Open access agreement for the UK

Information for authors

If you are a corresponding author affiliated with a participating UK institution, you may be eligible to publish open access (OA) in our journals with fees covered.

Over 100 UK institutions have an OA agreement with Springer Nature, meaning that corresponding authors affiliated with participating institutions may be eligible to publish their articles OA with fees covered in hybrid journals. The agreement includes publishing in more than 2,000 journals across the Springer Nature portfolio, including Nature, Nature Research journals and Palgrave journals. 

In addition, you can enjoy full read access to over 2,300 Springer journals plus existing subscriptions for Nature and the Nature Research journals.

The agreement also includes our fully OA titles for those institutions who have signed up. Depending on your affiliation, your fees may be covered, or a discounted APC may be available to you. Please check with your institution directly to see what kind of discount or funding is available. 

Read the author guide to learn more

Read more about the impact of this TA in our new white paper

Register for our upcoming author webinars

Learn more about your eligibility

Participating institutions
(PDF, 181.55 KB)

Publishing open access in a Springer portfolio journal

This agreement covers OA publications in Springer and Palgrave journals on Springer Nature Link, and Academic journals on Nature.com.

Check the list of journals that are included in the agreement

Eligible journals
(XLSX, 181.03 KB)

Ready to publish?

Springer
Palgrave Macmillan 20 px
Adis

Participating institutions

A

  • Aberystwyth University
  • Anglia Ruskin University
  • Arden University
  • Aston University

B

  • Bangor University
  • Birmingham City University
  • Bournemouth University
  • British Antarctic Survey
  • British Geological Survey
  • Brunel University

C

  • Canterbury Christ Church University
  • Cardiff Metropolitan University
  • Cardiff University
  • City University of London
  • Cranfield University

E

  • Edge Hill University
  • Edinburgh Napier University

G

  • Glasgow Caledonian University
  • Glasgow School of Art
  • Goldsmiths' College

H

  • Heriot-Watt University

I

  • Imperial College London

K

  • King's College London
  • Kingston University

L

  • Leeds Beckett University
  • Liverpool Hope University
  • Liverpool John Moores University
  • London Business School
  • London School of Economics and Political Science
  • London South Bank University
  • Loughborough University

M

  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Middlesex University

N

  • National Museums Scotland
  • National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
  • Norwich BioScience Institutes (NBI)
  • Nottingham Trent University

O

  • Open University
  • Oxford Brookes University

Q

  • Queen Margaret University
  • Queen Mary University of London
  • Queen's University of Belfast

R

  • Robert Gordon University
  • Rothamsted Research
  • Royal Conservatoire Scotland
  • Royal Holloway and Bedford New College
  • Royal Veterinary College

S

  • Scotland's Rural College (SRUC)
  • Sheffield Hallam University
  • St. George's University of London
  • Swansea University

T

  • The Alan Turing Institute
  • The Babraham Institute
  • The Foundation and Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
  • The Francis Crick Institute
  • The James Hutton Institute
  • The Natural History Museum Development Trust
  • The Pirbright Institute

U

  • UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
  • University College London (UCL)
  • University of Aberdeen
  • University of Abertay Dundee
  • University of Bath
  • University of Bedfordshire
  • University of Birmingham
  • University of Bradford
  • University of Bristol
  • University of Cambridge
  • University of Central Lancashire
  • University of Chester
  • University of Derby
  • University of Dundee
  • University of Durham
  • University of East Anglia
  • University of Edinburgh
  • University of Essex
  • University of Exeter
  • University of Glasgow
  • University of Gloucestershire
  • University of Greenwich
  • University of Huddersfield
  • University of Hull
  • University of Keele
  • University of Kent
  • University of Lancaster
  • University of Leeds
  • University of Leicester
  • University of Lincoln
  • University of Liverpool
  • University of London
  • University of Manchester
  • University of Newcastle upon Tyne
  • University of Northampton
  • University of Northumbria at Newcastle
  • University of Nottingham
  • University of Oxford
  • University of Portsmouth
  • University of Reading
  • University of Roehampton
  • University of Salford
  • University of Sheffield
  • University of Southampton
  • University of St. Andrews
  • University of Stirling
  • University of Strathclyde
  • University of Suffolk
  • University of Surrey
  • University of Sussex
  • University of the Highlands and Islands
  • University of the West of England, Bristol
  • University of the West of Scotland
  • University of Ulster
  • University of Wales Trinity St. David with Swansea University
  • University of Warwick
  • University of Westminster
  • University of Worcester

Y

  • York St John University

Publishing open access in a Nature Portfolio journal

This agreement covers OA publications in Nature, the world's leading multidisciplinary science journal, first published in 1869 and Nature Research journals on nature.com.

