Publishing in Open Access Journals may lead to costs in the form of Article Processing Charges (APCs). In most cases, these costs have to be carried by the publication author(s).
The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the University Medical Center offer researchers who publish in Open Access Journals financial support through the JGU Mainz Library's Open Access Fund. This fund was co-financed (40%) through 2019 by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
Please check if the journal is indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) to make sure your paper is published open access. The DOAJ only contains scientific journals with quality control that are available online free of charge immediately after publication are included. It does not cover hybrid journals.
How can I avoid paying Value Added Taxes twice on foreign cost invoices?
If the publisher is located abroad, you will usually be charged the local VAT rate. To avoid being charged both local and German VAT, please submit UMC's VAT number (DE 149065652) to your publisher.
Funding for Open Access publications stemming from BMBF-funded projects
The BMBF provides funding for Open Access publications stemming from closed BMBF-funded projects. Applicants may request either partial or full reimbursement up to 2,400 €.
Who can assist me with further Open Access questions and concerns?
Please contact Dr. Claudia Hackenberg (Tel. 17-9705) at the Research Office for all Open Access Publications Fund-related matters.
Special conditions with publishers
You will find further information on special conditions with various publishers on the homepage of the JGU Library (GER). Please note that for articles published in one of these journals, an application for funding through the Open Access Publication fund can only be applied for after publication (same conditions and procedure as described above).
Predatory Open Access
To assist you in identifying predatory Open Access journals, the Working Group of the Publication Fund of JGU and UMC have put together a handout with and overview of the issue and what to be aware of when vetting journals for publication of your research or for joining their editorial board. You can find the handout in our Downloads section.