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Royal Society of Canada Fellowships
This pre-call framework is based on previous Royal Society of Canada Fellowship competitions and is subject to change based on updates from the RSC.
Election to Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada, Canada’s national academy, is one of the highest honours that can be attained by Canadian scholars, researchers, and artists. Fellows are peer-elected as the best in their field, and represent top intellectual leadership. Their exceptional achievements are evidenced by a body of publications, intellectual endeavours, or creative activities exhibiting original contributions in the arts, humanities, or sciences, as well as activities in public life.
RSC Fellowships Information Page
Dates & Deadlines
The following timelines must be met to guarantee institutional coordination and support. Details of the support provided by Western Research can be found below.
| Date | Required Steps |
|---|---|
| September 15 |
Please send the list of RSC Fellowship nominees being put forward within your faculty's quota by email to the Awards & Distinctions Team. |
| September 22 |
Awards & Distinctions Team: Royal Society of Canada Information Session |
| September 29 | Current CV and list of all potential Nominators and Referees submitted to the Awards & Distinctions Team |
| November 3 |
ORS will not provide support for securing referees beyond this date. |
| November 24 | For Institutional Member (IM) nominations: complete dossiers including all letters submitted to the Awards & Distinctions Team. Western Research cannot guarantee institutional approval or signature on dossiers submitted beyond this date. |
| November 27 | Complete dossiers submitted to the Awards & Distinctions Team |
| December 1 | Final submission by the Awards & Distinctions Team of complete dossiers to the Royal Society of Canada |
Information Session Details
Awards & Distinctions Team: Royal Society of Canada Information Session
This session, will explore how to build a successful nomination for the national prestigeous Royal Society of Canada Programs: Fellowship, Membership in the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, and the Medals & Awards. We will cover topics such as finding suitable nominators, working with referees to obtain high-quality letters of support, crafting the written materials, and effective timelines for developing these large nomination dossiers. Many of the tips and best practices presented will be applicable to other types of nominations and we will provide several templates and examples to facilitate your knowledge.
- Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2026
- Location: Weldon Community Room
- Time: 10:30am to 12pm
- RSVP Link Coming Soon
Eligibility
The exceptional achievements of RSC Fellows are evidenced by a body of publications, intellectual endeavours, or creative activities exhibiting original contributions in the arts, humanities, or sciences, as well as activities in public life. At the time of their election, nominees must be Canadian citizens or have had Canadian permanent resident status for at least three years.
Nominations for Fellowship must be made by either:
- A Fellow of the RSC (this is the preferred nomination method); or
- The President of the university (please contact the Awards & Distinctions Team to request more information).
Nomination Process
Nominations Supported by Western Research
To maximize available resources and give Western nominations the best possible support, we have implemented a faculty-based quota for RSC Fellowship nominations that are supported by the Western Research Awards & Distinctions team.
- Deadline: September 15 – Send the list of the RSC Fellowship nominee(s) that meet your Faculty’s quota and that will receive support from the Awards & Distinctions Team via email.
For details about your Faculty’s 2026 quota, see here.
Faculties or individual researchers may still submit additional Fellowship nominations directly to the RSC as any RSC Fellow is eligible to nominate a colleague.
RSC Fellowship Nomination Process
A complete nomination package includes a Nomination Form and consists of:
- An introductory letter from the Primary Nominator (one-page template; not an appraisal). If your nomination is being supported by the Awards & Distinctions Team, we will prepare the template for your nominator.
- A 70-word citation written for non-specialists
- A 1,200-word detailed appraisal of achievements
- The nominee’s CV (max. 50 pages)
- Referee letters (max 750 words) with a 250-word biography of each referee respectively appended
- Academy of Arts and Humanities and Academy of Social Sciences nominations require three referees
- Academy of Science requires five referees, preferably at least three from outside Canada
Western Resources
Awards & Distinctions Best Practices Documents
Awards & Distinctions Templates
RSC Resources
Note: 2027 information will be coming soon
Institutional Coordination and Support
Nominations supported by Awards & Distinctions will receive the following:
- 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
- Drafting letters of nomination and obtaining approvals and signatures
- Support for developing all written materials, and providing feedback and review
- Assistance with finding additional reviewers among RSC Fellows (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 submission according to RSC guidelines
- Uploading of final nominations to the online portal by the RSC deadline
EDID Supports
Western Research offers support and resources for knowledge mobilization, Indigenous Research, and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization. You can complete a request for support form to receive more information or request additional support. If you are unsure if your project involves Indigenous research, it is recommended that you contact Western Research early for determination and support.
Contact Us
Potential nominators, nominees, and Faculty Representatives are encouraged to contact rwprizes@uwo.ca regarding Western Research support and coordination of nominations.