The agreement runs from August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2025, and enables UC corresponding authors to publish in the 20 open access journals included in the pilot, at no cost to the author. See below, “Which Frontiers journals are included in the pilot?”, for the list of eligible journals.

All journals published by Frontiers are fully open access. Frontiers normally charges an article processing charge (APC) for manuscripts it accepts for publication. These APCs are how Frontiers covers the cost of publishing its journals. Under the pilot agreement, the UC libraries are paying Frontiers a single flat fee to cover all APCs for the 20 journals included in the pilot. This enables UC authors to publish open access in these selected journals at no cost to them; APCs for these journals will be fully and automatically covered by the UC libraries.

See below, “Which Frontiers journals are included in the pilot?”, for the list of eligible journals. For details on how, see below under “Article Payment Process.”

Most of UC’s transformative open access publishing agreements work by transitioning the libraries’ existing journal subscription funds to instead pay to support UC authors who publish open access. Since Frontiers is a fully open access publisher, there are no pre-existing library subscription funds that can be immediately repurposed to cover the APC costs for UC publications in all of Frontiers’ 200+ journals.

To create more equity across UC’s full portfolio of open access agreements, which have so far disproportionately covered journals in STEM fields, UC has prioritized Frontiers’ journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sustainability. See below, “Which Frontiers journals are included in the pilot?”, for the list of eligible journals.

Yes, if you are (1) a UC affiliate (faculty, lecturer, staff, graduate student) at any of UC’s ten campuses or LBNL, (2) you are the article’s corresponding author, and (3) you choose to publish your article in one of the 20 journals included in the pilot.

See below, “Which Frontiers journals are included in the pilot?” for the list of eligible journals.

Frontiers considers the corresponding author to be the person listed as the contact during the submission/production/publication process, and who is identified as “Author for correspondence” on the final published article.

In general, the corresponding author is the person who oversees the manuscript and correspondence during the publication process — from manuscript corrections and proofreading, to handling the revisions and re-submission of revised manuscripts up to the acceptance of the manuscripts. The corresponding author has the authority to act on behalf of all co-authors in all matters pertaining to publication of the manuscript including supplementary material. The corresponding author acts as the point of contact for any inquiries after the paper is published.

This agreement covers all articles containing original research that are accepted for publication in the 20 selected journals from August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2025. 

See below, “Which Frontiers journals are included in the pilot?” for the list of eligible journals.

Twenty journals in Frontiers’ portfolio are included in the pilot. These journals publish research in the humanities, social sciences, and sustainability. The pilot’s focus on these disciplines stems from a broader charge within UC to prioritize the inclusion of humanities and social sciences in new open access agreements since earlier agreements covered STEM disciplines to a greater extent.

• In humanities and social sciences:
  • Frontiers in Behavioral Economics
  • Frontiers in Communication
  • Frontiers in Computer Science
  • Frontiers in Education
  • Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology
  • Frontiers in Environmental Economics
  • Frontiers in Human Dynamics
  • Frontiers in Political Science
  • Frontiers in Sociology 
• In sustainability:
  • Frontiers in Climate
  • Frontiers in Forests and Global Change
  • Frontiers in Ocean Sustainability
  • Frontiers in Sustainability
  • Frontiers in Sustainable Cities
  • Frontiers in Sustainable Energy Policy
  • Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
  • Frontiers in Sustainable Resource Management
  • Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism
  • Frontiers in Water

Under the pilot agreement, your APC will be fully and automatically covered by the UC libraries. Because the UC libraries are paying Frontiers a single flat fee to cover all APCs for the 20 journals included in the pilot, there is no cost to you. 

During submission of your article to one of the eligible journals, you will be prompted to identify a payer. Under Frontiers Institutional Partners, choose your UC institution from the drop down options. You are encouraged to also use your UC email address at submission. Once the manuscript has entered active peer review, you will receive a notification indicating funding support approval.

Other than indicating your UC affiliation in Frontier’s submission form, no action is needed by you as the corresponding author. If you do receive an email with an invoice for the APC, simply reply to the email and reference the UC-Frontiers pilot open access agreement. You may also contact your campus library or OpenAccessInquiries@ucop.edu for assistance. See “Resources” below for your campus library contact information.

More information is available via:

• UC’s announcement of the pilot agreement
• Frontiers’ press release on the pilot agreement

Or from your campus library:

• UC Berkeley 
• UC Davis
• UC Irvine 
• UCLA 
• UC Merced 
• UC Riverside 
• UC San Diego 
• UC San Francisco
• UC Santa Barbara 
• UC Santa Cruz

As this is a pilot agreement, your feedback is appreciated. Please submit any comments or questions to your campus library or to OpenAccessInquiries@ucop.edu.