Open Access: your options
Publishing Open Access: your options and avenues for funding
Gold/Hybrid/Green/Diamond?
Open access (OA) means research is free to read online. Many funders and institutions now expect or require it, so it’s worth planning your route before you submit.
| Route | What it means | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Gold OA | Published open access in an OA journal or on an OA basis; free to read immediately | Usually an APC, unless waived or covered |
| Hybrid | A subscription journal makes your individual article OA for a fee | APC, often higher |
| Green OA | You publish in any journal, then deposit an accepted version in a repository | Usually free, but may involve an embargo |
| Diamond/platinum OA | OA with no fees for readers or authors | Free |
Funding
- UCT's Research Hub has all the information you need about your options for covering the cost of article processing charges and page costs.
- Visit this libguide to find out if the journal in which you are publishing is part of UCT Libraries' Read & Publish agreements - you might be eligible to publish open access at no extra cost. These are agreements with select academic publishers that allow researchers to publish open access in participating journals without paying individual article processing charges (APCs).