McMaster University Libraries Investment in Open Access
Publishing Agreements at McMaster: APC Waivers
McMaster University researchers are entitled to waivers or discounts on Article Processing Charges (APCs) in the following journals or journal packages as a result of memberships negotiated and paid for by the Library. Corresponding authors are asked to submit articles using their @mcmaster.ca email address to receive the discounts. Many of the agreements come through our national consortium, CRKN (Canadian Research Knowledge Network). More details about the CRKN agreements are available directly from CRKN's site.
Search by Journal for APC Waivers and Discounts across all Publisher Agreements:
- Berghahn Open Anthro - Publish without fees in 16 Berghahn Anthropology journals.
- Brill Journals - For 2025-2029, McMaster authors can publish Open Access without author fees in Brill's 366 fully open and hybrid journals.
- Cambridge University Press (CRKN)- For 2022-2026, authors can publish an unlimited number of articles as open access in Cambridge hybrid and gold journals at no charge. Corresponding authors must identify their McMaster affiliation to receive the waiver.
- Canadian Science Publishing (CRKN) - Starting January 2023, corresponding authors from McMaster can publish APC-free in the following five journals: Biochemistry and Cell Biology; Canadian Journal of Physics; Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology; Genome; and Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering. McMaster authors are also eligible for a 25% discount for publication in all CSP Hybrid journals. Authors must identify their McMaster affiliation at the point of article submission.
- Company of Biologists (OCUL) - Starting in 2024, corresponding authors can publish Open Access research articles fee-free in the Company of Biologist's five hybrid and fully open journals.
- De Gruyter Journals (OCUL) - For 2024-2028, McMaster authors can publish Open Access without author fees in De Gruyter's 450 fully open and hybrid journals.
- Elsevier ScienceDirect (CRKN) - For 2024-2026, corresponding authors affiliated with McMaster can publish in more than 1,800 Elsevier Hybrid journals with no article processing charge (APC). Authors publishing in Elsevier’s Gold open access (fully open) journals will continue to benefit from a 20 per cent discount on their APCs in 2024, 15 per cent in 2025 and 2026, and 10 per cent in 2027. Cell Press, Lancet, and some other society-owned journals are excluded. See a complete List of Included titles
- IGI-Global - Six APC waivers per year are available to McMaster faculty whose works are accepted in an IGI Global publication. Faculty members will be notified that a waiver is available to them if they would like to publish their article as Open Access. Articles can be opened retroactively as well.
- Institute of Physics (CRKN) - McMaster authors will be able to publish an unlimited number of their articles as open access in most IOP hybrid and gold journals for the duration of the CRKN agreement (2022-2027). Authors will be automatically recognized by affiliation.
- International Water Association Journals - Through the library's 'subscribe to open' support (2025-2027) McMaster corresponding authors can publish an unlimited number of articles in IWAP's 10 research journals with no APC fee. See the submission instructions
- Microbiology Society Journals (OCUL) - McMaster's agreement covers all six of the Society's peer-reviewed monthly journals. Any article published in the journals where the corresponding author is affiliated with McMaster will be Open Access by default. There is no limit on the number of articles authors can publish during the term of the agreement (2022-2027).
- Oxford University Press (CRKN) - For 2024-2026, McMaster corresponding authors will be able to publish APC-free in Oxford's 350-plus hybrid journals, and will receive a 10% APC discount for publications in Oxford's fully open, "gold" journals.
- PLOS One and Seven additional PLOS journals (CRKN) - From June 2025 through December 31, 2026, McMaster corresponding authors can publish in the following 7 PLOS journals without paying an APC: PLOS One, PLOS Global Public Health, PLOS Complex Systems, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Digital Health, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, and PLOS Pathogens. PLOS must accept the article within the agreement period. More information on the PLOS agreement, including a timeline advisory, is available.
- Portland Press - Biochemical Society (OCUL) - From 2024 onwards, corresponding authors can publish fee-free in all 6 of the Biochemical Society's journals.
- Royal Society (OCUL) - From 2024 on, McMaster corresponding authors can publish without author fees in any of the 10 Royal Society journals.
- Royal Society of Chemistry (CRKN)- Starting January 2025, McMaster authors can publish in the RSC's hybrid and gold journals without paying author fees. Articles accepted 2025-2027 will be covered.
- SAGE Journals (CRKN) - For the term of this CRKN agreement (2024-2026), McMaster authors can publish open access in over 900 SAGE Choice journals with no APC. A small number of titles are excluded. The fee waiver is applied automatically when authors identify their McMaster affiliation during the submission process. In addition, the agreement includes a 40% discount on the APCs on SAGE's gold open access journals.
- Wiley Hybrid Journals (CRKN) - As of January 15, 2023, McMaster corresponding authors are eligible for APC-free publication in Wiley's hybrid journals. Wiley's fully gold open access journals are not covered by this agreement and authors will continue to be charged full fees. Information on the submission process and journals covered is available from Wiley's information page for Canadian institutions.
Claim APC Discounts:
- American Chemical Society (ACS) - Receive a $250 USD flat discount upon submission of a manuscript. Authors must identify their McMaster affiliation in order to qualify for the discount.
- MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute) - Starting in March 2021, McMaster authors may receive a 10% discount on APCs when they publish their articles with MDPI.
- Royal Society of Chemistry - McMaster authors receive a 15% discount for publication in RSC hybrid journals. Authors must specify their affiliation when submitting.
- Taylor & Francis - Receive a 25% discount in Taylor & Francis Open Select journals. Authors must choose the open access publishing option. When the APC is generated, authors can select McMaster University from the drop-down menu, and the discount will be automatically applied. The author can select a Creative Commons license to sign once they accept the quote.
Additional Support Initiatives and Memberships
The Library supports the following Open Access monograph publishing initiatives
- Bloomsbury Open Collections - opens 20 frontlist titles in African Studies and International Development, starting March 2024.
- JSTOR Path to Open - opening 1000 diverse, frontlist university press e-books, 2023-2025
- Knowledge Unlatched: supporting the open release of titles from two presses, IWA Publishing (International Water Association) and Language Sciences Press.
- MIT D2O Direct to Open - opening some 80 frontlist MIT Press academic titles per year.
- Open Book Collective (Open Book Publishers): a leading, independent Open Access publisher in the Humanities and Social Sciences in the UK. , allowing authors to publish open books with no Book Processing Charge (BPC). The Open Book Collective supports open monograph infrastruccture.
- SCOAP3 e-books - releasing scholarly books in physics from commercial scholarly publishers.
- University of Michigan Press, Fund to Mission - supporting the open access release of 75% of the press's annual frontlist.
Additional funding is provided to the following organizations to help support the open dissemination of content:
Our Library memberships support platforms, infrastructure, and open access initiatives more broadly.
For more information on journal publishing and library support, contact scom@mcmaster.ca
