Fellowship Application

The next election will take place on 16th January 2025. Please submit your Certificate of Recommendation by 2nd December.

Benefits

  • All Fellows receive our online members' magazine, The Linnean
  • Vote at Society meetings on all matters concerning the Society, including electing new Council Members at our Anniversary Meeting each May
  • Attend our Fellows-only events
  • Access our library collections, with the ability to borrow from one of the world’s richest natural history libraries
  • Access the libraries of the other Burlington House Learned Societies, through our librarian
  • Access our dedicated online Members' Area
  • Discounts on Linnean Society services, including Reprographics and Imaging fees and ticketed events and tours
  • Discounts on Linnean Society journals. Subscriptions to our journals can be added to your Fellowship for £20 per year. Fellows also receive a 20% discount on Article Processing Charges for publishing in our open access journal, the Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society
  • Fellows may use the suffix 'FLS' after their name

Eligibility

To become a Fellow, we only ask that you:

How to apply

  • Applications for Fellowship must be made by submitting a Certificate of Recommendation. CVs or Resumes sent without a Certificate of Recommendation will not be accepted
  • If you would like to apply for Fellowship, but do not know any active Fellows that can support your application, please submit the Certificate of Recommendation alongside a letter explaining your interest in natural history and a CV. We will then arrange for Fellows to support your application
  • Certificates of Recommendation MUST be completed by the candidate. If the Certificate is completed by a recommender, full permission must be obtained from the candidate before the certificate can be submitted
  • Fellows from certain countries may qualify for a lower contribution rate. Please view full list here
  • You can submit your Certificate by email to membership@linnean.org

After you have applied

  1. Once we receive your Certificate of Recommendation, we will send you an email to acknowledge its receipt
  2. You will be put on the Ballot List for the next election. Our ballots take place four times a year at our Council Meetings: January, March, June and October
  3. You will be notified shortly after the Ballot if you have been elected.
  4. Successful applicants will be then asked to pay their first annual contribution. Please do not submit any payments before you have been notified
  5. Usually following election, Fellows are welcome to come to the Society, be formally admitted by the President and sign the Roll and Charter. Please contact us for further information or keep an eye on our events page to find out which events will have formal admissions.