E-MailOverview discounts Open Access publications
- BMJ – British Medical Journals
- Cambridge University Press
- Elsevier
- Frontiers
- De Gruyter
- Hogrefe
- MDPI
- PNAS
- RSC
- Sage
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): Science Advances
- SciPost
- SCOAP3
- Springer Nature (inklusive Springer Open & BMC Central)
- Wiley
Many publishers charge a fee for Open Access publications, i.e. authors are charged publication fees, so-called Article Processing Charges (APC).
The University Library of Heidelberg University, as a member of Germany-wide consortia, has concluded framework agreements with publishers. These allow the author to receive discounts on the APC.
There are two main models for Open Access journals: Hybrid or Gold. Gold-Open Access means that the journal publishes only Open Access articles. Hybrid-Open Access, on the other hand, means that the journal can publish both Open Access and a paywall behind one (subscription model). The payment modalities and the affiliation check required to obtain a discount vary greatly between publishers.
Please note:
Regardless of the financing modalities, we recommend that you check the seriousness of each journal and publisher in the first step before submitting a manuscript, as there has been an increasing number of fraudulent offers in the OA area in the past. A safe and efficient way to do this is to briefly check the journal in the Directory of Open Access Journals; all journals listed here meet scientific quality criteria to a sufficient degree.
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BMJ – British Medical Journals
As of January 1, 2021, members of the University of Heidelberg as Corresponding Author - but not members of the medical faculty or Mannheim Hospital - can publish in 28 selected hybrid journals of the publishing house without additional costs for the authors (please note that „The BMJ“ is not covered). The list of the included journals can be found here.
Make sure you select „Universität Heidelberg“ as institution during the submission process. The costs incurred are covered by the flat-rate contract of the University of Heidelberg (with the exception extra costs, i.e. colour charges). Authors from Heidelberg University can receive a 15% discount on the publication fee for publications in Open Access journals (Gold-Open-Access) published by BMJ, such as "BMJ Open". However, since January 2021 this discount is only granted within the framework of a central settlement of the publication fee ("APC") by the university library. As a corresponding author, you must therefore select your affiliation when submitting the article. If the article is accepted, the university library will receive a message from the BMJ, and will check the affiliation with Heidelberg University (this also includes the Heidelberg and Mannheim Medical Faculties as well as university hospitals and institutes within Heidelberg University Hospital). If affiliation is confirmed, you will be asked by the university library to confirm that the cost of the discounted APC will be covered and to provide an invoice address. If you do not wish to be processed via this affiliation, BMJ will invoice the corresponding author directly for the full list price.
Please note that only original research articles (original articles reporting on primary research) are covered by the contract.
For more information, see this description from the publisher.
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Cambridge University Press
From January 1, 2022, members of Heidelberg University will be able to publish as Corresponding Author in a DFG-funded consortium without restriction and at no additional cost to the authors in all hybrid journals and, with a few exceptions, also Gold OA journals published by the publisher - the costs incurred will be covered by Heidelberg University's flat-rate contract. The spectrum of article types that can be published in open access has also been expanded. In addition to Research Articles, Review Articles and Rapid Communications, Brief Reports and Case Reports will now also be considered.
Please note the publisher's information on submission:
„OA Agreement – Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (BSB)”
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Elsevier
In the course of 2023, the University of Heidelberg joined the nationwide contract with Elsevier, which was negotiated by the DEAL consortium.
As a member of the University of Heidelberg you have access to the majority of the electronic journals offered by Elsevier.
Discount for publication fees (Gold Open Access journals)
Gold Open Access means that the journal publishes only Open Access articles.
As Corresponding Author, members of Heidelberg University will receive a 20 percent discount on the list prices of publication fees (= Article Processing Charges, APCs) of the Elsevier Fully Gold Open Access journals and a 15% discount on the list prices of the Fully Gold Cell Press and The Lancet journals for articles which have been accepted for publication from October 27th 2023 onwards.
