Apply for Fellowship

Closing dates for next applications:

Mondays 5 October and 14 December 2026

 

Fellowships are awarded to those who have made an original contribution to historical scholarship, typically through the authorship of a book, a body of scholarly work similar in scale and impact to a book, the organisation of exhibitions and conferences, the editing of journals, and other works of diffusion and dissemination grounded in historical research.

If you’re considering applying to become a Fellow, we have a Q&A guide (November 2025) which provides more on the wide range of historians and historical practices that make up the Fellowship. Applications are welcome from historians working within or outside the UK.

To apply for the RHS Fellowship please use the Society’s Applications Portal, and select your chosen membership category. Full details of the benefits and opportunities of RHS Fellowship — including access to research funding and networking — are available in our new Guide for Members.

Election to Fellowship is conducted by review and applications should be supported by someone who is already a Fellow. To assist, we have a listing of current Fellows here. The Society is able to offer assistance for applicants who do not know an existing Fellow – please contact us for advice.

If you are a former RHS Fellow — whose Fellowship has lapsed / been cancelled, and you would like to re-join the Society — please contact [email protected]. Rejoining is easy and we will be glad to assist you.

The Society’s Associate Fellowship category caters for historians from a wide range of backgrounds who may not yet have reached the stage of full Fellowship. Applicants are encouraged to consider this option as it may be the correct category for you given your career stage. 

Benefits of Fellowship

To find out more about the benefits of Fellowship, please see our Guide for Members (latest version: November 2025). These benefits are also listed below:

  • Entitled to use the letters FRHistS after your name.
  • Print and online copies of the latest version of the RHS academic journal, Transactions.
  • Online access to the current issue and entire searchable back archive of Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: the collection comprises 150 volumes and more than 2200 articles, published between the journal’s foundation in 1872 and 2025.
  • Online access to all 390 volumes of the Society’s Camden Series of primary source material, including the latest titles published in 2025. Since 1838, the Camden Series has made primary records available in accessible scholarly editions, compiled and introduced by specialist historians. The Series is especially strong in material relating to British history, including the British Empire and Britons’ influence overseas.
  • All other RHS publications offered at a substantial discount: this includes print volumes for new and recent titles in the Camden Series and all titles in the New Historical Perspectives series.
  • Substantial discounts on the Society’s former title, the Bibliography of British and Irish History, which is available to Fellows at £25 per year.
  • 30% discount on all academic books (print only) published by Cambridge University Press.
  • 30% discount on History titles published by Oxford University Press.
  • 30% discount on purchases of print copies of the Society’s New Historical Perspectives book series, offering monographs and essay collections, and produced in association with the Institute of Historical Research and University of London Press.
  • 20% discount on print subscription to History Today, Britain’s leading history magazine (£60 per annum, usually £75 full price). 20% discount on online subscription to the archive of History Today (£56 per annum, usually £70 full price). 20% discount on print and online subscription to History Today (£84 per annum, usually £105 full price).
  • Receipt of the weekly ‘RHS News Circular’ (this example, April 2025): a regular update on RHS activities, plus listings of events / calls for papers from other UK historical societies and research networks.
  • Copies of RHS newsletters and the Society’s annual reports.
  • Eligible for RHS training and career development events / workshops reserved for Fellows and members of the Society.
  • Eligible to apply for the Society’s Research Funding programmes available to historians at all career stages.
  • Eligible to participate in the Society’s Annual General Meeting.
  • Eligible to vote in all RHS elections.
  • Eligible to stand for election to the RHS Council.
  • Access to the RHS Archive and Library collections, and RHS Library rooms, at University College London (UCL).
  • Eligible to join UCL Libraries as a library member.
  • Use of the Society’s Council Chamber at UCL for small group meetings (on application to the RHS office).
  • Become part of a thriving international community of historians, of all kinds and from many backgrounds.
  • Help us support and advocate for the study and practice of history in its many forms. Society income also supports our grants programme for historians at the start of their careers.

 

 

Annual Subscription

From July 2025, annual subscription rates for Fellows, payable on election, are: 

For Fellows within the UK or RoI:

  • With online access to Transactions and an annual print copy: £70.00 per annum
  • With online-only access to Transactions: £65.00 per annum

Retired Fellows within the UK or RoI:

  • With online access to Transactions and an annual print copy: £45.00 per annum
  • With online-only access to Transactions: £40.00 per annum

For Fellows outside of the UK or RoI:

  • With online access to Transactions and an annual print copy: £80.00 per annum
  • With online-only access to Transactions journal: £75.00 per annum

For Retired Fellows outside of the UK or RoI:

  • With online access to Transactions and an annual print copy: £55.00 per annum
  • With online-only access to Transactions: £50.00 per annum

The RHS subscription year runs July to June with renewals due on 1 July of each year. 

How to Apply

To apply for the RHS Fellowship please use the Society’s Applications Portal, and select your chosen membership category.

Our Frequently Asked Questions provide further information on the Fellowship and how to apply. Applications include a supporting statement from an existing Fellow of the Society. We have a current list of Fellows; if you do not know an existing Fellow, please contact [email protected] and w the RHS Office will provide guidance with your application.

Applications to join the RHS are welcome through the year. Application deadlines for 2026 are as follows: Mondays 5 October 2026, 14 December 2026.

Rejoining the Society as a Fellow

If your Fellowship has lapsed / has been cancelled, and you would like to re-join the Society, please contact our Membership department at [email protected] in the first instance. We will be glad to assist you.

All applications are considered by our Membership Committee which meets five times a year. You can expect to hear the outcome approximately six weeks after the closing date for your application. Incomplete applications will be held on file until we have received all the necessary information.

All enquiries about applying for election to the Fellowship should be addressed to the RHS office: [email protected]