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Become a Fellow
Become a Fellow
Fellowship Overview
About

The American Academy of Nursing (Academy) is an honorific society, the members, called Fellows, of the Academy are selected through a rigorous nomination and review process. Academy Fellows are inducted into the organization for their extraordinary contributions to improve health locally and globally. With more than 3,300 Fellows, the Academy represents nursing’s most accomplished leaders in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia.

Fellows who are selected, participate in an Induction Ceremony held during the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference in Washington, DC. After an individual who is selected participates in the Induction Ceremony, they are formally accepted into the organization and may use the FAAN credential, signifying that are a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), the most prestigious recognition in nursing.

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2026 Application Cycle

 

The 2026 Fellowship Application Cycle will be open January 6 through February 10, 2026. Decision notifications will be sent to applicants and sponsors in mid-June. To apply for Fellowship, applicants will complete a series of questions that demonstrate how their individual contribution has significant, substantive, and sustained impact on health, as well as how their work advances the Academy's mission and work.

Applicants work closely with their sponsors throughout the application process (typically between 6 and 24 months). The sponsor statements amplify the applicant's contribution and impact, are not duplicative of each other, and emphasize how the applicant’s impact has been validated in the community. This requires that the sponsors know the applicant well and can verify as well as attest to seeing their work implemented. Applicants ensure that the sponsor statements are submitted and the applicant also pays a nonrefundable application fee.

 

New for 2026 Applications

The American Academy of Nursing has undergone an extensive process to review the application and has released definitions for key terms in the application to help support applicants and sponsors. Additionally, the application questions have been revamped to align with the key terms, view details below. The overall format and sections for the CV template remain the same, however some word count limits have been revised. 

  • Individual Contribution – refers to clearly identifiable and measurable impact made through one’s defined role, leadership, and/or expertise, that extends beyond formal duties—to drive outcomes. These contributions are documented, influence broader professional contexts, and are critical to the success of initiatives or policies.
  • Significant Impact – refers to a demonstrable, evidence-based contribution that has had or will continue to make current and lasting improvements in health, health care, and/or nursing. The impact should directly address improving health and advancing healthy lives for all people and should be supported by data or widespread adoption, and reflect innovation or leadership.
  • Substantive Impact – is defined by its depth, relevance, and broad reach across populations, organizations, or environments. The impact should provide evidence of shaping and informing health policy, nursing practice, education, or care improvement. It must address priority issues such as advancing nursing or promoting healthy lives for all people, with outcomes that are scalable and replicable.
  • Sustained Impact – is the demonstrated continued delivery of outcomes that remain valuable. Examples may extend beyond their original context, adapt to changing conditions, and address core or systemic challenges through evolving, layered contributions to health.
 

Applicant Question 1

Summarize your individual contribution on the national/international level or describe a state/regional effort demonstrating potential for scalable impact. The Academy has provided a definition for individual contribution below for your reference. (300 words total)

  • Individual Contribution – refers to clearly identifiable and measurable impact made through one’s defined role, leadership, and/or expertise, that extends beyond formal duties—to drive outcomes. These contributions are documented, influence broader professional contexts, and are critical to the success of initiatives or policies.

a. Summarize the primary area(s) of individual contribution: service, practice, education, advocacy, policy, government, military, research, or other. Note, you do not need to demonstrate contribution in all areas, it is best to focus on your primary and secondary (if applicable) area(s). (100-word limit)

b. Describe the context in which your individual contribution occurs. Please be sure to clarify for the reviewers the specific role that you have in the setting as applicable to this application. (200-word limit)

Applicant Question 2 

Describe the significant, substantive, and sustained impact of your individual contribution(s) identified in question #1 that is the focus for this application. Be as specific as possible, providing data to support the impact of your work. Ensure that the information listed in your CV aligns with the description provided. The Academy has provided definitions for significant, substantive, and sustained impact below for your reference.

a. Please describe how your individual contribution(s) has had significant impact. (250-word limit)

  • Significant Impact – refers to a demonstrable, evidence-based contribution that has had or will continue to make current and lasting improvements in health, health care, and/or nursing. The impact should directly address improving health and advancing healthy lives for all people and should be supported by data or widespread adoption, and reflect innovation or leadership.

b. Please describe how your individual contribution(s) has had substantive impact. (250-word limit)

  • Substantive Impact – is defined by its depth, relevance, and broad reach across populations, organizations, or environments. The impact should provide evidence of shaping and informing health policy, nursing practice, education, or care improvement. It must address priority issues such as advancing nursing or promoting healthy lives for all people, with outcomes that are scalable and replicable.

c. Please describe how your individual contribution(s) has had sustained impact. (250-word limit)

  • Sustained Impact – is the demonstrated continued delivery of outcomes that remain valuable. Examples may extend beyond their original context, adapt to changing conditions, and address core or systemic challenges through evolving, layered contributions to health.

Applicant Question 3

The Academy's mission is to "Improve health and achieve health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation, and science.” If selected for Fellowship, describe how you plan to use your expertise to advance the Academy’s work and actively engage with the organization. (100-word limit)

 

Sponsor Question/Prompt

Each sponsor statement should augment the impact of the applicant’s individual contribution in the primary area(s) in which it occurred by citing evidence of their significant, substantive, and sustained impact and be unique from each other (i.e. it should offer an additional perspective rather than repeat or replicate information already stated by the applicant or other sponsor) (500-word limit).

