for election to the status of Fellow of the American Physical Society.
Nominations: Nominations must be made by a member of the American Physical Society and includes rationale for the nomination, supporting letters and the CV.
Timeline: Nominations can be made beginning in January.
American Psychological Association Fellows
Fellow status is an honor bestowed upon APA members who have shown evidence of unusual and outstanding contributions or performance in the field of psychology. Fellow status requires that a person's work has had a national impact on the field of psychology beyond a local, state or regional level.
Nominations: Nominations to initial fellow status are made by . Nominees must have a doctoral degree based in part on a psychological dissertation; prior status as a member for at least one year; active engagement in the advancement of psychology; five years of acceptable postdoctoral experience; and evidence of unusual and outstanding contribution or performance in the field of psychology.
American School of Classical Studies in Athens Fellowships:
These Fellowships are aimed at supporting scholars who are publishing materials from the School's excavations at Ancient Corinth or the Athenian Agora. The Kress Foundation supports research in the art and architecture of antiquity.
American Statistical Association Fellows
The designation of ASA Fellow has been a significant honor for nearly 100 years. To be selected, nominees must have an established reputation and have made outstanding contributions to statistical science. The Committee on Fellows evaluates each candidate’s contributions to the advancement of statistical science and places due weight on the following:
- Published works
- Position held with employer
- ASA activities
- Membership and accomplishments in other societies
- Professional activities
Nominations: Packets are submitted online and include three supporting letters, CV, and draft citation.
Timeline: Nominations must be submitted by March 1.
Beckman Young Investigators
The Beckman Young Investigator (BYI) Program is intended to provide research support to the most promising young faculty members in the early stages of academic careers in the chemical and life sciences particularly to foster the invention of methods, instruments and materials that will open up new avenues of research in science.
Applications: First step is Letter of Intent describing project and rationale; candidates invited to apply are then notified and given further information.
Timeline: Letter of intent submission due in September; candidates invited to apply in December; award announcements in July
Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Awards
Five-year $700,000 awards for physician-scientists bridge advanced postdoctoral/fellowship training and the early years of faculty service. Proposals must be in the area of basic biomedical, disease-oriented, translational, or molecular, genetic, or pharmacological epidemiology research.
Applications: All applicants are required to complete a web-based questionnaire assessing their eligibility to apply for this award. If eligibility criteria are met, applicants will be automatically directed to a web-based proposal form. Candidates must hold an M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., or D.O. degree. n Candidates must not be more than 13 years past their clinical doctorate degree. Candidates may hold a junior faculty appointment (Lecturer, Instructor, etc.). However, candidates with tenure track appointments are not eligible.
Timeline: Applications due by end of September.
Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts Fellowships
The Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts offers senior fellowships for full-time research, and scholars are expected to reside in Washington and to participate in the activities of the Center throughout the fellowship period. Lectures, colloquia, and informal discussions complement the fellowship program. Each senior fellow is provided with a study. In addition, senior fellows who relocate to Washington are provided with housing in apartments near the Gallery, subject to availability. Senior fellows have access to the notable resources represented by the collections, the library, and the photographic archives of the National Gallery of Art, as well as to the Library of Congress and other specialized research libraries and collections in the Washington area.
One Paul Mellon Fellowship and four to six Ailsa Mellon Bruce and Samuel H. Kress Senior Fellowships will be awarded for the academic year, early fall to spring. Applications for a single academic term are also possible.
Applications: Includes a proposal and a copy of two publications, either articles or chapters from books, and three letters of recommendation.
Timeline: Mid October
Cottrell Scholars Award
The Cottrell Scholar Awards are designed for institutions and faculty members who are committed to excel at both teaching and research. These awards enable recipients to implement their plans to become outstanding scientists and educators as well as tomorrow's academic and scientific leaders. The awards also seek to reinforce faculty mentoring, communication, and a heightened appreciation for instruction in university science departments.
The Cottrell Scholar Award (CSA) is available to early career faculty at US and Canadian research universities and primarily undergraduate institutions. Eligible applicants are tenure-track faculty who hold primary or courtesy appointments in chemistry, physics, or astronomy departments that offer bachelor's and/or graduate degrees in the applicant's discipline.
