Applying for Fellowship
Find out about the eligibility for Fellowship and how to apply. Darllen y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg.
Who is eligible?
We award Fellowship as a mark of distinction and recognition of contributions to psychiatry. You're eligible if you've been a Member (with MRCPsych) for 10 continuous years or more and can demonstrate significant contributions to the core purposes of the College:
- setting standards and promoting excellence in mental health care
- leading, representing and supporting psychiatrists
- working with patients, carers and their organisations.
Fellowship is open to both UK and Overseas Members (with MRCPsych) working at any grade, including SAS doctors and retired members. Unfortunately, Affiliates and Associates can't apply.
If successful, Fellows can use the title FRCPsych once they've paid the prescribed registration fee.
How do I apply?
You must complete an application that explains your contributions to the College’s stated aim of patient-centred practice through: Professionalism, innovation and research, lifelong learning, fairness and inclusion, ethical practice and multi-disciplinary working.
- Early each year, we open the call for Nominations and Members who've achieved 10 years of Membership as of 1 January that year are able to apply.
- A new online submission system will be launching in late February/early March. In the meantime, you can continue to use last year's word document forms linked below. The application process remains the same and this year's submission date is 15 September.
- You need to submit the following forms:
- CV form (DOC)
- Citation form (DOC)
- Good Standing form (DOC)
- Please read our guidance section below when completing your application.
- Send your completed forms to MembershipServices@rcpsych.ac.uk
- The closing date for submissions is 15 September each year.
- The College’s Nominations Committee consider applications in the autumn.
- We'll send the outcome to all applicants in November/December.
- If you're successful, after payment of the registration fee and top-up subscription fee, you can use the title FRCPsych and you'll be invited to a ceremony to celebrate your achievement.
- Please note, once you have registered as a Fellow it wouldn’t be possible to change back to the Membership grade.
Application guidance
Your CV form needs to demonstrate your contributions to the three core purposes of the College:
- Setting standards and promoting excellence in psychiatry and mental healthcare (such as examples of achieving high standards locally in service delivery, service development and innovation, research, teaching and examining).
- Leading, representing and supporting psychiatrists (this would include, but is not limited to, all College work and work with relevant national or international organisations).
- Working with patients, carers and their organisations (to improve services and deliver patient centred care).
Please give as much detail as you can under each of these headings. Try to highlight your key achievements to make sure they stand out to the committee when they review your application.
Don't send a separate CV as these can't be accepted. You need to include all the information on our CV form.
The citation form allows others who know your work to tell us about your achievements and the ways in which you have contributed to psychiatry.
Your citation form needs to be signed by a proposer and a seconder, but only one of them needs to write the citation. The proposer and seconder can't be people under your direct supervision.
The citation should be written by someone who is very familiar with your work.
Proposers and seconders must be subscribing College members but they don't have to be Fellows themselves.
Every Fellowship application needs to have the support of a College Faculty or Division Chair. If you know a Chair, you can approach them directly to be either your proposer or seconder and have them sign your citation form.
If you don't know a Chair, don't worry as the Membership Services team will assist with the process. Just ask two colleagues to sign your citation form and we’ll ask a Chair to support your application. This won't impact your application in any way.
When you complete your citation form, use the drop-down lists at the bottom of the form to indicate which Chair you'd like us to approach. Once we have received all your forms, we will forward them to your chosen Chair and ask them to confirm their support for your application.
Which Chairs can provide support?
Only Chairs of the following committees can provide the required support for Fellowship nominations:
| Faculties (Central & Devolved) | Devolved Nations & Divisions |
| Academic Faculty | RCPsych in Scotland |
| Addictions Faculty | RCPsych in Wales |
| Child and Adolescent Faculty | RCPsych in Northern Ireland |
| Eating Disorders Faculty | Eastern Division |
| Forensic Faculty | London Division |
| General Adult Faculty | Northern & Yorkshire Division |
| Intellectual Disability Faculty | North West Division |
| Liaison Faculty | South Eastern Division |
| Medical Psychotherapy Faculty | South West Division |
| Neuropsychiatry Faculty | Trent Division |
| Old Age Faculty | West Midlands Division |
| Perinatal Faculty | African Division |
| Rehabilitation & Social Faculty | European Division |
| Middle Eastern Division | |
| Pan-American Division | |
| South Asian Division | |
| Western Pacific Division |
Please send your completed application documents to MembershipServices@rcpsych.ac.uk.
Hard copies of the forms aren't required and electronic signatures can be used on the forms.
You'll hear from us about the outcome of your application in November/December.
An application would be rejected if:
- there is an ongoing GMC investigation or the applicant is under supervision or has a current written warning
- there is knowledge of behaviour that could bring psychiatry into disrepute
- the applicant fails to follow guidance and demonstrate necessary achievements in an application, e.g. not enough information contained on the CV form.
Further questions
If you have any further questions about Fellowship please contact the Membership Services team on MembershipServices@rcpsych.ac.uk or 020 8618 4098/4086.