Sponsor Attestation

Your electronic signature confirms that you have authored your sponsor statement, know the applicant’s work well enough to speak to their individual contribution, reviewed the evidence supporting the applicant's qualifications for Fellowship in the Academy and can verify, to the best of your knowledge, the information presented is valid, of significant quality, and adheres to the Academy's current criteria.

 
Applying for Fellowship

Typically, the Fellowship application opens annually in early January and is open for about 6 weeks with a deadline in mid-February.

Fellowship Application Resources
  • Fellowship Overview One-Pager
  • Application Guide and Instructions (2026 Guide Coming Soon)
  • 2024 Application Overview Webinar is available for viewing below.
Preparing to Apply

Prospective applicants need to work in advance to start to prepare their application, especially in coordination with their sponsors.

  • The first step is to identify your sponsors and think through how to articulate your impact based on the criterion and how you want to craft your applicant statements and CV to reflect your impact and how your sponsor statements can reinforce that information.
  • The applications are reviewed by the Fellow Selection Committee (FSC) and the FSC International Subcommittee (tasked with reviewing international applications only), which consists of a combination of elected and appointed Fellows with diverse backgrounds and expertise.
  • Applicants are typically notified of admission decisions in late June/early July regarding if they have been selected.
  • If selected, individuals must participate in the Induction Ceremony held during the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference in DC, typically held in October, to officially become a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and use the FAAN credential.
Criterion for Selection of Fellows
Specific evidence of your significant, substantive, and sustained individual contribution to health or health care at the national/international level or state/regional work demonstrating potential for scalable impact.
  • The Academy receives Fellowship applications via an online portal.
  • Applicants must be sponsored by TWO Regular Fellows (Academy members) in good standing as outlined in the Academy’s bylaws. At least one sponsor must be a Regular Fellow who holds membership in an American Nurses Association (ANA) Constituent/State Nurses Association (C/SNA) as a full C/SNA ANA member or direct ANA membership through the individual member division of ANA.
  • The application collects applicant information, applicant statements, sponsor information and statements, the applicant’s CV, and a $375 application fee.
Applicant Questions/Statements

Applicant responses to questions should state their significant, substantive, and sustained individual contribution to health or health care at the national/ international level or state/regional work demonstrating potential for scalable impact and the context in which it occurs. And how their contribution advances the Academy’s mission.

Sponsor Statement

Each sponsor statement should augment the impact of the applicant’s individual contribution in the primary area(s) in which it occurred by citing evidence of their significant, substantive, and sustained impact and be unique from each other.

View Additional Sponsor Information

Applicant CV Template

The intent of the CV template is to provide a resource for applicants to amplify and reinforce their applicant and sponsor statements by providing evidence of their contribution and impact. 

Frequently Asked Questions
 

Yes. The Academy encourages candidates to seek sponsors who will provide strong support for the applicant’s admission into the Academy. Whether or not they are from the applicant’s institution or state is not considered.

Applicants and sponsors should have a pre-existing relationship in which the sponsors can speak the quality of the significant, substantive, and sustained impact. Reviewing journal articles or having limited interaction with the applicant is not advised as the ability of the sponsor to verify, validate, and certify the individual’s impact is difficult. With the increased application of artificial intelligence, human wisdom and judgement is essential to understand how the individual’s contribution is improving health, locally and globally.  

Prospective applicants need to work far in advance of the application cycle to start to prepare their application and coordinate with their sponsors. This preparation can range between six months and up to two years before submitting their application for consideration.

Please note, Academy staff is unable to directly refer or match applicants with potential sponsors.

No. The Fellow Selection Committee will evaluate your candidacy based on the application materials submitted for the current year and nothing else. Whether you have applied in previous years is not discussed and will not affect the decision of the committee.
No. Candidates are evaluated based on the criteria for admission and not in comparison to the pool of applicants for that year.
Notifications will be sent in late June/early July.
The Academy no longer accepts supplemental materials to the application. Please do not send books or articles; the application is designed to stand alone.
The candidate should submit the application and all materials together online. Please note that confirmation emails will be sent to the email provided on the online submission form. 
Yes, your application submission is confidential. Only Academy staff and members of the Fellow Selection Committee have access to your application.
Questions For Sponsors

Yes. As a Fellow in good standing you may sponsor a total of two Fellows. These may include the combination of regular or Honorary candidates.

Yes, Emeritus Fellows in good standing are eligible to sponsor two candidates per year (the same as Fellows).

Yes, Living Legends are eligible to sponsor two candidates per year (the same as Fellows).

No, according to the Academy's bylaws Honorary Fellows are not eligible to sponsor a candidate but may assist in an advisory capacity.

Yes. The Fellow Selection Committee does not distinguish between primary or secondary sponsors. Academy Fellows in good standing may sponsor a total of two candidates per calendar year, whether they are listed as a first or second sponsor on the application.

The Academy advises that sponsors and applicants have a pre-existing relationship before submitting an application. Reviewing a CV, journal articles, or other sources of information may not be enough to validate and certify an applicant’s work. The sponsor is required to draft their own statement, and in doing so, the sponsor should have a unique knowledge of the applicant’s impact to be able to offer an additional perspective rather than repeat or replicate information already stated by the applicant or other sponsor.

Technical Questions

The Academy is using an online application portal. All application materials must be submitted together within the portal (CV information, applicant questions, sponsor statements). Please refer to the application guide & instructions for more details.

Confirmation emails will be sent to the email from which the application was received unless otherwise noted. Payment processing may take up to 2 weeks for checks received.

Contact

Contact Claire Holland, the Academy's Senior Membership & Project Manager, at cholland@aannet.org with any questions.