Application: CSA proposals contain a research plan, an educational plan, and a clear statement on how the applicant will become an outstanding teacher-scholar with strong academic citizenship skills. Proposal plans must be for a period of three years. The ability of applicants to mount a strong and innovative research program, achieve excellence in education, and develop effective academic citizenship skills are key criteria in the selection process.
Timeline: Applications are due midnight on July 1.
Fulbright American Scholars
The core Fulbright Scholar Program sends 800 U.S. faculty and professionals abroad each year. Grantees lecture and conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields. Grants are available in over .
Application: Various awards available and the application process is different for each.
Timeline: For the core Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program, September 15 is the typical application deadline.
Getty Scholars
Getty Scholar and Visiting Scholar Grants provide a unique research experience. Recipients are in residence at the Getty Research Institute where they pursue their own projects free from academic obligations, make use of Getty collections, join their colleagues in a weekly meeting devoted to an annual theme and participate in the intellectual life of the Getty. These grants are for established scholars, artists, or writers who have attained distinction in their fields. Applications are welcome from researchers of all nationalities who are working in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. Scholars can be residence for 3- 9 months with varying levels of compensation.
Applications: Online application which includes CV, project proposal, and optional writing sample.
Timeline: Due by beginning of October
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators
During periodic, open competitions, the Institute solicits applications from researchers at universities, medical schools, and other research institutions across the United States, with the aim of identifying individuals who have the potential to make significant contributions to science. Once selected, they continue to be based at their institutions—called “host institutions”—typically leading a research group of 10–25 students, postdoctoral associates, and technicians. Because HHMI is classified as a medical research organization under the Internal Revenue Code, HHMI investigators and some of their laboratory personnel are Institute employees, supported by local field offices throughout the country. Appointment is for a five-year term, which may be renewed after an exacting review process.
Applications: Applicants apply directly. Application includes five highlighted research articles, summary of your major research contributions, and program description focused on your ongoing and planned research program.
Timeline: Applications due in mid March.
Institute for Advanced Study Residency
The Institute for Advanced Study is one of the world’s leading centers for curiosity-driven basic research. It exists to encourage and support fundamental research in the sciences and humanities. Each year, the institute selects approximately 200 members from an average of more than 1,500 applicants for its four schools—Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Science-and three special programs—Program for Women and Mathematics, Institute for Advanced Study/Park City Mathematics Institute, Prospects in Theoretical Physics and Summer Program in Social Science. Members come to the institute for periods as short as one term or as long as several years. Young scholars and applicants from non-traditional backgrounds who have outstanding promise are considered, as are senior scholars whose reputations are already well established. The major consideration in the appointment process is the expectation that each member’s period of residence will result in work of significance and originality.
Applications: Forms vary depending on the school for which you are applying. Typically will include research proposal, writing sample, bibliography for research proposal and CV.
Timeline: Applications materials are updated each year in June. Deadlines vary by school.
The Jefferson Science Fellowship is open to tenured, or similarly ranked, faculty from U.S. institutions of higher learning who are U.S. citizens. Selected Jefferson Science Fellows spend one year on assignment at the U.S. Department of State or USAID as science advisors on foreign policy issues. Assignments are tailored to the needs of the hosting office, while taking into account the Fellows’ interests and areas of expertise.
Applications: Click the 'How to Apply' button to view eligibility criteria, terms of the fellowship and instructions for applying.
Timeline: The application period opens in early August and closes end of October. The fellowship begins in August.
John Simon Guggenheim Fellows
Often characterized as "midcareer" awards, Guggenheim Fellowships are intended for men and women who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. The Foundation offers Fellowships to further the development of scholars and artists by assisting them to engage in research in any field of knowledge and creation in any of the arts, under the freest possible conditions and irrespective of race, color, or creed.
Applications: The Foundation receives between 3,500 and 4,000 applications each year. Although no one who applies is guaranteed success in the competition, there is no prescreening: all applications are reviewed. Approximately 200 Fellowships are awarded each year.
Timeline: Application due in mid-September.
