Fellowship Nomination

Mission

Established in 1941, the College of Fellows supports the RAIC in its mission to strengthen and advance the architectural profession.

The College formally recognizes members—and occasionally distinguished non-members—who have made exceptional contributions to architecture. Fellowship is one of the highest honours the RAIC bestows, celebrating individuals for their achievements in areas such as research, scholarship, public service, or professional excellence in Canada or abroad.

Guidelines for Nominating Members for Fellowship

Process of Nomination

A Fellow of the Institute (to be known as the “Nominator”) may nominate a Member of the RAIC into the RAIC College for Fellowship, with the support of four (4) Member References (known as “References”), of whom at least one (1) of those must be a Fellow.

Fellowship will be considered in recognition of achievements of excellence in architecture. based on the categories outlined below.

Nominators must select one (1) of the following categories (and one subsection, where relevant), with the support of one (or more) of the Categories, as necessary:

Category One:

1. Distinguished service to the architectural profession or the community at large, as supported by voluntary contributions related to Architecture.

2. Distinguished contributions to the profession enabling excellence in the practice of architecture through leadership in public service or industry organizations.

Category Two:

1. Distinguished contribution through excellence in architectural design, design management or innovation as supported by peer recognition or design awards.

Category Three:

1. Distinguished scholarly contributions supported by research, publications, or teaching in the field of architecture.

2. Distinguished contribution to the mentoring of students, interns or architects in nurturing their career development..

Supporting Evidence

Nominators must also provide supporting evidence to support the category (or categories) selected.

The following examples are included, but are not limited to:

Category 1: Letters from community groups, clients, industry associations, etc.

Category 2: Testimonials and / or awards for architectural design, design management or innovation

Category 3: Lists of publications, overview of research, student testimonials

Requirements for Nomination

A Member or Fellow may only support one nomination each year.
Only one of the five members supporting the nomination can be from the same organization as the candidate (Nominator or References).
The nomination process is regionally based, but Nominators and References from any given region can nominate any member from any part of Canada.
An RAIC Fellow shall act as the nominator (the “Nominator”) and prepare the curriculum vitae, citation and collect all supporting documentation for the nominee.
The Nominator shall be responsible to ensure all documentation is submitted correctly and shall act as the liaison between the review process and the RAIC members providing references (henceforth “References”).
Regional Chairs, Regional Committee Members, COF National Committee and RAIC Board Members are not permitted to nominate a candidate.

Requirements for Submission

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Regional Chairs, Regional Committee members, members of the National Committee and members of the Board of Directors of the Institute shall not act as Nominators or References for candidates for Fellowship.

Nomination must include supporting letters from the Nominator and each of the four References nominating the candidate. Each supporting letter, which should be no more than 400 words in length, must also provide evidence attesting to the Candidate’s qualifications with regards to the Category selected by the Nominator.

Successful applications should demonstrate rigour in substantiating the candidate’s qualifications described in the supporting letters. (Letters should be addressed to the Regional Committee/ Chair within the region in which the nomination package is being submitted.

Regional Chairs

All nomination packages shall be submitted online to the region in which the nominee usually resides by the required date each year.

Nomination for Fellowship is CONFIDENTIAL AND MUST REMAIN ANONYMOUS. All Nominators and References are required to maintain confidentiality with no direct contact whatsoever between Nominators/ References and the nominee related to the nomination.

The nominee must both be a member in good standing and have been a member of the RAIC for at least five years (non-consecutive) in the last ten years from the submission date prior to nomination.

A nominee must not solicit his or her nomination in any form whatsoever.

The Nominator shall provide a curriculum vitae of the nominee and a 250-word citation that supports the category of nomination. Samples of previous citations and citation “do’s and don’ts” may be viewed on the RAIC website.

Nominators and References must be members in good standing of the RAIC.

Submissions

Submissions must be made through the RAIC’s online submission platform. Submit here.
Should you need further details of the process of bestowing Fellowship, or Honorary Fellowship, email awards-prix@raic.org.

Deadline

Submissions must be received before 10:00 p.m. ET, Monday, January 9, 2026. Entrants are solely responsible for timely submissions. This date and time are firm without exceptions.