Merit and Fellowship Awards

What are Fellowship and Merit Awards?

What is a Fellowship?

A RCOT Fellowship is the highest honour we can present to our members to recognise exceptional service and outstanding contribution to the profession, and RCOT, over many years.

There are three categories of Fellowship:

Fellowship (for a Professional Member)

You can nominate any occupational therapist who will have been a professional member of RCOT for at least 10 years at the time of the award.

Fellowship (for an Associate Member)

You can nominate an occupational therapists who will have been an associate member of RCOT for at least 10 years at the time of the award.

Honorary Fellowship (for a non-member)

You can nominate individuals who are not an occupational therapist or a member of RCOT. They will have made an exceptional contribution to either promote the occupational therapy profession or will have provided distinguished service to RCOT.

What are Merit Awards?

The Merit Awards recognise a significant achievement by our members at any stage in their career and are open to all of our members (excluding students and apprentices). They are often a first step towards a full Fellowship.

The award recognises their contribution to the profession. This may be, but is not limited to, a contribution:

locally or regionally
in a specialist field of practice
in a diverse area of practice.

Anyone you nominate will be recognised by their peers in the occupational therapy community for excellence in their field of work and their special contribution to the profession.

Consider the amazing colleagues you could nominate for a Fellowship or a Merit Award. Every year you are invited to nominate your colleagues and peers for a prestigious Fellowship or a Merit Award in recognition of their special contribution to our profession.

Take your opportunity to rise up and advocate for the excellent work occupational therapists do every day whilst building up the profile of your colleagues and their outstanding contributions.

When you nominate someone it can mean so much to the person who receives it and recognises their personal efforts. It also elevates the perception of occupational therapy for those outside the profession.

Nominations for Fellowship and Merit Awards

The 2025 Fellowship and Merit Award cycle has now closed and our winners have been announced. We'll update this page when we re-open the cycle in 2026.

Fellowship and Merit Awards FAQs

Who can be nominated?

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).

Who can nominate?

Will the nominee know?

Can two people nominate someone?

Can I submit the nomination by post?

How are the winners chosen?

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.

When will I find out?

What do the winners receive?

Why wasn't my nomination successful?

I have questions. Who can I contact?

List of Fellows, 1972-2025

List of Merit Awards, 2008-2025