A retroactive processing of articles accepted for publication before October 27th 2023 is unfortunately not possible via the DEAL contract.
After the article has been published, the UB invoices the institution of the Corresponding Author for the costs.
Hybrid journals
Hybrid Open Access is the model for journals in which both Open Access and Closed Access can be chosen.
If the Corresponding Author belongs to the University of Heidelberg the costs are covered by the university's contract; for the time being, authors will not incur any additional publication costs.
A retroactive processing of articles accepted for publication before October 27th 2023 is unfortunately not possible via the DEAL contract.
Information on the contract with Elsevier and the associated payment models
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Frontiers
Authors of the University can receive a 10% discount on the publication fee for publications in Frontiers journals.
The discount is administered within the framework of a central settlement of the publication fee ("APC") by the university library. As corresponding author, you must therefore select your affiliation when submitting the article. If the article is accepted, the University Library will receive a message from Frontiers and will check the affiliation with Heidelberg University (this also includes the Heidelberg and Mannheim Medical Faculties as well as university hospitals and institutes within Heidelberg University Hospital).
If affiliation is confirmed, you will be asked by the University Library to agree that you will cover the costs of the discounted APC and to provide an invoice address. After publication of the article, you will receive an invoice from the University Library (discounted publication fee plus tax).
If you do not wish to be processed via affiliation, Frontiers will invoice the corresponding author directly for the full list price.
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De Gruyter
Hybrid Open Access Journals
As of 01.01.2022, authors of Heidelberg University (members of the University) who are "corresponding authors" can publish with de Gruyter free of charge and without restriction in currently 104 journals of the publishing package Humanities and Social Sciences Journals (HSS) in hybrid Open Access.
Gold Open Access Journals
In addition to free publication in selected hybrid journals, de Gruyter grants authors of Heidelberg University (members of the University) in Gold Open Access Journals a discount of 20% on the Article Processing Charge ("APC").
More information from the publisher
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Hogrefe („PsyJournals“)
Members of Heidelberg University can currently publish articles free of charge, as a corresponding author, within the Open Access (hybrid) framework in 29 transformative journals of the publisher Hogrefe. FAQ for authors and a list of titles covered by this agreement (in German)
The procedure in brief: upon acceptance of the article, the authors of the participating institutes receive a form from Hogrefe for open access release, in which they can also select the licence. The Open Access contact (in this case Heidelberg University Library), then receives this form by email from the publisher and checks whether the corresponding author belongs to the university. If this is the case, the article is confirmed as belonging to the university and is covered by the OA agreement.
Gold Open Access Journals
In addition to free publication in hybrid journals, Hogrefe offers a 25% discount on the article submission charge ("APC") to these three Gold Open Access journals:
- European Journal of Psychology Open
- Psychological Test Adaptation and Development (PTAD)
- Sports Psychiatry – Journal of Sports and Exercise Psychiatry
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MDPI
By becoming a member of the Open Access Publisher MDPI, authors of the university receive a 10% discount on the publication fee, if the membership is selected accordingly at the time of submission to the submission system.
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PNAS
Members of Heidelberg University who choose to have their article published immediately (Immediate Open Access) as an open access publication pay a discounted surcharge on the publication fee for this: 4,995 USD (plus 19% tax). This price applies to CC BY-NC-ND or CC BY license types. The regular APC ("Delayed Open Access") for a standard publication is 2,595 USD (plus 19% tax). Please note that articles published in PNAS will be made freely available on the web 6 months after publication in any case (Delayed Open Access).
Further information on OA publication at PNAS can be found here.
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RSC Journals
Hybrid Open Access Journals
As of 01.01.2024, authors of Heidelberg University (members of the University) who are "corresponding authors" can publish with RSC free of charge and without restriction in currently 37 journals in hybrid Open Access.