Check the list of journals that are included in the agreement

Eligible journals
(XLSX, 41.13 KB)

Ready to publish?

Nature Research 25 px

Participating institutions

A

  • Aberystwyth University
  • Alan Turing Institute
  • Anglia Ruskin University
  • Aston University

B

  • Babraham Institute
  • Bangor University
  • Birkbeck College
  • Bournemouth University
  • British Antarctic Survey
  • British Geological Survey
  • Brunel University

C

  • Cardiff Metropolitan University
  • Cardiff University
  • CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory
  • City University of London
  • Cranfield University ​​​​​​​

E

  • Edge Hill University
  • Edinburgh Napier University

G

  • Glasgow Caledonian University
  • Goldsmiths College

H

  • Heriot-Watt University

I

  • Imperial College London

J

  • James Hutton Institute (Aberdeen and Dundee)

K

  • King's College London
  • Kingston University

L

  • Leeds Beckett University
  • Liverpool John Moores University
  • Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
  • London Metropolitan University
  • London School of Economics and Political Science
  • London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
  • Loughborough University

M

  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Marine Biological Association
  • Middlesex University
  • Moredun Research Institute
  • MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

N

  • National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
  • Newcastle University
  • Northumbria University
  • Norwich BioScience Institutes (NBI)
  • Nottingham Trent University

O

  • Open University
  • Oxford Brookes University



P

  • Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Q

  • Queen Mary University of London
  • Queen's University of Belfast

R

  • Robert Gordon University
  • Rothamsted Research
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
  • Royal Holloway University of London
  • Royal Observatory Edinburgh
  • Royal Veterinary College
  • Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

S

  • Scottish Agricultural College (SRUC)
  • Scottish Association for Marine Science
  • Sheffield Hallam University
  • St. George's University of London
  • Swansea University

T

  • The Francis Crick Institute
  • The Pirbright Institute

U

  • UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
  • UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
  • University College London (UCL)
  • University of Aberdeen
  • University of Abertay Dundee
  • University of Bath
  • University of Birmingham
  • University of Bradford
  • University of Bristol
  • University of Cambridge
  • University of Central Lancashire
  • University of Chester
  • University of Cumbria
  • University of Derby
  • University of Dundee
  • University of Durham
  • University of East Anglia
  • University of Edinburgh
  • University of Essex
  • University of Exeter
  • University of Glasgow
  • University of Gloucestershire
  • University of Greenwich
  • University of Hertfordshire
  • University of Huddersfield
  • University of Hull
  • University of Keele
  • University of Kent
  • University of Lancaster
  • University of Leeds
  • University of Leicester
  • University of Lincoln
  • University of Liverpool
  • University of Manchester
  • University of Northampton
  • University of Nottingham
  • University of Oxford
  • University of Plymouth
  • University of Portsmouth
  • University of Reading
  • University of Roehampton
  • University of Salford
  • University of Sheffield
  • University of Southampton
  • University of St. Andrews
  • University of Stirling
  • University of Strathclyde
  • University of Surrey
  • University of Sussex
  • University of the Highlands and Islands
  • University of the West of England
  • University of the West of Scotland
  • University of Ulster
  • University of Warwick
  • University of Westminster

W

  • Wellcome Sanger Institute

Y

  • York St John University

Publishing in a fully open access journal

This agreement covers publications in fully OA journals across the Springer Nature portfolio (BMC, SpringerOpen, Palgrave and Nature Portfolio). 

Please check the Participating institution list to see if your institution is taking part in the agreement and to see if the fees are Centralized (paid centrally) or Pay as You Go (discounted APC offered).

Check the list of journals that are included in the agreement

Eligible journals
(XLSX, 191.07 KB)

Ready to publish?

BMC Logo 20 px
Nature Research 25 px
Palgrave Macmillan 20 px
SpringerOpen Brandstrip

Participating institutions

A

  • Abertay University
  • Anglia Ruskin University
  • Aston University

B

  • Bangor University
  • Birkbeck College
  • Bournemouth University
  • British Antarctic Survey
  • British Geological Survey
  • Brunel University

C

  • Cardiff Metropolitan University
  • Cardiff University
  • City, University of London
  • Cranfield University

D

  • Daresbury Laboratory

E

  • Edge Hill University
  • Edinburgh Napier University

G

  • Glasgow Caledonian University

H

  • Heriot-Watt University

I

  • Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine

J

  • James Hutton Institute

K

  • King's College London
  • Kingston University

L

  • Leeds Beckett University
  • Liverpool John Moores University
  • London School of Economics and Political Science
  • London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
  • London South Bank University
  • Loughborough University

