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An AAAS Fellow is a scientist, engineer or innovator elected to a lifetime honor by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). It is an election by peers, not a job placement: if you are looking for the one-to-two-year policy placements, see science and research policy fellowships, which covers the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship (STPF). This page describes the elected honor and its nomination pipeline, as described on the official AAAS pages on 2026-10-29.
What the AAAS Fellow honor is and who runs it
AAAS describes the Fellow designation as a lifetime honor for scientists, engineers and innovators whose achievements span research, teaching, technology, administration or the public communication of science. The tradition dates to 1874. Fellows are elected annually by the AAAS Council, and AAAS states that Fellows are expected to meet commonly held standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity. AAAS also publishes directories of current and historic Fellows and maintains a separate revocation process page.
New Fellows receive a certificate and a blue and gold rosette at the AAAS Fellows Forum. The AAAS page names Thomas Edison, W.E.B. DuBois, Maria Mitchell, Steven Chu, Ellen Ochoa and Irwin M. Jacobs among past Fellows.
Eligibility
AAAS states that a nominee must be a AAAS member whose work is scientifically or socially distinguished, and who has been a continuous member for four years without lapse by the end of the election year. The process page and the main Fellows page word the four-year window slightly differently (the main page ties it to the years before the nomination year), so confirm the exact window on the current official page before you plan around a membership date.
What a nomination requires
For a nomination submitted by three Fellows, AAAS lists these materials:
- the completed submission form;
- a list of the nominee’s top ten most significant publications;
- a comprehensive CV with a complete publication list;
- a letter from each of the three sponsors, each accompanied by a Letter of Recommendation Addendum.
Sponsor letters follow the same principles as any letter of reference, but the AAAS addendum is a required form, not an optional extra.
Nomination routes and review steps
The three routes
- Section Steering Committees. Each of the 24 AAAS Sections has a steering committee that can nominate.
- Three Fellows. Any three previously elected Fellows who are current AAAS members may nominate, provided at least two of the three sponsors are not affiliated with the nominee’s institution.
- The AAAS Chief Executive Officer.
Sponsor rules
Sponsors must be previously elected Fellows in good standing and current AAAS members. In a three-Fellow nomination a sponsor may act as primary, secondary or tertiary sponsor, and no Fellow may sponsor more than two such nominations in one year, in any role.
How a nomination is reviewed
Review is a two-stage pipeline, and the first stage is where a complete packet can still stop:
- Section Steering Committee. The nine-member committee must approve a nomination by majority to advance it. Sponsors may submit an unlimited number of three-Fellow nominations, but each committee may advance only up to a quota of 0.4% of its section’s primary membership; a section whose quota works out to fewer than five may advance up to five.
- Council. The AAAS Council, made up of section representatives and the Board of Directors, reviews the forwarded nominations and votes. Any Council member may challenge a nomination.
If a nomination is rejected, its sponsors may appeal to the Council Executive Committee, which makes the final decision on challenged nominations.
Typical timeline phases
AAAS describes the cycle in phases rather than fixed dates: Steering Committee review takes place in spring, Council voting in fall, and new Fellows are generally announced in late March in Science and on the AAAS website, then honored at the Fellows Forum the following summer. Take submission dates only from the current nomination cycle page on aaas.org.
Common mistakes
- Letting membership lapse. The four-year requirement is continuous and without lapse.
- Too few unaffiliated sponsors. A three-Fellow nomination needs at least two sponsors outside the nominee’s institution.
- Overcommitted sponsors. A Fellow may sponsor at most two three-Fellow nominations a year, so a sponsor who has reached the limit cannot sign a third.
- Missing the addendum. Each of the three letters must carry the Letter of Recommendation Addendum.
- Assuming a complete packet advances. Section quotas and the committee majority decide what reaches the Council.
- Confusing the honor with STPF. The Fellows election and the policy fellowship are separate AAAS programs.
Related programs
| Program | What it is, as described by AAAS |
|---|---|
| AAAS Fellow (this page) | Lifetime honor, elected annually by the AAAS Council after Steering Committee review of nominations from sections, three Fellows or the CEO. |
| AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships (STPF) | Placements of scientists and engineers in US federal government assignments in Washington, DC, not an election. See science policy fellowships. |
For related career-stage and fellowship vocabulary, see early-career researcher, mid-career researcher and research fellowship.
FAQ
Is an AAAS Fellow the same as an STPF fellow?
No. An AAAS Fellow is elected to a lifetime honor; an STPF fellow is placed in a government assignment. The two programs have separate processes.
How many years of AAAS membership do I need?
AAAS states four continuous years without lapse (see the note on wording under Eligibility).
Who can nominate a researcher?
A Section Steering Committee, any three eligible Fellows (two of whom must be outside the nominee’s institution), or the AAAS Chief Executive Officer.
Where do I find the current deadlines and nomination form?
On the current nomination cycle page of aaas.org. AAAS lists [email protected] for nomination questions and [email protected] for general Fellows questions.
Sources
- AAAS, AAAS Fellows, checked 2026-10-29.
- AAAS, Fellows nomination and election process, checked 2026-10-29.
