Open Access Support for NC State Authors

What is open access (OA) publishing?

There are a variety of open access (OA) publishing models, but they all provide unrestricted public free access to articles published in a journal by generating funding from other sources, sometimes charging authors an article processing charge (APC) to support their publication. 

This is in contrast to traditional publishing, where only paid subscribers can access the articles.

Does the NC State University Libraries participate in any open access agreements with publishers?

Yes! The Libraries currently participates in several agreements that allow campus authors to publish their articles open access without having to pay article processing charges (APCs). Details of these agreements are provided below. Note that authors remain responsible for any non-APC costs like page charges or fees for color images.

Does the Libraries help pay article processing charges (APCs) for other publishers?

No. The Libraries does not have sufficient funds to help pay for individual article processing charges (APCs) outside of the agreements listed below. If your research is funded by a grant, you may want to see if the grant includes funds to help pay for open access fees. 

Current open access agreements

Search our open access agreements

Use the search box below to find journals covered by NC State's open access agreements. This search will send you to SciFree, our search tool for publisher agreements.

Learn more about our agreements with publishers

Expand the sections below to see eligibility criteria and other details about our agreements with each publisher. Email library_openaccess@ncsu.edu with any questions about current or prospective agreements.

  • American Society for Microbiology

    NC State participates in the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Subscribe to Open (S2O) initiative by maintaining our existing subscriptions to select ASM journals. As part of this program, NC State University corresponding authors are guaranteed open access publishing with no APC. If ASM's subscription revenues are maintained each year, the entire journal will be published open access as well.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    • Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
    • Applied and Environmental Microbiology
    • Infection and Immunity
    • Journal of Bacteriology
    • Journal of Clinical Microbiology
    • Journal of Virology

    Note: ASM's page charges and supplemental materials fees are not covered by our agreement and remain the responsibility of the authors.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State University at the time of submission to guarantee their paper will be published open access.
    • The S2O program will apply to publications coming out in 2025, and articles submitted after October 24, 2024 will be eligible.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    As the corresponding author, mark your institutional affiliation as NC State University, and use your @ncsu.edu email for easier verification.

    Additional Information

    For more information or to check the current status of the program, see the American Society for Microbiology S2O information page.

  • Annual Reviews

    NC State participates in Annual Review's Subscribe to Open (S2O) initiative by maintaining our subscriptions to select Annual Reviews journals. As long as Annual Reviews’ subscription revenues are maintained each year, journals will be published open access.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    • Annual Reviews announces every quarter which titles have been successfully flipped to open.
    • Recent announcements are available on the Annual Reviews Subscribe to Open webpage.
    • For 2023, all 51 titles were published open access.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • There are no eligibility requirements.
    • As long as Annual Review's subscription revenues are maintained each year, their journals will be published open access, and all authors can publish without paying a fee.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    The Annual Reviews S2O model has been extremely successful since it began in 2020, but there are no guarantees about future success.

    Additional Information

    • Annual Reviews solely publishes invited reviews and does not accept unsolicited submissions.
    • Authors remain responsible for any non-APC costs like page charges or fees for color images.
  • Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The article must be published on or after January 20, 2026.
    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of submission.
    • Eligible article types: Research Article, Short Paper, Survey Article

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

  • Biochemical Society

    Authors affiliated with NC State can publish open access in Biochemical Society journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    This agreement covers all Biochemical Society journals.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State University at the time of submission.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    Follow the Biochemical Society instructions for authors, and select North Carolina State University as your institution when submitting your article.

    Additional Information

  • Cambridge University Press

    Authors affiliated with NC State may publish in Cambridge Gold OA and Hybrid OA journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    Use Cambridge's eligibility checker to find covered journals.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The article must be accepted by December 31, 2027.
    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of submission.
    • The article must be one of the following article types: research article, review article, rapid communication, brief report, or case report.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    • Select "North Carolina State University" as your affiliation during the submission process.
    • After your article is accepted you will be asked to fill out an Author Publishing Agreement. Select the Gold OA option when filling out this form.

    Additional Information

    • The Libraries pays Cambridge University Press an annual fee which covers the cost of publication for NC State authors. We will assess the agreement's value when making renewal decisions.
    • Learn more about OA publishing with Cambridge University Press.
    • Authors remain responsible for any non-APC costs like page charges or fees for color images.
  • Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press

    Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in select Cold Spring Harbor journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    The agreement covers the following journals: Genes & Development, Genome Research, Learning & Memory, RNA, and CSH Molecular Case Studies.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of acceptance.
    • The article must be one of the following article types: peer-reviewed research, review, or case study.
      • Protocols, methods, editorials, and comments are not included in the agreement.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    You can choose to publish OA when you submit the License to Publish form.

