Article Processing Charge Support

Many journals require article processing charges (APCs) for Open Access. Paying APCs is one way for authors to have their publications released openly (ie. freely available online, with no paywall).

Wherever possible, the University of Alberta Library negotiates with publishers so that U of A corresponding authors receive APC-free publishing, or APC discounts, as part of the Library’s ongoing agreements with these publishers.

Introducing a new tool for University of Alberta Researchers:

Search APC-Free or APC-Discounted Journals

This page lists the publishers who currently provide APC-free or APC-discounted publishing for U of A corresponding authors.

Please note: The waivers and discounts referred to here apply only to article processing charges for Open Access publishing. Any additional publisher charges (e.g., colour charges) must be paid by the author. The Library makes every effort to provide up-to-date information, and cannot be held responsible for any APC charges resulting from publisher changes to the status of individual journals.

This page has recently been updated and revised. If you have feedback, please let us know via our Ask Us or see our FAQs re: APCs.

APC-Free or APC-Discounted Publishing

1. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • U of A corresponding authors receive a 15% APC discount with Science Advances.
  • An additional 4% APC discount is available for AAAS members.
2. American Chemical Society (ACS)
3. Biochemical Society Journals (Portland Press)
4. Canadian Science Publishing
5. Cambridge University Press
6. Company of Biologists
7. Elsevier
8. IEEE
9. Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
10. Institute of Physics (IOP)
11. International Water Association (IWA)
12. John Benjamins
13. Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy (University of Toronto Press)
  • U of A corresponding authors receive APC-free publishing with this University of Toronto Press journal.
14. MDPI
  • U of A authors receive a 10% APC discount.
  • This discount may be claimed by an author who is not the corresponding author, but only one APC discount can be claimed per paper. This discount can be combined with other types of discounts offered by MDPI.
  • Search the APC-Free or APC-Discounted Journal Search Tool for titles.
15. Microbiology Society
16. Oxford University Press (OUP)
  • APC-free publishing available with most Oxford journals that publish a mix of open access and subscription articles (aka “hybrid” journals).
  • Journals that are fully open access provide an APC discount of 10% (aka “gold” journals).
  • Consult OUP’s author guide.
  • Search the APC-Free or APC-Discounted Journal Search Tool for titles.
17. PLOS
18. Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
19. Royal Society of Medicine (RSM)
20. Sage
21. Taylor & Francis
22. Trans Tech Publications
23. Wiley