Gold Open Access Journals
In addition to free publication in hybrid journals as of 01.01.2024, authors of Heidelberg University (members of the University) who are "corresponding authors" can also publish with RSC free of charge and without restriction in currently 17 Gold Open Access Journals.
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Sage
Hybrid journals (SAGE Choice Program)
From 01.01.2021, authors of Heidelberg University (members of the university), who are recognised as first authors ("corresponding authors"), can publish free of charge and without restrictions in journals included in the Sage Premier publishing package, in hybrid open access. The article types considered for hybrid publishing are: Original Research Papers, Review Papers, Brief Communications, Short Reports and Case Reports.
Author identification (verification of membership of an authorised institution) is carried out by Sage.
Gold Open Access Journals
From 01.01.2021, authors of Heidelberg University (members of the University) who are recognised as first authors ("corresponding authors"), can claim a 20% discount for articles in Gold Open Access Journals published by Sage. Author identification is done by Sage, with the invoice going directly to the authors (the submission of an authorisation code is no longer required).
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): Science Advances
Members of Heidelberg University receive a 15% discount on the APC for publication in Science Advances as Corresponding Author. Make sure to indicate your affiliation with Heidelberg University when submitting an article.
More information on submission, billing (including tax), and licensing
More information on Affiliation Discount
In order for the membership discount to be applied correctly, the Corresponding Author must select the institution that has sigend a license agreement with AAAS. Therefore, please always select "Universität Heidelberg or Heidelberg University" under "Select Institution", even if you belong to one of the medical faculties or Heidelberg University Hospital.
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SciPost
Heidelberg University supports the Open Access platfom SciPost.
More information from the publisher.
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SCOAP3
The University of Heidelberg is a member of the "Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics" (SCOAP3). Authors of the University of Heidelberg can publish free of charge as Corresponding Author in these journals.
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Springer Nature (inklusive Springer Open & BMC Central)
Discount for publication fees (APCs)
Members of the University of Heidelberg, as Corresponding Author, will receive a 20% discount on the publication fees in the journals of Springer Open from August 1, 2020. No discount is given for Nature Gold Open Access journals. The invoice will first be paid by the University Library. After the article has been published, the UB invoices the institution of the Corresponding Author for the costs.
Please note: The journals of Springer Open are so-called Gold Open Access journals and are not covered by the DEAL contract with Springer Nature. There is no central meeting of the costs by the University Library! Further information on the Deal Agreement with Springer Nature and the corresponding payment models can be found here.
Further information about submitting an article and claiming the discount:
Please make sure that you are in the network of the University of Heidelberg when submitting the article, as the authentication of membership to the university is done via the IP address of the computer. If you are still outside the IP address range of the university, please select the following dialogue option during the submission process: “I accept responsibility for paying the processing charge on this article.”. The actual identification and allocation of the article to the respective institution will only take place after the article has been accepted for publication. After acceptance and publication of the article by Springer, the authors will then receive an invoice for the APC amount minus the consortium discount (20% discount on publication costs) directly from Heidelberg University Library.
Further Information about the use of the discount via IP address authentication
Information about Springer Open Choice-Journals (covered by DEAL contract)
While the above-mentioned journals of BMC and Springer Open are not covered by the DEAL contract and are therefore not centrally financed by the university library, the journals of Springer Open Choice (hybrid journals) are.
- Further information about the Deal Agreement with Springer Nature and the corresponding payment models
- Complete overview of all Springer Nature journals (gold and hybrid)
Exception „Springer Facharztzeitschriften”:
Articles in the medical specialist journals „Facharztzeitschriften“ from SpringerMedizin only fall under the provisions of the DEAL contract if they are „Research Articles“ that are not requested and actively editorially managed as part of the editorial program planning.
It is advisable to clarify the status of the article with the publisher before submitting it.
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Wiley
In the course of 2019, the University of Heidelberg joined the nationwide contract with Wiley, which was negotiated by the DEAL consortium. As a member of the University of Heidelberg, you now have access to the entire range of electronic journals published by Wiley.
