Merit Awards and Fellowships

We’re keen to increase and promote the diversity within our profession and encourage people from a range of backgrounds to nominate and be nominated for Fellowship and Merit Awards.  

This is a short summary of defining characteristics of those who can be nominated. You can find a more detailed criteria in the guidance documents associated with each of the awards. 

• Fellowship (for a Professional Member)  

Nominations are open to occupational therapists who will have been a Professional Member of RCOT for at least 10 years.  

• Associate Fellowship (for an Associate Member) 

Nominations are open to occupational therapists who will have been an Associate Member of RCOT for at least 10 years.  

• Honorary Fellowship (for a non-member) 

Nominations are open to individuals who are not an occupational therapist or a member of RCOT.  

• Merit Awards 

Nominations are open to RCOT members at any stage in their career (excluding students and apprentices). 

Any current member of RCOT.

Although students and apprentices cannot be nominated, they can submit nominations and get involved with the process.

Yes, they will. A testimony from the nominee is required to complete the nomination.

In addition to the main nominator, each nomination requires an additional two members to support it. However, we can only receive one nomination per nominee.

No, all nominations must be submitted in a typed and electronic format. 

The Fellowship and Merit Awards Committee will ultimately choose the winners of these awards. They’ll decide if they meet the criteria and standards. The Committee makes a recommendation to the BAOT Council/ RCOT Board of Trustees for approval. We will contact all nominees and the main nominators to let them know the outcome of the awards.

We acknowledge all the submissions we receive so you can be confident we've got your submission. We'll let all nominees and lead nominators of the outcome of their submission in July 2025.

Those who receive a Fellowship Award will be able to call themselves a ‘Fellow / Associate Fellow / Honorary Fellow of RCOT’.

Winners will be recognised and celebrated across our communications including on our website, in OTnews and on social media. 

We won’t be able to share information or reasons about why a nomination was or wasn’t approved.

You can contact our RCOT Fellowship and Merit awards team at [email protected] or phone us on 020 3141 4600.