M

  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Marine Biological Association
  • Medical Research Council Lab of Molecular Biology
  • Middlesex University

N

  • Norwich Bioscience Institutes
  • Nottingham Trent University

O

  • Open University
  • Oxford Brookes University

Q

  • Queen Margaret University
  • Queen Mary, University of London
  • Queens University Belfast

R

  • Robert Gordon University
  • Rothamsted Research Ltd.
  • Royal Holloway and Bedford New College
  • Royal Observatory Edinburgh
  • Royal Veterinary College
  • Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

S

  • Sheffield Hallam University
  • St George's, University of London
  • Swansea University

T

  • The Francis Crick Institute

U

  • UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
  • UK Health Security Agency
  • University College London
  • University of Aberdeen
  • University of Bath
  • University of Bedfordshire
  • University of Birmingham
  • University of Bristol
  • University of Cambridge
  • University of Derby
  • University of Dundee
  • University of Durham
  • University of East Anglia
  • University of Edinburgh
  • University of Essex
  • University of Exeter
  • University of Glasgow
  • University of Greenwich
  • University of Hertfordshire
  • University of Huddersfield
  • University of Hull
  • University of Keele
  • University of Lancaster
  • University of Leeds
  • University of Leicester
  • University of Liverpool
  • University of London, Goldsmiths
  • University of Manchester
  • University of Newcastle upon Tyne
  • University of Northumbria at Newcastle
  • University of Nottingham
  • University of Oxford
  • University of Reading
  • University of Salford
  • University of Sheffield
  • University of Southampton
  • University of St Andrews
  • University of Stirling
  • University of Strathclyde
  • University of Surrey
  • University of the West of England
  • University of the West of Scotland
  • University of Wales Trinity St David with Swansea University
  • University of Warwick
  • University of Westminster
  • University of Worcester

FAQs

Who is considered the corresponding author?

The corresponding author is defined as the person who handles the manuscript and correspondence during the publication process – from manuscript correction and proof reading, 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. They are also responsible for obtaining such agreements and for informing the co-authors of the manuscript’s status throughout the submission, review and publication process. 

In addition, the corresponding author acts as the point of contact for any enquiries after the paper is published.

How can I make sure my article is eligible?

When you submit, use at least one of the below methods of recognition.

methods of recognition © Springer Nature 2021

Upon acceptance of your article, you'll also be prompted to provide your institutional affiliation.

How do I know if my article has been approved?

The approval manager at your institution will approve your article's eligibility based on your institutional affiliation, article type and journal name.

Once your article is approved by your institution, you will be notified by email and your article will proceed to publication.

What do I need to do if I want to publish via subscription/green?

A unique exception has been made as part of this agreement in order to provide authors wishing to opt out of gold OA publication to publish via the subscription route with the option to self-archive their accepted manuscript (AM) immediately upon publication. 

In order to take up this exception and on the basis your institution has selected to enable it, you will follow the standard identification workflow to be identified as eligible under the Jisc agreement, but you will select “No, I want to publish my article via the subscription route”. Follow the instructions to select a reason, then confirm that you want to publish subscription. 

You will then be served with a bespoke License to Publish (LTP) which will allow you to self-archive the AM upon publication and remain in compliance with immediate OA institutional and funder policies. Please note that the Jisc agreement covers all eligible output under the gold OA route with the Version of Record (VOR) published OA at no additional cost; in compliance with institutional and funder’s immediate OA policies. Authors should therefore think carefully before opting out. There will be no option to revert to making the VOR available via gold OA retrospectively.

Which article types are covered by this agreement?

  • Original paper#: Standard article, usually presenting new results; articles published under this article type may also be referred to as Original Research, Original Article, Original Paper or Research Paper.
  • Review paper: Standard article, interpreting previously published results.
  • Brief communication: Short article submitted for rapid publication that exhibits the same structure as a standard article.
  • Continuing education: Article forming integral part of further education (usually medical). 

#When publishing in a Nature Portfolio journal, original paper is the only applicable article type. Articles published under this article type may also be referred to as: Analysis, Article, Letter, Brief Communication, Registered Report, Resource, Technical Report.

What if I'm not covered by the agreement?

There are still plenty of ways to find funding for your article processing charge (APC). Visit our open access funding page to check whether your institution or research funder makes OA funding available.

Who can I contact for more information? 

Please email us at oa.verification@springernature.com if you need further assistance.