Journal profile · POLITICAL SCIENCE
American Journal of Political Science
ISSN 0092-5853 · eISSN 1540-5907 · Wiley-Blackwell
American Journal of Political Science: CAS Zone 1 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 4.54; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,100; median 348 days to acceptance (78 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 6% (journal website); 91 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
American Journal of Political Science is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 1 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Electoral Systems and Political Participation, Political Influence and Corporate Strategies and Political Conflict and Governance, together about 39.4% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The American Journal of Political Science (AJPS) publishes research in all major areas of political science including American politics, public policy, international relations, comparative politics, political methodology, and political theory. Founded in 1956, the AJPS publishes articles that make outstanding contributions to scholarly knowledge about notable theoretical concerns, puzzles or controversies in any subfield of political science.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): POLITICAL SCIENCE
Editor-in-chief Adam BerinskyPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences27.1%
- Political Influence and Corporate StrategiesBusiness, Management and Accounting6.7%
- Political Conflict and GovernanceSocial Sciences5.5%
- Fiscal Policies and Political EconomyEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.5%
- Social Media and PoliticsSocial Sciences4.9%
- Media Influence and PoliticsSocial Sciences3.9%
- Judicial and Constitutional StudiesSocial Sciences3.8%
- Gender Politics and RepresentationSocial Sciences3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Current ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 4.54LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 12.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 12.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 12.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 6.54LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 5.02LetPub ·
- h-index
- 340OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,789OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.11OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 58.24%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 81LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 81Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 940,616Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,448 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 59 | 39 | 45 |
| 2025 | 91 | 74 | 216 |
| 2024 | 115 | 87 | 1,092 |
| 2023 | 85 | 60 | 1,757 |
| 2022 | 65 | 27 | 3,067 |
| 2021 | 107 | 35 | 4,568 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
348 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 283 days – 459 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 110 days (78 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 466 days
- Sample
- 78 articles with submission and acceptance dates (173 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 6%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 6%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 327 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 83 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,100 / EUR 3,430 / GBP 2,730 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0092-5853
- Electronic ISSN
- 1540-5907
- Society / sponsor
- Midwest Political Science Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 70, Issue 3 (July 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about American Journal of Political Science
What CAS zone is American Journal of Political Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, American Journal of Political Science is in Zone 1 of Sociology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Political Science; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of American Journal of Political Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.54; CiteScore 12.4, h-index 340.
How long does peer review take at American Journal of Political Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 78 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 348 days (interquartile range 283–459 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 6% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index American Journal of Political Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, American Journal of Political Science is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is American Journal of Political Science open access, and what is the APC?
American Journal of Political Science is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,100.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .