UGA Libraries’ Pilot Open Access Publishing Fund to Benefit Graduate Students

Submitted by Camie on

UGA Libraries has established a new fund that supports open access to knowledge while helping graduate student researchers fulfill their academic goals.

 

The pilot program provides funding for open access publication fees for graduate students whose research papers have been accepted by peer-reviewed academic journals. Those fees make research available freely online, but can be costly for students. The fund is a way for the Libraries to partner with other academic departments to enable that avenue of publication.

 

“The Libraries commonly receive requests from graduate students for help with the cost of publishing their research in open access e-journals,” said Toby Graham, university librarian and associate provost. “This pilot is an expression of the Libraries’ commitment to affordability for students, as well as our aim to promote open scholarship.”

 

Ron Walcott, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the graduate school, expressed his support for the pilot program.

 

“The ability of graduate students to publish their original research in peer-reviewed journals is critically important to their future success as scholars. However, article processing charges can be prohibitive,” Walcott said. “I am very grateful to the UGA Libraries for creating this fund that will help level the playing field and eliminate financial barriers for graduate students to have their scholarly work published.”

 

Graduate students, including those pursuing master’s, doctoral, or professional degrees in any field, can apply for the funding after their paper has been accepted. In addition to the journal’s open access publication, the student must submit their work to ScholarWorks UGA, the Libraries’ online repository dedicated to the work of UGA scholars. The program is intended for students who would be unable to cover open publishing fees otherwise, and matching funds from the student’s home department are strongly encouraged.

 

For more information and to apply, visit libs.uga.edu/openaccessfund.