Alfred Nobel’s will does not specify details of the nomination process itself, but instead focuses on who will select the laureates and what criteria will apply. The will states that laureates are to be chosen by specific institutions: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for both Physics and Chemistry, the Karolinska Institutet for Physiology or Medicine and the Swedish Academy for Literature. It also stated that no nationality should be taken into account when choosing the laureate. The Nobel Prize laureates are awarded for significant discoveries that advance science and benefit humankind. The emphasis is on groundbreaking discoveries, not lifetime achievement or leadership.
The process and nomination procedures for selecting Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry are based on principles developed during negotiations in 1897–1900. The procedure is highly structured and confidential. For each prize category, there is a Nobel Committee, and the expert committees at distinguished Swedish scientific institutions coordinate this work. Nominations are by invitation only, and the names of nominees and nominators remain secret for 50 years.
Main steps of the nomination process Each year in September, each committee sends confidential nomination forms to thousands of qualified experts. These include previous laureates, academy members, parliamentarians, university professors, other researchers, and members of relevant academies worldwide.
These nominations must be in the hands of the committee no later than January 31 of the following year. Only nominations submitted by invited individuals are considered. From February until early October, the awarding institutions evaluate the nominees. When a decision is made, the laureates are notified in early October.
The relevant Nobel Committee for each prize screens and evaluates all valid nominations. The committee often consults additional international experts for in-depth assessments between March and August. By September, the committee compiles a report with recommendations on the most outstanding candidates. This report is submitted to the whole decision-making body, called the Nobel Assembly or Academy. There, the nominees are discussed.
The laureates are chosen through majority vote in early October. The results are final and announced publicly on the same day. The Nobel Prize award ceremony is held on December 10 in Stockholm.
Who is eligible to nominate candidates? Eligible nominators include members of relevant Nobel assemblies, committees, and academies, as well as distinguished professors, scientists, and previous Nobel laureates in the respective fields. Self-nominations and unsolicited proposals are not accepted.
Criteria and confidentiality The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is selected by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences selects the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry. This rigorous, invitation-only process ensures the credibility and prestige of the Nobel Prizes in the sciences.
Eligibility to nominate candidates for the Nobel Prizes is strictly defined by the statutes of the Nobel Foundation and the prize-awarding institutions. For all prizes except The Nobel Peace Prize, nominations are by invitation only. The Peace Prize allows qualified individuals to submit nominations without an invitation.
Physiology or Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry Invitations to nominate are sent annually to thousands of distinguished individuals. Nominators are selected to ensure global representation and expertise. Self-nominations and unsolicited proposals are not accepted unless submitted in response to an invitation. Eligible nominators include:
- Professors in the relevant fields (physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry) at universities and colleges worldwide.
- Members of academies of sciences and similar institutions.
- Previous Nobel laureates in the respective fields.
- Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (physics and chemistry), and the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet (medicine).
Peace Prize The list of eligible nominators is broader and does not require an invitation. Qualified nominators include:
- Members of national governments and assemblies.
- University professors in specific disciplines: history, social sciences, law, philosophy, theology, and religion.
- Directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes.
- Previous Peace Prize laureates and board members of awarded organisations.
- Members and former members or advisers of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
- Certain international court members and leaders of relevant organisations.
Literature and Economic Sciences Members of academies, literary organisations, and relevant disciplines can nominate for Literature.
For the Economic Sciences Prize, guidelines mirror those for Physics and Chemistry, focusing on professors and experts in economics and related disciplines. Every nomination must meet specific eligibility requirements, and details of nominees and nominators are kept confidential for 50 years.
Every year, nomination invitations are sent to a select group of academic, scientific, and institutional leaders worldwide. The process aims to ensure broad geographic and disciplinary representation. The list of invited institutions is not published and may vary each year to promote diversity.
Institutions receiving Nobel nomination invitations
- Universities and colleges: Invitations are sent to professors in relevant fields (physiology or medicine, physics, and chemistry) across universities worldwide.
- Academies of sciences: Leading academies of sciences in various countries are included, such as the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
- Previous Nobel laureates: All living Nobel laureates in the respective categories receive nomination rights each year.
- Relevant research institutes: Specialised research institutions that play a key role in advancing science or medicine are routinely asked to nominate.
- Members of prize-awarding bodies: Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet, and other official awarding entities receive invitations.
- Members of parliamentary assemblies (for the Peace Prize): Invitations are also sent to members of national assemblies and qualified individuals, per the statutes for the Peace Prize.
The Nobel Committees work to ensure broad representation of countries, disciplines, and universities. They adjust invitation lists accordingly. Only eligible institutions and individuals, as defined by the Nobel Foundation statutes, receive these confidential invitations.
The Nobel Committees do not publish an official, fixed list of the specific universities invited each year to nominate candidates for the Nobel Prizes. However, the statutes and historical records clarify key patterns regarding which universities are regularly selected.
Guidelines for invited universities Invitations are sent to permanent professors in relevant disciplines at major universities worldwide (physiology or medicine, physics, and chemistry).
- Nordic universities (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) and major global centres of learning receive preferential inclusion.
- The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences selects universities to ensure broad geographic and scientific representation. The list is updated annually as scientific progress and global centres of excellence shift.
Historical nomination records show that leading institutions from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, Israel, and Australia are regularly included.
Frequently invited universities, illustrative examples According to nomination archives and published statutes, the following institutions are consistently among those invited:
- University of Oxford
- University of Cambridge
- Harvard University
- Stanford University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- University of California system (Berkeley, San Francisco, Los Angeles)
- University of Edinburgh
- University of London and Imperial College London
- Karolinska Institutet (Medicine Prize)
- University of Tokyo
- ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
- University of Paris (Sorbonne)
- University of Toronto
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Selection principles The Nobel Committees rotate and expand the invitation list every year to reflect new scientific leaders and developments. Their focus is on the most influential research universities.
Nomination records are sealed for 50 years, but available archives confirm yearly variation and wide global coverage.
No single permanent list exists. Instead, the Nobel Committees curate and update invitations yearly based on current global scientific leadership.