MacArthur Foundation Fellows
The MacArthur Fellows Program awards unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction. There are three criteria for selection of Fellows: exceptional creativity, promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishment, and potential for the fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work. The MacArthur Fellows Program is intended to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations.
Nominations: Nominees are brought to the Program's attention through a constantly changing pool of invited external nominators chosen from as broad a range of fields and areas of interest as possible. They are encouraged to draw on their expertise, accomplishments, and breadth of experience to nominate the most creative people they know within their field and beyond. Nominations are evaluated by an independent Selection Committee composed of about a dozen leaders in the arts, sciences, humanities professions, and for-profit and nonprofit communities.
Mellon Foundation New Directions Fellowship
New Directions Fellowships assist faculty members in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who seek to acquire systematic training outside their own areas of special interest. The program is intended to enable scholars in the humanities to work on problems that interest them most, at an appropriately advanced level of sophistication. In addition to facilitating the work of individual faculty members, these awards should benefit scholarship in the humanities more generally by encouraging the highest standards in cross-disciplinary research.
Eligible candidates will be faculty members who were awarded a doctorate in the humanities or humanistic social sciences within the last six to twelve years and whose research interests call for formal training in a discipline other than the one in which they are expert. Such training may consist of coursework or other programs of organized study. It may take place either at fellows' home institutions or elsewhere, as appropriate.
Applications: Includes nomination letter, project summary, project proposal, CV, budget, list of 兔子先生’s Board of Trustees, recommendation letter
Microsoft Faculty Research Fellowship
Two-year fellowship that recognizes innovative, promising early-career professors in the Americas who are exploring breakthrough, high-impact research.
Nomination: Candidates must be nominated by their university or a Microsoft researcher before receiving an invitation to submit a proposal.
Timeline: Nominations must be made by the end of September.
National Academy of Education
The NAEd consists of U.S. members and foreign associates who are elected on the basis of outstanding scholarship or contributions to education. The National Academy of Education accepts membership nominations annually.
Nominations: Only current members are eligible to submit nominations.
National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine
To meet the government's urgent need for an independent adviser on scientific matters, President Lincoln signed a congressional charter forming the National Academy of Sciences in 1863 to "investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science." As science began to play an ever-increasing role in national priorities and public life, the National Academy of Sciences eventually expanded to include the National Research Council in 1916, the National Academy of Engineering in 1964, and the National Academy of Medicine, which was established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine. are private, nonprofit institutions that provide expert, objective advice on current challenges in science- , engineering- , and health-related matters.
Nominations: In all three organizations, elections of new members take place annually, and new members are nominated and voted on by existing members. The number of new members elected is established either by the bylaws or the council of each organization.
Timeline: Nomination deadlines vary depending on the area. Nominations for National Academy of Sciences and Engineering occur throughout the year. Nominations for the National Academy of Medicine occur between November 1 and February 1.
National Academy of Inventors
The (NAI) recognizes academic inventors who have created or facilitated outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society. The inaugural class of Fellows was announced in 2012. Currently the NAI has 1060 Fellows worldwide, representing more than 250 prestigious universities and governmental and nonprofit research institutes. Collectively, the Fellows hold more than 36,000 issued U.S. patents, which have generated more than 9,400 licensed technologies and companies. Nominations for new Fellows are typically open from May to July each year; then they are reviewed by the NAI Fellows Advisory and Selection Committees, and new fellows are officially announced in December each year.
Nominations: Must be done by peers. Nominees must be a named inventor on patent(s) issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Timeline: Deadline for nominations in July 31.
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellows
Fellowships support individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both. Recipients usually produce articles, monographs, books, digital materials, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources. Fellowships support continuous full-time work for a period of six to twelve months.
Applications: Online submission process via grants.gov
Timeline: Online applications accepted through end of April for projects beginning as early as January 1. Applicants will be notified of the decision by e-mail in early December.
National Humanities Center Fellows
The National Humanities Center offers 40 residential fellowships for advanced study in the humanities during the academic year.
Applications: Applicants will be asked to complete an online application form and to upload the following documents: 1,000-word project proposal, short bibliography, curriculum vitae, and a one-page tentative outline of the structure of the project.
