Funding open access publication
We believe that journals must publish articles based on the quality of the work rather than an author's ability to pay. The editorial process – including the decision of whether or not to accept an article for publication – should be independent of the author’s decision to publish Gold Open Access (OA), in cases where this is optional, as well as being independent of how the publication costs for a Gold OA article are funded.
Institutional open access agreement
If your institution has an open access publishing agreement with Cambridge, you may publish your article OA at no cost to you (specific terms and conditions vary). To find out if you're eligible, please use our eligibility checker. Please note that books and Elements are not included in these agreements.
Institutional open access agreement
If your institution has an open access publishing agreement with Cambridge, you may publish your article OA at no cost to you (specific terms and conditions vary). To find out if you're eligible, please use our eligibility checker. Please note that books and Elements are not included in these agreements.
Cambridge Open Equity Initiative
The Cambridge Open Equity Initiative supports authors in low- and middle-income countries who wish to publish their research open access in our journals but do not have access to funding.
Cambridge Open Equity Initiative
The Cambridge Open Equity Initiative supports authors in low- and middle-income countries who wish to publish their research open access in our journals but do not have access to funding.
Research4Life support
Authors from low- and middle-income countries, who are not covered by an institutional open access agreement or the Cambridge Open Equity Initiative, may be eligible for support under the Research4Life scheme. Corresponding authors of research articles based in 'Group A’ countries will automatically have Article Processing Charge (APC) costs waived entirely, and authors based in ‘Group B’ countries will automatically receive a 50% discount on an article’s APC.
See the bottom of this page for a full list of countries.
Research4Life support
Authors from low- and middle-income countries, who are not covered by an institutional open access agreement or the Cambridge Open Equity Initiative, may be eligible for support under the Research4Life scheme. Corresponding authors of research articles based in 'Group A’ countries will automatically have Article Processing Charge (APC) costs waived entirely, and authors based in ‘Group B’ countries will automatically receive a 50% discount on an article’s APC.
See the bottom of this page for a full list of countries.
Direct payment of an Article Processing Charge
In all cases, authors may cover the costs of Gold OA publication through direct payment of an Article Processing Charge (APC).
Direct payment of an Article Processing Charge
In all cases, authors may cover the costs of Gold OA publication through direct payment of an Article Processing Charge (APC).
Discretionary waivers and discount
Any corresponding author of a research article who does not have coverage through any of the above routes, or outside funding to pay an article processing charge (APC), can make a request for a discount or full waiver.
In cases where Gold OA is an option but not a requirement, Gold OA publication costs may be covered by an institutional open access agreement or funded by the COEI, but other waivers and discounts for APCs will generally not be granted. In these cases authors also have the option to publish their article without choosing Gold OA. Articles that are not published Gold OA may still be shared in accordance with our Green Open Access policy.
Discretionary waivers and discount
Any corresponding author of a research article who does not have coverage through any of the above routes, or outside funding to pay an article processing charge (APC), can make a request for a discount or full waiver.
In cases where Gold OA is an option but not a requirement, Gold OA publication costs may be covered by an institutional open access agreement or funded by the COEI, but other waivers and discounts for APCs will generally not be granted. In these cases authors also have the option to publish their article without choosing Gold OA. Articles that are not published Gold OA may still be shared in accordance with our Green Open Access policy.
Process for applying waivers and discounts
Once an article is accepted for publication, any applicable waiver or discount through institutional open access agreements or the Cambridge Open Equity Initiative will be automatically applied. Other waivers and discounts, such as discretionary and Society discounts or Research4Life discounts/waivers can be applied by the author when prompted during the publication process.
If an author is entitled to multiple discounts, the highest discount available will be applied. Please note that we cannot apply multiple discounts.
Further information
More information can be found on our publishing open access page or contact openresearch@cambridge.org .
Research4Life countries
Research4Life Group A - APC Discount 100%
- Comoros
- Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
- Ghana
- Lebanon
- Marshall Islands
- Micronesia (Federated States of)
- Nauru
- Republic of Moldova
- Saint Helena
- Timor-Leste
- Tokelau
Research4Life Group B - APC Discount 50%
- Botswana
- Colombia
- Egypt
- Georgia
- Namibia