    Additional Information

    • For authors who publish OA, the page charge and author fees are also covered by this agreement.
    • Authors who are publishing closed access articles will be responsible for paying any normal author fees and page charges.
    • Cold Spring Harbor's FAQ for authors
  • Company of Biologists

    Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in Company of Biologists journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    The agreement covers all five journals published by the Company of Biologists: Development, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms, and Biology Open

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of submission.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    Follow the directions in this guide for authors when preparing your submission and upon acceptance.

    Additional Information

    Authors remain responsible for any non-APC costs like page charges or fees for color images.

  • Elsevier

    Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in select Elsevier hybrid journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The article must be accepted between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2027.
    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State University at the time of acceptance.
    • All article types are eligible (research articles, review articles, short communications, etc.).

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    • Use your @ncsu.edu email address and select NC State as your institutional affiliation when submitting your article.
    • Confirm your affiliation when prompted during the "post acceptance author journey" and select the option to publish Gold Open Access under NC State and the Carolina Consortium's agreement. There is a video on this page in the "Open access: central funding agreement" section that shows step-by-step how to complete the Rights & Access form.

    Additional Information

  • Institute of Physics (IOP)

    Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in select IOP journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    View IOP's list of eligible journals. NC State's agreement includes the titles on all four lists (A, B, C, and D.) 

    • Starting in 2026: There is an annual cap on APC waivers for the titles in list D (fully OA journals). As of July 1, 70% of the 2026 waivers remain.
    • There is no annual cap for the titles in lists A, B, and C (hybrid journals).

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The article must be accepted by December 31, 2028.
    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of acceptance. (Note that IOP approves requests to change the corresponding author only in exceptional circumstances, and such a request may result in the manuscript being reassessed in peer review.)
    • The article must be one of the following article types: paper, special issue paper, review, or letter. For the journal Reports on Progress in Physics, only original research papers qualify as eligible articles.  

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    Follow IOP's guide to submitting under a transformative agreement.

    Additional Information

    • American Astronomical Society journals are not included in this agreement.
    • Authors remain responsible for any non-APC costs like page charges or fees for color images.
    • The Libraries pays IOP an annual subscription fee which covers the cost of publication for NC State authors. When the current agreement ends, we will assess its value for renewal.
  • John Benjamins

    Authors affiliated with NC State can publish open access in John Benjamins journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    This agreement covers all John Benjamins journals.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The article must be accepted after January 1, 2026 and before December 31, 2026.
    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of acceptance.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    The publisher will confirm institutional affiliation after the manuscript is accepted. To ensure you are identified as an authorized author:

    • Ensure that the manuscript reflects the corresponding author’s affiliation with North Carolina State University.
    • Use your @ncsu.edu email address when you submit your manuscript.

    Additional Information

  • Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development

    NC State University Libraries is a shareholder subscriber to the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD), which makes NC State authors eligible for free open access publishing.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    Our agreement covers the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State University at the time of the presubmission query.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    • Use your @ncsu.edu email address and list NC State University as your organizational affiliation.
    • Check the box for "my library subscribes to JAFSCD" when asked about an APC waiver.

    Additional Information

  • Microbiology Society

    Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in Microbiology Society journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    The agreement covers all journals published by the Microbiology Society.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of acceptance.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    Use your NCSU email address during the submission process.

    Additional Information

  • Oxford University Press

    This agreement covers the article processing charges (APCs) for NC State University authors who publish in Oxford University Press hybrid OA journals.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    Check this list of Oxford University Press journals (Excel spreadsheet). Our agreement covers only the titles that are "eligible for hybrid only R&P deals," as shown in Column D.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The article must be accepted by December 31, 2026.
    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of acceptance.
    • The article must be one of the following article types: research article, review article, case report, or brief report.
    • Articles that will be published in a Supplement are not eligible.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    • Select "North Carolina State University" as your primary affiliation during the submission process.
    • After your article is accepted and you receive an email from SciPris, follow this guide from OUP.

    Additional Information

    Authors remain responsible for any non-APC costs like page charges or fees for color images.

  • PLOS — ending soon

    ***The Libraries' OA publishing agreement with PLOS will end on Dec. 31, 2026.  You can view more information about this decision here.***

    Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in PLOS journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    The agreement covers all PLOS journals with the exception of PLOS Mental Health.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The article must be formally accepted by December 31, 2026. We will not be renewing this agreement for 2027 and beyond. If your article is formally accepted after Dec 31st, you will be responsible for paying the publication fee.
    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of submission.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    • When you log into the submission portal, click "Update My Information" and make sure you've selected "North Carolina State University" as your institution using the dropdown menu.
    • When you get to the "Additional Information" section of the submission process, select "My institution will fully or partially pay the fee" for your payment type. Then select "North Carolina State University" from the dropdown menu.
    • View this video for a step-by-step demo.

