Transformative Open Access agreement with the University of California

Our cost-neutral transformative agreement with the University of California runs from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2023.

The agreement covers Open Access publishing in The Company of Biologists’ three hybrid journals (Development, Journal of Cell Science and Journal of Experimental Biology) and two Open Access journals (Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open).

Corresponding authors at all ten UC campuses can publish an uncapped number of research articles immediately Open Access. Researchers on all UC campuses also have unlimited access to Development, Journal of Cell Science and Journal of Experimental Biology and their archives dating back to 1853.

Under the agreement, the UC libraries will automatically pay the first $1,000 of the Open Access fee, or article processing charge (APC), for all UC authors who choose to publish in one of The Company of Biologists’ journals. Authors are asked to pay the remainder if they have research funds available to do so. Authors who do not have research funds available can request full funding of the APC from the libraries. This ensures that lack of research funds does not present a barrier for UC authors who wish to publish Open Access in The Company of Biologists’ journals.

• See full information (including a guide for authors and details about the payment process) on the University of California website.
• Read the announcement.

Any questions? Contact us

Participating UC campuses

• UC Berkeley
• UC Davis
• UC Irvine
• UCLA
• UC Merced
• UC Riverside
• UC San Diego
• UC San Francisco
• UC Santa Barbara
• UC Santa Cruz

What authors at participating institutions say:

Professor David Schaffer, University of California at Berkeley, USA

"We are highly grateful for the Read & Publish agreement between The Company of Biologists and UC Berkeley.  While it’s clear that Open Access publications get more downloads and broader readership, grant funding considerations can be a constraint, so it’s very much appreciated that they have worked with our institutions to make this possible."

Read Professor David Schaffer's article in Development

Alex Duman, California, Irvine, USA

"I am really impressed with how streamlined publishing in the Journal of Experimental Biology has been, and I am truly grateful for their Read & Publish agreement with the University of California Libraries that allowed me to publish my thesis research with immediate Open Access so anyone can read it."

Read Alex Duman’s article in Journal of Experimental Biology

Professor Joel Rothman, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

"We are thrilled to publish under the Read & Publish agreement with The Company of Biologists and the University of California, Santa Barbara. This extremely valuable service provides open access to our paper at no cost! This initiative is a crucially important step towards freeing science from the paywall. We hope the other journals will soon follow suit of The Company of Biologists."

Read Professor Joel Rothman’s article in Development

Assistant Professor Li-En Jao, UC Davis School of Medicine, USA

"The Open Access agreement between The Company of Biologists and University of California allowed our research to be published for free and accessed by everyone immediately. Without this agreement, we would not have been able to afford publishing this work as Open Access. I hope that more publishers and institutions can follow such a model to really transform OA publishing."

Read Assistant Professor Li-En Jao’s article in Journal of Cell Science