An open access agreement is the result of discussions between institutions (e.g. universities) and publishers setting out the conditions, discounts and other arrangements which apply to the institution's staff when submitting papers to that publisher.

Different conditions can apply depending on a journal's policy. Some journals operate on a full open access basis. These titles are described as fully gold. Other journals charge a subscription for access but also accept open access papers - described as hybrid. 

UWS has a number of agreements with publishers. Some agreements cover the costs of open access publishing in related journals. Others provide discounts on publishing costs, allow manuscripts to be made open access in Pure straight away, or provide support services such as centralised invoicing.

Check below to find out the agreements currently in place, what they cover and for how long they apply. Where available, links are provided to publisher information about how to use the service.

The ACS agreement supports the publication of chemistry related research, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in ACS journals. 

ACS Information for authors

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2026

The APS agreement supports the publication of physics related research, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in APS hybrid journals. (Cost of publishing in fully open access APS journals is not covered by the agreement)

APS Institutional Open Access & Transformative Agreements

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

The BMJ agreement supports the publication of medicine related research, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in BMJ journals. 

BMJ Article Submission

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

The Brill agreement supports the publication of research in humanities and social sciences, international law and selected areas in the sciences, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in Brill journals. 

Brill Open Access for Articles - Information for Authors

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2026

The BUP/Policy Press agreement supports the publication of research in humanities and social sciences, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in Bristol University Press and Policy Press journals. The agreement also provides a 15% discount on the open access publication of research monographs.

Open Access at Bristol University Press

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2026

The CUP agreement supports the publication of research in a wide range of subjects, with a particular focus on applied science, environment and conservation, agriculture, neuroscience and bio-medicine, history, area studies, language and linguistics, political science and international relations. The agreement covers the cost of publishing original research articles open access in Cambridge University Press journals.

Publish Your Article with Cambridge

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

The Elsevier agreement supports the publication of research across a wide range of subject areas, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in Elsevier hybrid journals as well as Cell Press journals and The Lancet. The cost of publishing in fully open access Elsevier journals is not covered by the agreement, but authors receive a 15% discount on standard article processing charges.

Elsevier Open Access Information for Journal Authors

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

The IOP agreement supports the publication of physics related research, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in IOP journals.

Open Access at IOP

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

The Karger agreement supports the publication of medical research, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in Karger journals. 

Submit and Publish Open Access with Karger

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

The OUP agreement supports the publication of research across a wide range of subject areas, covering the cost of publishing original research articles, review articles, brief reports and case reports open access in OUP journals.

OUP Read and Publish Agreements - for Authors

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

The RSC agreement supports the publication of chemistry related research, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in RSC hybrid journals. The cost of publishing in fully open access RSC journals is not covered by the agreement.

Open Access Publishing - Royal Society of Chemistry

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

The Sage agreement supports the publication of research across a wide range of subject areas, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in Sage hybrid journals. The cost of publishing in fully open access Sage journals is not covered by the agreement, but authors receive a 20% discount on standard article processing charges.

Sage Open Access Introduction for Authors

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

The SpringerNature agreement supports the publication of research across a wide range of subject areas, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in Springer, Nature  and Palgrave MacMillan hybrid journals. The cost of publishing in fully open access SpringerNature journals is not covered by the agreement, but authors receive a 15% discount on standard article processing charges.

Publish your Research with SpringerNature

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

The T&F agreement supports the publication of research across a wide range of subject areas, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in T&F, F1000 and Routledge Open journals. There is a national (UK wide) cap on the number of articles that can be covered each year. If you are submitting towards the end of the year, please check that the agreement is still accepting applications.

Taylor and Francis Open Access

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

The Wiley agreement supports the publication of research across a wide range of subject areas, covering the cost of publishing original research articles open access in Wiley journals. There is a national (UK wide) cap on the number of articles in fully gold journals that can be covered each year. Any later submissions receive a 15% discount on article processing charges. If you are submitting to a fully gold journal towards the end of the year, please check that the agreement is still accepting applications.

Wiley Open Access Funding for Authors in the UK

This agreement is in place until 31st December 2025

If you have any questions about Open Access Publishing or would like further advice about using one of the agreements, please contact Pure@uws.ac.uk

FAQ - What is the difference between 'Hybrid' and 'Fully Gold' journals?

Hybrid journals contain a mixture of open access and subscription articles - a subscription is charged to be able to read the full journal.

In a Fully Gold journal, all articles are published open access immediately, and there is no subscription charge associated with reading the journal.