    Additional Information

    • If you are a contributing author from NC State, but the corresponding author is from an institution that isn't participating in an agreement with PLOS, a 25% discount will be applied to the publication fees.
    • Learn more about publishing with PLOS.
  • Royal Society

    Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in Royal Society journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    The agreement covers all Royal Society journals.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The article must be submitted by December 31, 2027.
    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of submission.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    During the submission process, simply state your affiliation with NC State and select the "Read & Publish" option.

    Additional Information

    • The Libraries pays Royal Society a subscription which covers the cost of publication for NC State authors. We will assess the agreement's value when making renewal decisions.
    • Learn more about publishing open access with the Royal Society.
    • Authors remain responsible for any non-APC costs like page charges or fees for color images.
  • Royal Society of Chemistry

    Authors affiliated with NC State can publish open access in Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    This agreement covers all RSC journals.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State University at the time of submission.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    • Confirm that the corresponding author's affiliation is listed as North Carolina State University in both the manuscript and online submission system.
    • Use your @ncsu.edu email address when you submit your article.
    • Upon acceptance of your manuscript, select the CC-BY or CC-BY-NC license, instead of the standard license, to publish open access.

    Additional Information

    • Authors remain responsible for any non-APC costs like page charges or fees for color images.
    • Use RSC's Journal Finder to identify journals in your subject area.
  • SCOAP3

    SCOAP3 is an international consortium of thousands of libraries, funding agencies and research centers that have established agreements with publishers in the high-energy physics field. These agreements subsidize the APCs for publishing in SCOAP3 journals. The Libraries supports SCOAP3 so that authors pay no APCs and retain copyright.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    • The agreement covers all articles published in: European Physical Journal C, Journal of High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics B, and Physics Letters B
    • The agreement also covers high energy physics articles in additional partner journals. Read General Questions 7 and 8 for further details.

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    There are no eligibility requirements. All authors can publish without paying a fee.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    No special action is needed if submitting to one of the four fully covered journals.

    Additional Information

  • Springer

    Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in select Springer hybrid journals at no charge to the author.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The article must be accepted between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2027.
    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State University at the time of acceptance.
    • The article must be one of the following article types: original paper (also called original research, original article, or research paper), review paper, brief communication, or continuing education.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    • Use your @ncsu.edu email address when submitting your article.
    • During the post-acceptance process, select NC State as your institution when prompted. "Open access at no cost to you" should then appear as the default publishing option.

    Additional Information

  • Wiley

    The NC State University Libraries is part of a consortial publishing agreement that allows our authors to publish open access free of charge in Wiley journals.

    What journals does this agreement cover?

    • Wiley fully OA journals: We had a very limited pool of APC waivers for these fully open access journals, and as of April 30th, there are none left for 2026. If you publish with these journals, you will be responsible for paying the APC. For help identifying alternative journals, please contact our team.
    • Wiley hybrid journals: For 2025 onward, there is no cap on waivers for these hybrid journals.  

    What are the eligibility requirements?

    • The article must be accepted between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2027.
    • The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of acceptance.
    • The article must be primary research or a review article.

    How do I make sure my article is published OA?

    • Follow the appropriate directions for fully OA or hybrid journals, using "NC State University" as your institution.
    • Note: If you are submitting to a fully OA journal, we cannot guarantee an APC waiver (see above).

    Additional Information

    • If you have available grant funding to cover APCs, we encourage you to use those funds if publishing in a fully OA journal. This will free up APC waivers for authors without funding.
    • Learn more about open access publishing with Wiley as a member of NC State University or another eligible Carolina Consortium institution.
    • Authors remain responsible for any non-APC costs like page charges or fees for color images.

Are there any publishers that offer partial APC discounts to NC State authors?

MDPI gives NC State researchers a 10% discount on all Article Processing Charges (APCs) and Book Processing Charges (BPCs) through its Institutional Open Access Plan (IOAP). The IOAP discount is applied automatically using the email address domain used at time of submission. Other discounts for society memberships or vouchers are also available but cannot be used in addition to the IOAP discount. This is a standard discount offered to participating institutions without any cost to the University. 

How does the Libraries decide which open access agreements to participate in?

Most of the Libraries' open access agreements are made directly with a publisher and ensure that all NC State-affiliated corresponding authors can publish open access free of charge. These are commonly known as "read and publish" or "transformative" agreements. Another common type of agreement relies on NC State and other organizations all maintaining existing subscriptions to meet a publisher's revenue goal, at which point publications are made open access and all authors (not just those at NC State) can publish free of charge. This model is often called "subscribe to open" or "S2O."

Learn more about criteria considered for these types of open access agreements.

Do I need to publish my work as open access in order to comply with the new OSTP federal agency policies for public access?

No, but publishing open access will very likely be the easiest way to be in compliance with public access requirements. Our guide on the federal agency public access policies outlines what you need to know, how you can prepare, and support available to you. 

Are there other ways of sharing my work openly without any publishing costs?

Yes! Learn more here on our scholarly sharing guide and our open research guide.

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