1. Applications for election to the Fellowship of the RHS are welcomed from individuals who have made a significant and original contribution to historical scholarship. The Society defines its remit in very broad terms, given both the sub-division of History as an academic discipline and its overlap with other disciplines. The Society welcomes applications for its Fellowship from applicants in other disciplines where their research has a substantial historical component. It does not admit to the Fellowship practitioners of other disciplines when the applicant’s research has only a limited historical base or derives from sciences dealing with the non-human prehistoric past.
2. The criteria for eligibility for Fellowship relate to contributions to historical scholarship and the historical discipline. The process of election is based on peer review.
3. Applicants for election to the Fellowship should be able to demonstrate ONE of the following contributions to historical scholarship and the historical discipline:
(i) authorship of a published monograph or books based on historical research;
(ii) authorship of a body of published scholarly work (e.g. learned articles, essays, catalogues, calendars) similar in scale and impact to (i);
(iii) a significant contribution to the historical discipline in other ways: e.g. exhibition curatorships; editing history journals; provision of web resources; media production and/or publication of works of diffusion and dissemination grounded in historical scholarship.
For further information on these criteria, please consult the Frequently Asked Questions.
4. Details of your contribution to scholarship should be provided on a separate sheet of no more than one page. For publications this includes page numbers and ISBNs. A summary C.V. of no more than one page and focussing on the specific criteria for election should also be attached to the application. Please note that forthcoming publications cannot be considered.
5. Applications must be supported by one Fellow of the Society who has knowledge of, and can offer peer review of, the applicant’s scholarly work. He/she need not be known to the applicant personally. A list of current Fellows of the Society may be consulted here. The Fellow may be resident in the same institution as the applicant. The recommendation must demonstrate knowledge of the applicant’s work and testify to the quality of the applicant’s contributions to the historical discipline.
6. The Society welcomes applications from outside British higher education, both from other advanced researchers within the U.K. and from historians from overseas. The Society expects all applicants to produce a letter of support from a sponsor within the ranks of the existing Fellowship, listed on the Society’s website. The Society will waive the requirement for a reference from a Fellow only in exceptional cases. In such cases the applicant would be asked to obtain a reference from an established figure in the field of historical studies outside the Fellowship.
7. Applications are considered by the Society’s Membership Committee, which reserves the right to consult other specialists in the field, and may also request copies of the applicant’s publications. The final decision on applications is made by the Society’s Council.
8. Applications may be submitted at any time during the year. They will be considered at the following meeting of the Membership Committee, provided a supporting statement has been received from the nominated Fellow, although in some cases it may be necessary to postpone a decision pending further enquiries. The Committee’s recommendations pass for ratification to the Society’s Council. Applicants will be informed once a decision has been made.
9. The current annual subscription for Fellowship is £60 (Retired Fellows pay £40), which is payable on election. Please do not send payment with your application.
10. All enquiries about applying for election to the Fellowship should be addressed to the Administrative Secretary, Imogen Evans, at: adminsecretary@royalhistsoc.org
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