Open access at Oxford University Press
OUP supports Open Access
Oxford University Press (OUP) is mission-driven to facilitate the widest possible dissemination of high-quality research. We embrace both green and gold open access (OA) publishing to support this mission.
A proven track record of success
OUP has been publishing OA content since 2004. Since that time, ‘gold’ OA has grown dramatically and proven effective in some disciplines. For example, Nucleic Acids Research moved from a subscription publication to an OA model in 2005 and has gone from strength to strength.
We have also successfully launched or taken over high-quality OA titles, including: Genome Biology and Evolution, Journal of Legal Analysis, Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, and Database.
OUP facilitates green OA either by allowing authors to deposit versions of their manuscripts in institutional or subject repositories after a specified time period, or depositing the version of record on their behalf.
Supporting the evolution of Open Access publishing
Sustainable, high-quality OA publishing requires either funding to be available to pay for Article Processing Charges, sponsorship, or suitable embargo periods. This limits which journals, disciplines, and fields can shift to OA, a process that requires the support of the relevant research community, scholarly societies, and associations.
For the foreseeable future, we expect a mixed business model publishing industry. In some areas, gold OA will be the best option; in others it will be the subscription model, with provision for green OA after specified periods. As the academic and professional communities evolve and adjust this mix, OUP will continue to drive and support progress in this area.
OUP operates two different open access models:
- An optional open access model (hybrid OA) for the majority of our journals. Please see the individual journal home pages to find out whether they offer optional open access.
- OUP also publish fully open access journals
Overview of optional open access
Through an optional open access model, authors of accepted papers are given the option of paying an open access publication charge to make their paper freely available online immediately via the journal website, meaning that readers will not need a journal subscription to view open access content. If an author does not choose to pay the open access publication charge, their paper will be published in the normal manner, and will not be made freely available online immediately. Therefore there will be a mixture of non-open access and open access papers within each journal. Open access articles will be clearly indicated on the journal's online contents page.
In order to view the non-open access content in participating journals, a current subscription to the journal will be required. Online, print and combined subscription options will continue to be available to institutions. The amount of open access content in each journal is regularly analysed, and this will impact the future online subscription prices - generally speaking, the more open access content published in a journal, the lower the future online subscription prices will be.
The majority of our journals offer the optional open access option. Please visit the individual journal homepages to find out whether they offer open access publication, and the details of the licence options available.
This optional open access initiative is in addition to our fully open access journals detailed above.
NB Payment of the open access charge will be required from all authors who have selected the open access option at the time when the open access licence is signed.
Open Access resources
OA at OUP
Licenses, policies & charges
Complying with Funder Policies
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