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Royal Society of Canada Fellowships – 2026

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.

More information

Western Timelines

For nominations supported by Awards & Distinctions.

Important Date	Required Steps
September	Western RSC Fellowship Information Session - More Details TBA
September 15	Faculty Representative notifies Western Research of your Faculty’s intent to nominate (send your name or the name of your candidate by email to rwprizes@uwo.ca)
September 29	Current CV and list of all potential Nominators and Referees submitted to Awards & Disctinctions Team
November 3	Draft of Detailed Appraisal and Citation submitted to Western Research (rwprizes@uwo.ca), in Word format. RSC CV (rwprizes@uwo.ca), in Word format.
November 24	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.
November 27	Complete dossiers submitted to Awards & Distinctions Team
December 1	Final Submission by Awards & Disctinctions to the Royal Society of Canada

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 rwprizes@uwo.ca to request more information).

Nomination Process

Nominations Supported by Western Research Awards & Distinctions

To maximize available resources and give Western nominations the best possible support, we will be implementing 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 Awards & Distinctions via email to rwprizes@uwo.ca.

For details about your Faculty’s 2026 quota, contact us directly.

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:

1. An introductory letter from the Primary Nominator (one-page template; not an appraisal)
2. A 70-word citation written for non-specialists
3. A 1200-word detailed appraisal of achievements
4. The nominee’s CV (max. 50 pages)
5. 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 require five referees, preferably at least three from outside Canada

Western Resources

**September 2025 Western Information Session - More details TBA**

Awards & Distinctions Best Practices Documents

• September 2025 Information Session
• Building a Nomination
• Curriculum Vitae
• Detailed Appraisal
• Letters of Reference

Awards & Distinctions Templates

• CV Template

RSC Resources

• RSC Guide on preparing nomination (Updates soon)
• Nomination Letter Framework (Updates soon)
• Letter of Reference Framework (Updates soon)

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

Nominations Supported by Western Research Awards & Distinctions

• Deadline: December 1 - Final Submission by Awards & Distinctions to the Royal Society of Canada

Other Nominations

Faculties or individual researchers may still submit additional RSC Fellowship nominations as any RSC Fellow is eligible to nominate a colleague.

• Agency Deadline: December 15 - Submit to the Royal Society of Canada.

Awards & Distinctions 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