Timeline: Online application system is open at beginning of July; application deadline including the reference letters is mid-October.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Merit (R37)
Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Awards are offered to a limited number of investigators who have demonstrated superior competence and outstanding productivity during their previous research endeavors and who are likely to continue to perform in an outstanding manner in the future.
The MERIT Award provides long-term, stable support to investigators whose research competence and productivity are distinctly superior and who are likely to continue to perform in an outstanding manner. It is intended to foster their continued creativity and lessen the administrative burdens associated with the preparation and submission of research grant applications.
Nominations: NIH Program staff nominate outstanding investigators for Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Awards (R37), which are approved by spring Council. Each year, NIAID issues about 15 new MERIT awards. Investigators may not have more than one MERIT award at a time.
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science was established by the 86th Congress in 1959 as a Presidential Award to be given to individuals "deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, or engineering sciences." In 1980 Congress expanded this recognition to include the social and behavioral sciences.
Nominations: Includes nomination form plus 3-5 letters of support
Timeline: Nominations due in April
National Medal of Technology and Innovation
The National Medal of Technology and Innovation (formerly known as the National Medal of Technology) is the highest honor for technological achievement bestowed by the President of the United States on America's leading innovators. The purpose of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation is to recognize those who have made lasting contributions to America's competitiveness, standard of living, and quality of life through technological innovation, and to recognize those who have made substantial contributions to strengthening the Nation's technological workforce. By highlighting the national importance of technological innovation, the Medal also seeks to inspire future generations of Americans to prepare for and pursue technical careers to keep America at the forefront of global technology and economic leadership.
Nominations: Anyone can nominate for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by submitting the nomination form and six letters of support at www.uspto.gov/nmti.
Timeline: Deadline for nominations is approximately the beginning of June.
NSF CAREER Awards
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation- wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.
Applications: Only Assistant Professors without tenure are eligible to apply. Press the 'Applicant FAQ' button for frequently asked questions.
Timeline: July submission deadline for applications.
Newberry Library Long-Term Fellows
Long-term fellowships are available to post-doctoral scholars for periods of six to eleven months. These grants support individual research and promote serious intellectual exchange through active participation in the Library's scholarly activities, including a biweekly fellows' seminar. These residential fellowships are available to scholars who hold a PhD or other terminal degree for 4 to 9 months with a stipend of $4,200 per month. Awardees may combine their Newberry fellowship award with sabbatical funding or other stipendiary support.
Applications: Include project description, project proposal, CV and three letters of recommendation
Timeline: Deadline for applications is November 1.
The Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering provides the nation’s most promising early-career scientists and engineers with flexible funding and the freedom to take risks and explore new frontiers in their fields of study.
Nominations: Up to two nominations may be made by the president of each institution. Candidates must be faculty members in the first three years of their faculty careers.
Timeline: Nominations are requested in January of each year from the presidents of 50 universities selected by the Advisory Panel. Nominations due in March.
Pew Scholars in Biomedicine
The Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences provides funding to young investigators of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of human health. The program makes grants to selected academic institutions to support the independent research of outstanding individuals who are in their first few years of their appointment at the assistant professor level.
Nominations: Must come from the President of one of the participating institutions
Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)*
Each year NSF selects nominees for the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from among the most meritorious new CAREER awardees. Selection for this award is based on two important criteria: 1) innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology that is relevant to the mission of the sponsoring organization or agency, and 2) community service demonstrated through scientific leadership, education or community outreach. These awards foster innovative developments in science and technology, increase awareness of careers in science and engineering, give recognition to the scientific missions of the participating agencies, enhance connections between fundamental research and national goals, and highlight the importance of science and technology for the Nation’s future. Individuals cannot apply for PECASE. These awards are initiated by the participating federal agencies. At NSF, up to twenty nominees for this award are selected each year from among the PECASE-eligible CAREER awardees who are most likely to become the leaders of academic research and education in the twenty-first century. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy makes the final selection and announcement of the awardees.
