Some journals require a fee to be paid in order to make an article open access, called an article processing charge, or APC. This is the case with Gold open access journals that require APCs in order for an article to be published. It is also the case with “hybrid” journals that are subscription-based to read but allow a fee to be paid to make specific articles open access on the publisher’s website at the time of publication.
McGill Libraries do not have a fund for Article Processing Charges (APCs). However, there are additional options for funding:
- APCs are typically an allowable grant expense; check with your funder
- McGill's Professional Development Fund for eligible academics can be used to cover APCs
- APC Discounts and waivers through McGill Libraries
Finding APC discounts and waivers
McGill Libraries have received through agreements with several publishers a number of APC discounts and full waivers. You can search for specific journals and discover whether there is an available APC discount with SciFree Journal Search Tool. This tool contains information on existing waivers and discounts for APCs available to McGill-affiliated authors. If you do not find an entry for a journal you are looking for, there is no available discount. These discounts are subject to change at any time.
You must use your @mcgill.ca OR @mail.mcgill.ca email to receive these discounts.
Search tips:
- Using quotation marks “” around a term will allow you to find an exact phrase.
- You can search by journal name, subject area, publisher, and ISSN. You can also limit to searching a single field, e.g., type "imprint: Oxford" to retrieve all Oxford University Press journals.
- To filter your search results by payment options, licenses, and publishing models, select the toggle at the top of the column.