McMaster University Libraries Investment in Open Access
APC Waivers: Publish your Article Open Access
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. 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.
- Cambridge University Press (CRKN)- For 2022-2024, 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.
- 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.
- 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, including PLOS ONE - IMPORTANT: this agreement ends January 31, 2025 and will not be renewed. For the two-year period, February 1 2023-January 31 2025, McMaster authors will be able to publish an unlimited number of articles in the full PLOS suite of journals. For more on the submission process, check the PLOS FAQ for Authors or watch the video. Authors should use their @mcmaster.ca email when submitting.
- 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
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
