Every profession eventually writes its own history, and that history always names a small number of people from its founding years whose work the field still points back to. Fellow is MAI's recognition that some practitioners are doing that level of work right now, while the discipline is still being built. It isn't applied for. It's conferred because the kind of contribution it recognizes isn't one a person can adequately claim for themselves.
Fellow
FMAI designation
Nomination only — not open to application
- Everything in Professional membership, including the MMAI designation
- The FMAI designation — the discipline's clearest signal of sustained, field-shaping contribution, distinct from certification
- Recognition as a senior contributor to a discipline whose senior tier doesn't have decades of prior Fellows to get lost among
How nominations work
Any current Professional member or Fellow may nominate a candidate. Nominations are reviewed annually by a Fellow Review Committee, with new Fellows announced once a year — the same peer-nominated, committee-reviewed annual process used by IEEE Fellow, ACM Fellow, and NACD's Fellowship program.
Frequently asked questions
Fellow status is conferred, not applied for.
If you believe someone's work merits recognition, any current Professional member or Fellow may submit a nomination.
All individual membership tiers