How to Apply

Start the application and save your information at your discretion before finalizing and submitting for review. 

Read each of these sections below before applying:

• Application Parts
• Review Process
• Review Materials

See online application form for more details. 

Parts

• Contact Information: Applicants will have this pre-filled in from their profile. Applicants should verify the information listed.
• Professional Background:  Applicants will need to download and then upload a template where you list your formal education, other related training and education, and professional experience).
• Examples of Work: Applicants must submit at least 4 examples of their work which shows evidence of sustained high-quality professional skills and ethical behavior that adheres to the Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice. Evidence may include: recent examination forms; proposed and completed treatment forms; reports of scientific investigations; lecture materials; planning documents; survey reports, etc.
• Research and Scholarship: Applicants must submit an example of their work that demonstrates that they have participated in an exchange of ideas regarding methods, materials and philosophy of conservation through publications, presentations at annual meetings and personal contacts with colleagues.
• Essay: Applicants must include an essay on why becoming a Fellow is meaningful to them.
• Sponsors: Applicants must be sponsored by five (5) Fellows who are personally acquainted with and knowledgeable about their work. This knowledge may come from personal work experience, collaboration on committees, portfolio review, and/or review of the completed Fellow application.

Recommendations should address: 

• How long have you known the applicant?
• How familiar are you with the applicant's work?
• Why do you believe that the applicant qualifies to be a Fellow?

Letters of recommendations are due by January 15, July 15, or October 15, depending on the cycle in which the person is applying. The application portal will email sponsor at the time of the applications submission. Sponsors can also email letters to membership@culturalheritage.org.

Process

1. Submission
   Staff forwards finalized applications to the Membership Committee.
   
2. Review & Recommendation
   The chair, a member within your cited specialty, and another member selected at random will review your application. Each reviewer gives a recommendation: recommend approval, recommend discussion, or recommend to not approve. Applications recommended for approval by all reviewers are approved without further discussion.
3. Discussion
   The committee discusses the remaining applications at a meeting. The specialty reviewer presents the application to the full committee, which provides additional assessment. The committee approves the application if the discussion satisfactorily addresses all their questions/concerns.
   
4. Deferment & Secondary Review
   If questions/concerns remain, the committee may ask sponsors or applicants to provide additional information. Staff will then notify the applicant about the applicant's pending status and hold the application until the next review cycle. If after a review of the additional information, a majority of the  committee cannot agree on an application, the board liaison and the chair will identify three adjunct reviewers to assess the application and provide recommendations. If the three recommendations are not in agreement, the committee will decline the application. 
5. Notification
   Staff will inform applicants of the committee's decision (approximately a month after deadline) and mail a frameable certificate in the following weeks. The committee provides declined applicants with feedback and guidance for resubmitting their application.