Article Processing Charge (APC)

The Journal of Architecture and Theory is an open-access journal. To cover costs associated with peer review management, production, DOI registration, long-term archiving and online hosting, an Article Processing Charge (APC) of USD 170 will be applied to manuscripts accepted for publication. The APC covers the services listed on this page; a full price breakdown is available here: Breakdown

Waivers & discounts: We offer full or partial waivers for authors from low- and lower-middle-income countries and consider case-by-case waiver requests for authors without funding. To request a waiver, tick the waiver box during submission and provide a short justification. Full details: waiver and discount policy

Payment & invoicing: APCs are paid online via Razorpay. An invoice will be issued to the corresponding author and payment must be completed within 30 days of invoice issuance to proceed to publication. For institutional payments, please contact joaatheory@gmail.com before payment. Full details: Payment & invoicing.

Refunds: Refunds are only issued in accordance with the journal’s Cancellation & Refund Policy.

(This policy follows international best practice for APC transparency and will be reviewed annually.)

• Base APC

Amount: USD 170

• Optional services

Expedited editorial handling (fast-track peer review): Additional USD 50

Professional language editing (pre-publication): Additional USD 25

• Waivers, Discounts & institutional arrangements

Institutional memberships / transformative agreements: negotiated discounts for institutions or consortia.
Waiver / discount program: full waiver for authors from low- and lower-middle-income economies (per World Bank classification) and partial waivers for authors in transitional economies.

Breakdown of Article Processing Charge (APC)

The Journal of Architecture and Theory has a stated Transparency Policy and discloses a detailed breakdown of Article Processing Charges as under:

1. Editorial & peer-review administration – $37.5 — running submission system, handling editorial office tasks, managing reviewer payments/honoraria when applicable.
   
2. Peer-review platform & technical support – $10  — licensing and hosting of manuscript tracking system (e.g., Scholastica/Editorial Manager/etc.).
   
3. Copyediting and language polishing – $30 — professional editing to ensure clarity and consistency.
   
4. Typesetting & proof production – $30 — professional layout for PDF/HTML and production of final files.
   
5. DOI registration & metadata – $7.5 — CrossRef/ORCID integration and metadata deposits.
   
6. Online hosting & website maintenance – $15 — secure hosting, maintenance, SSL, and website updates.
   
7. Long-term archiving – $15 — preservation via services such as CLOCKSS/Portico (or equivalent).
   
8. Indexing & discoverability support – $10 — fees and administrative work required to maintain indexing with aggregators.
   
9. Administrative overhead & compliance – $15 — staff time, invoicing, and reporting (including reporting requested by funders).

Waiver and Discount Policy

JOAAT has a clearly defined Waiver and Discount Policy to align with best practice and promote equity:

1. Automatic full waivers for corresponding authors based in low-income countries (World Bank list).
2. Partial waivers (50–75%) for corresponding authors in lower-middle-income countries, or for early-career researchers without grant funding.

1. Case-by-case waivers: authors may apply if they have demonstrable lack of funding; requests are confidential and adjudicated by the Managing Editor (not reviewers).
   
2. Time-limited waiver funds: set a small annual budget to support waivers (publish number of waivers granted each year to maintain transparency).
   
3. Institutional discount program: institutions that cover APCs may negotiate an institutional membership discount.

Payment & invoicing

APCs will be accepted online using Razorpay (credit/debit card, UPI, netbanking, and supported wallets). Razorpay will process payments and handle card/transaction security; JAT will not store card details.(Privacy Policy)

Invoice & receipts: After successful payment an automated invoice will be emailed to the corresponding author and a PDF invoice will be available in the author portal. Institution requests for invoicing to a third-party payer are handled via a manual invoice on request prior to payment.

Currency & taxes: APCs will be charged in USD and local equivalents (INR/EUR/GBP) shall be shown for convenience; final settlement depends on the payment gateway’s exchange rate. Any applicable taxes (GST/VAT) must be borne by the author/payer and will be explicitly shown on the invoice.