Selection for this award is based on two important criteria:
- Innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology that is relevant to the mission of NSF
- Community service demonstrated through scientific leadership, education or community outreach
Applications: Individuals cannot apply for PECASE. These awards are initiated by the participating federal agencies. At NSF, up to twenty nominees for this award are selected each year from among the PECASE-eligible CAREER awardees who are most likely to become the leaders of academic research and education in the twenty-first century.
The Sackler Prizes are intended to promote originality and excellence of research in the field of Biophysics, Chemistry and Physics. They are administered by Tel Aviv University through an advisory committee comprised of the President and Rector of TAU as ex-officio members and others selected ad personam by the President and the Rector.
Nomination: Only selected or invited members may submit formal nominations of candidates. The Sackler Prizes are awarded on a rotating schedule, with each one given out every two or three years.
Timeline: Nominations are typically due in November.
Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching
The Cherry Award program, offered by Baylor University, is designed to honor great teachers, to stimulate discussion in the academy about the value of teaching, and to encourage departments and institutions to value their own great teachers. The recipient of the Cherry Award will receive a prize of $250,000 and will teach in residence at Baylor University during the fall or spring semester; travel expenses and a furnished apartment will be provided. To further Baylor University's commitment to great teaching, the award recipient's home department will receive $25,000.
Nominations: Three finalists are chosen from the field of nominees. Nominations should correspond with academic units engaged in undergraduate teaching at Baylor. Each finalist receives $15,000 and is invited to present a series of lectures at Baylor University in the fall. Finalists present a Cherry Award Lecture on their home campuses as well. In addition, the home department of the finalists will receive $10,000 to foster the development of pedagogical skills. The recipient of the Cherry Award, announced in Spring, will thus receive a total of $265,000, and $35,000 for his or her home department.
Timeline: Online nomination form opens in May of each year.
Robert Wood Johnson Policy Fellows
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows program provides the nation's most comprehensive experience at the nexus of health science, policy and politics in Washington D.C. The fellowship is an outstanding opportunity for exceptional midcareer health professionals and behavioral and social scientists with an interest in health and health care policy. Fellows experience and participate in the policy process at the federal level and use that leadership experience to improve health, health care and health policy.
Nominations: Offered online
Timeline: Applications are open in November.
Sloan Research Fellows
The purpose of fellowship is to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise. Selection procedures are designed to identify those who show the most outstanding promise of making fundamental contributions to new knowledge. Sloan Research Fellows, once chosen, are free to pursue whatever lines of inquiry are of the most compelling interest to them. Their Sloan funds can be applied to a wide variety of uses for which other, more restricted funds such as research project grants cannot usually be employed.
Nominations: Candidates may nominate themselves. All nomination materials for the Sloan Research Fellowships must be uploaded electronically through Interfolio.com
Timeline: Nominations open in summer and are to be submitted by mid-September.
Woodrow Wilson Fellows
The Woodrow Wilson Fellows and Scholars Program supports research in the social sciences and humanities. Men and women from a wide variety of backgrounds, including government, the non-profit sector, the corporate world, and the professions, as well as academia, are eligible for appointment. Through an international competition, it offers 9-month residential fellowships to academics, public officials, journalists, and business professionals. Fellows conduct research and write in their areas of interest, while interacting with policymakers in Washington and Wilson Center staff.
Applications: Include CV (three pages), list of publications, project proposal, bibliography for project, two letters of reference
Timeline: Application due by end of September
American Academy in Rome (Rome Prize)
Each year, the coveted Rome Prize is awarded to thirty emerging artists and scholars in the early or middle stages of their careers who represent the highest standard of excellence in the arts and humanities. Fellows are chosen from the following disciplines: Architecture; Design; Historic Preservation and Conservation; Landscape Architecture; Literature (awarded only by nomination through the American Academy of Arts and Letters); Musical Composition; Visual Arts; Ancient Studies; Medieval Studies; Renaissance and Early Modern Studies; and Modern Italian Studies. Prize recipients are invited to Rome for six months or eleven months to immerse themselves in the Academy community, which also includes Residents and Visiting Artists and Scholars.
Applications: Applicants for all Rome Prize Fellowships, except those applying for the National Endowment for the Humanities postdoctoral fellowship, must be United States citizens at the time of the application.
Timeline: Application deadline is November 1. There is an application fee. The deadline for letters of recommendation is November 30. Applicants in literature, musical composition, and visual arts are not required to provide letters of recommendation
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Academy's greatest strength lies in the leadership of its members and the wide range of expertise they bring to its studies and publications. The membership of the Academy encompasses 4,000 Fellows and 600 Foreign Honorary Members and reflects the full range of disciplines: mathematics, the physical and biological sciences, medicine, the social sciences and humanities, business, government, public affairs, and the arts. Among its Fellows are more than 160 Nobel Prize laureates and 50 Pulitzer Prize winners. Over 1,300 nominations are considered each year, and of this number, fewer than 250 are elected.
Nominations: Nomination to the Academy is a privilege restricted to the Fellowship. Annually, Academy members receive a call for nominations. Each candidate for membership must have two nominators who are already members. The nominators must be from different institutions from each other, and at least one must be from the United States.
American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare
Academy Fellows are premier scholars and practitioners influencing the social work field. Fellows’ work has had a considerable impression on social work and social welfare along with practitioners who have had significant impact at the national or international level.
Nominations: Nominations must be made by another Fellow. Packets include a nomination form and a CV. All nominations remain confidential.
Timeline: Nominations open late summer each calendar year and forms are sent directly to Fellows.
American Antiquarian Society Fellowships
At least three long-term fellowships (long-term and short-term research fellowships as well as fellowships for creative and performing artists and writers) are awarded for periods extending from four to twelve months. AAS Fellows are selected on the basis of the applicant's scholarly qualifications, the scholarly significance or importance of the project, and the appropriateness of the proposed study to the Society's collections.
Applications: Forms can be found online.
Timeline: Application for the long-term visiting academic research fellowship and fellowships for creative and performing artists and writers are due in October. The short-term visiting research fellowship application is due in January.
American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows
A member whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished and who has been a continuous member for the four year period leading up to the year of nomination, may, by virtue of such meritorious contribution be elected a Fellow by the Council.
Election as a Fellow of AAAS is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers. Fellows are recognized for meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications.
Nominations: Fellow nominations may be made by:
- The Steering Groups of the Association's 24 sections
- Any three previously elected Fellows who are current AAAS members, so long as two of the three sponsors are not affiliated with the nominee's institution
- The Chief Executive Officer
Timeline: Steering Group Review – Spring; Council Voting – Fall; Announcements – Late Fall immediately following the vote.
American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellowships
The ACLS Fellowship Program invites research applications in all disciplines of the humanities and humanities-related social sciences. The ultimate goal of the project should be a major piece of scholarly work by the applicant. ACLS does not fund creative work (e.g., novels or films), textbooks, straightforward translation, or pedagogical projects.
Applications: Online submission including two reference letters.
Timeline: September deadline; notifications in February.
American Educational Research Association Fellows (AERA)
The AERA Fellows Program honors education researchers for their exceptional contributions to, and excellence in, education research. The program is intended to be inclusive of the scholarship that constitutes and enriches education research as an interdisciplinary field.
Nominations: By current AERA Fellows only.
Timeline: Nomination forms are available on September 1st and due on November 10th.
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows
The AIMBE College of Fellows include approximately 2,000 individuals who are outstanding bioengineers in academia, industry, clinical practice, and government. These leaders in the field have distinguished themselves through their contributions in research, industrial practice and/or education. Most Fellows hail from the United States, but there are international Fellows.
Nominations: Nominations must be made by a current fellow and include a 250-word description of the candidate’s most accomplished contributions to research or engineering and supported by a CV not longer than 10 total pages.
Timeline: Nominations can be made between April 1 and June 1.
American Mathematical Society Fellows
Fellows of the American Mathematical Society program recognizes members who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication, and utilization of mathematics.
Nominations: Individuals may be nominated by any member of the American Mathematical Society. Nominations include: a citation of fifty words or less explaining the person’s accomplishments (text only, no special characters); a Curriculum Vitae of no more than five (5) pages; and a statement of cause of 500 words or less explaining why the individual meets the criteria of Fellowship.
Timeline: Nominations are due by end of March.