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Open Access

Apply for funding to pay an article processing charge (APC)

If you are required, or planning, to publish your article via the Gold route, then you will normally be asked to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC) by the relevant publisher.


Can the University help pay APCs?

Projects with UKRI funding: UKRI (previously RCUK) provides Cranfield with a limited block grant to pay APCs for gold open access publishing. This fund is used to pay for articles where Cranfield staff are corresponding authors, and comply with the University's guidance on where to publish (on the Intranet)
(Please note this does not apply to research for Innovate UK which is not covered by UKRI funding.)

Projects with a UK industrial partner: The University has secured additional Higher Education Innovation funding (HEIF fund) to assist with APCs where there is a UK industrial partner. The fund is available on a first come first served basis, for publishing gold open access with the following eligibility criteria:

  • your research has significant support from a UK industrial partner (co-authoring the paper or as a joint funder; RCUK Industrial CASE Studentships are unlikely to be eligible);
  • the corresponding author is from Cranfield University.
  • the article is published in a journal that complies with the University's guidance on where to publish (on the Intranet)

NB: money from both funds is allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis. 

Request an APC payment

Before you submit your article...

The Library has agreements with some publishers to negotiate pilot financing models to help pay for APC charges and meet the growing demand for researchers to publish in Open Access journals:

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) / Science Online
  • MDPI
  • Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Sage
  • Springer (APCs waived for Springer Open Choice journals)
  • Taylor and Francis
  • Wiley

Before you submit your article for publication to any of these, please contact openaccess@cranfield.ac.uk because we may be able to offset your charges. 

If you are a member of a Professional Society and submitting an article for publication in one of their journals, you may also be entitled to additional discounts on APC charges.