• Home
• Research Impact
• Awards & Distinctions
• Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists

Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars 2024

The College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists, a branch of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), is Canada’s first national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership. It gathers scholars, artists, and scientists who have demonstrated a high level of achievement in an early and highly productive stage of their careers into a collegium where new understandings emerge from the interaction of their diverse intellectual, cultural, and social perspectives. The membership of the College is made to be representative of the current state of academia in terms of research methods and domains, age, gender, and ethno-cultural diversity. Membership terms are seven years.

More information

Deadline Summary

September 26	Nominee or Primary Nominator notifies Research Awards & Distinctions of intent to nominate (send your name or the name of your candidate by email to rwprizes@uwo.ca)
November 27	For Institutional Member (IM) nominations: complete dossiers including all letters submitted to Western Research. Western Research cannot guarantee institutional approval or signature on dossiers submitted beyond this date.
December 13	Final Submission of complete dossiers to the Royal Society of Canada

Please note, this is a summary, further details about other deadlines can be found under the Western Timelines heading.

Nominations

Nominators must be Members of the College or Fellows of the RSC. Institutional Member (IM) nominations can also be submitted by the university (please contact rwprizes@uwo.ca to request more information).  Nominees must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents within 15 years of the conferral of their PhD (January 1, 2008) or equivalent.

The RSC will consider an exemption period of up to three years for those who have had a career interruption for the purpose of maternity, childrearing, illness, or health-related family responsibilities.

A complete nomination package includes:

1. A completed nomination form
2. A cover letter from the nominator
   • Introduces the nomination
   • Explains any career interruptions
   • Details the highlights of the candidate’s career and illustrates how s/he meets the nomination criteria
   • Lists the name of the referee and indicates why s/he has been selected
   • Does not repeat information in the detailed appraisal; is not an additional letter of reference
3. A letter of reference from two persons of authority on the candidate and their field (max 750 words each)
   • Indicates referee’s direct knowledge of the candidate and their work
   • Highlights originality, significance,  and impact of the candidate’s career
   • Should be "fact heavy" (i.e., assertions about the quality of work should be backed-up by confirmartory facts - for example, awards won for specified work).
   • Should mention external measures such as citation indexes where appropriate
   • Append a biography of the referee (max. 250 words) to the last page of the letter. If the referee has a website please  provide a link.
4. A 1200-word summary of the nominee’s record
   • Presents a narrative of the candidate’s career
   • Only as technical as is necessary; it will be reviewed by both specialists and non-specialists
   • Notes how and why the candidate's work is original and significant
   • Highlights awards and prizes for scholarship
   • Discusses the national and international impact and reputation of the candidate’s career (e.g., election to significant international scholarly bodies, publication in top-rated journals, translation of technical papers, named lectureships, service on scientific advisory panels, citation indices, etc.)
5. A 500-word statement from the candidate reflecting on how her or his work would  contribute to the College during the seven-year term 
   
   
6. A 70-word citation
   • Includes nominee’s full name, institution, and discipline/artistic field
7. Nominee's CV (max 10 pages)
   • covers the candidate’s entire career
   • structured based on the candidate’s discipline and in a format acceptable to any of the tri-councils

Resources

Guide on preparing an RSC nomination.

EDID Supports

Dedicated support and resources for Indigenous research and Equity Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization in research are available through the Inclusive Research Excellence and Impact team. You can complete a request for support form to receive more information or book a consultation. If you are unsure if your project involves Indigenous research, it is recommended that you contact the team early for determination and support.

Deadline and Submission 

The following timelines must be met to guarantee institutional coordination and support .  Details of the support offered by the Awards and Distinctions Team (A&D) can be found below.

(Note: nomination dossiers may still be submitted by a nominating RSC Fellow or College Member)

Western Timelines

September 26	Nominee or Primary Nominator notifies Western Research of intent to nominate (send your name or the name of your candidate by email to rwprizes@uwo.ca).
October 10	Current CV and list of all potential Nominators and Referees submitted to Western Research
November 14	Draft of Detailed Appraisal, and Candidate Statement submitted to Western Research Outreach to potential Referees complete. Western Research will not provide support for securing Referees beyond this date
November 27	For Institutional Member (IM) nominations: complete dossiers including referee letters submitted to Western Research Western Research cannot guarantee institutional approval or signature on dossiers submitted beyond this date
December 11	For nominations by RSC Fellows or College Members: complete dossiers submitted to Western Research
December 13	Final Submission of complete dossiers to the Royal Society of Canada

Institutional Coordination and Support Includes:

• Assistance with identifying suitable nominators and referees
• Outreach to nominators and referees to secure support, providing them with required materials and guidelines, assisting with developing letter content, performing quality checks for formatting and regulation adherence, identifying the strongest letters for submission
• Developing letters of nomination and obtaining approvals and signatures
• Support for drafting all written materials, and providing feedback and review
• Assistance with finding additional reviewers among RSC Fellows or College Members (internal to Western or external as needed) 
• Completing online portal registration and creating nomination forms
• Document management: collecting and compiling all letters, forms, and written documents to create a dossier submissions according to Western Research guidelines
• Uploading of final dossier submissions to the online portal by the Western Research deadline