Fellows Committee

Criteria for APA Fellow through SCN/Division 40

APA Fellow status is an honor that recognizes individuals who have made unusual and outstanding contributions in the field of psychology. Fellow status requires that the individual’s work has had a national impact on the field of psychology and must go beyond the local, state, or regional level. For SCN (Division 40), this means having prominent national impact on the field of clinical neuropsychology. This can be demonstrated in diverse ways reflecting the variety of career and practice roles performed by neuropsychologists – ranging from research, service, and education/training (e.g., new generation of clinical neuropsychologist who go on to be successful themselves.) Examples include: a record of scientific and/or clinical accomplishments published in highly respected peer reviewed neuropsychology journals that have significant impact for the field; history of federal grant support; authorship or editorship of impactful neuropsychology textbook; neuropsychology journal editorial or reviewer responsibilities; history of elected and volunteer leadership positions in neuropsychology professional organizations; history of outstanding teaching and/or innovation in clinical neuropsychology; history of mentorship of neuropsychology students and early career colleagues, with listing of supervised doctoral and post-doctoral trainees; history of innovative therapeutic applications, history of invited senior level lectureships and presentations; other evidence of outstanding and state, national, or international impact.

Supporting letters and the candidate’s self-statement as part of the application process should clearly and specifically identify the candidate’s unusual and outstanding qualifications that have advanced the field. If any questions, applicants are encouraged to make contact with the SCN Fellows Chair prior to submission of materials.

Nomination of Initial SCN/Division 40 Fellows

Application to become an SCN Fellow requires endorsement by three current Division 40/SCN Fellows who can address the nominee’s accomplishments in the area of Neuropsychology.  Other requisite materials include a self-statement outlining the accomplishments that warrant Fellow status in SCN and a current curriculum vita that includes the applicant’s publications and contributions in support of the self-statement.

A candidate for SCN Fellow must be an active member of APA and a member of Division 40.  SCN strongly encourages women and minority members to apply.  All application materials are submitted via an APA portal (see submission of materials below) with a deadline of December 1 of each year.

Nomination of Current APA Fellows (from another Division)

APA Members who are already Fellows in another Division of APA may also become a Fellow in Division 40/SCN, if they can demonstrate unusual and outstanding contributions in neuropsychology at the national level. A complete application includes a minimum of three letters of recommendation from current SCN Fellow, a CV, and a self-statement outlining the accomplishments that warrant Fellow status in SCN. These materials should be directly sent, via email, to the Fellows Chair by December 1 of each year. (Do not use the APA portal).

Submission of Materials and Deadline

Information regarding how to apply via the online APA portal can be found at this website. This is an excellent resource.  All application materials are submitted via the online APA portal that opens new each year, usually in August following the annual APA convention.  Note that incomplete applications in the portal are deleted each year and are not carried forward year to year. This means that letters of support and all materials are deleted and must be submitted new each year.

The deadline for uploading all application materials into the APA portal is December 1.  As part of the application process in the portal, the candidate will enter names and emails of a minimum of 3 Endorsers.  Using this email, APA will contact each Endorser and provide instructions for uploading their letters of support directly into the portal.  Only the Endorser can upload their letter.  If an Endorser has let their APA membership lapse, the portal will not accept their letter of recommendation.

Things to note about Endorsers: Only those Fellows who continue to maintain membership in APA are eligible to write letters of support for new Fellow applicants.  Be mindful of this when asking individuals to write letters of support.  Is the person an active member of APA?  If not, their letter will not be accepted by the APA portal.  Additionally, newly vetted Fellows by APA Council in August, are not officially recognized by APA until January of the next year.  This means they are not eligible to write letters of support until the following year.

What happens after the application has been submitted?  There are 3 rounds of review that take place.  First, the Chair of the SCN Fellows Committee reviews all applications in December to make sure the applications are complete.  A formal review by the SCN Fellows Committee takes place in January. Positive recommendations with a final supportive letter by the SCN Fellows Committee are submitted to APA in January-February.  Please note that submission deadlines listed on the APA website pertain to when the Division Fellows Committee must submit their letter of endorsement to APA more broadly and NOT when individual applicants can submit their applications.  Second, all application materials including the recommendation by the SCN Fellows Committee are reviewed by the overall APA Fellows Committee during their annual spring meeting in April or May, when they review applicants from all the divisions of APA.  Each of the individual Fellows Chairs will receive an email about the results of this review. Third, the final sleight of applicants is officially vetted by APA Council during the annual meeting at APA each year.  Successful nominations are announced thereafter, though APA does not officially recognize Fellowship status until January of the next year.

Final Words

Any questions about the Fellowship application can be directed to the SCN Fellows Chair.