Journal profile · ENGINEERING, MANUFACTURING
Design Science
ISSN 2053-4701 · Cambridge University Press · United Kingdom
Design Science: CAS Zone 3 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 48 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 3,450; review about 22 weeks (community reports); 54 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Design Science is published by Cambridge University Press and is in Zone 3 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Design Education and Practice, Product Development and Customization and Creativity in Education and Neuroscience, together about 52.2% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Design Science ISSN: 2053-4701 (Online) Frequency: 1 volume per year Design Science is an international open access journal publishing original quantitative and qualitative research in the creation of artifacts and systems, and their embedding in our physical, virtual, psychological, economic, and social environment.Peer reviewed by an international editorial board, Design Science aims to serve as the archival venue of science-based design knowledge across multiple disciplines. The Journal will facilitate communication across diverse fields and will serve as a bridge across several communities, publishing original research with a strong emphasis on accessibility by scholars from a diversity of disciplines.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ENGINEERING, MANUFACTURING
Editor-in-chief Panos PapalambrosPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 17, United Kingdom 6, France 4, Japan 2, Germany 2 (43 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Design Education and PracticeEngineering28.6%
- Product Development and CustomizationBusiness, Management and Accounting13.5%
- Creativity in Education and NeurosciencePsychology10%
- Manufacturing Process and OptimizationEngineering6%
- Innovative Human-Technology InteractionComputer Science5%
- Open Source Software InnovationsComputer Science3.9%
- Color perception and designPsychology3.5%
- Systems Engineering Methodologies and ApplicationsEngineering3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Engineering, Manufacturing | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Engineering, Manufacturing | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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 (publisher) 2025
- 48Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.77LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.84LetPub ·
- h-index
- 42OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 163OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.97OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 28.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.25%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 52LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 368 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 33 | 33 | 19 |
| 2025 | 54 | 54 | 267 |
| 2024 | 48 | 48 | 385 |
| 2023 | 34 | 34 | 331 |
| 2022 | 31 | 31 | 531 |
| 2021 | 25 | 25 | 434 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 22 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 22 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | GBP 2,320 / USD 3,450 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-SA, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,550 / GBP 2,460 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 3,450 / GBP 2,320 | Yes | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted7
- book and product reviewsBook and product reviews – can include software and actual designs as well as traditional book reviewsLength not stated
- design impact briefsDesign impact briefs – a short article reporting a design experience of significant and archival value to the design communityLength not stated
- editorialsEditorials – generally from the editors, and occasionally solicited from guest editorsLength not stated
- lettersLetters – short communications typically composing discussion of published workLength not stated
- position papers*Position papers – occasional articles conveying an opinion on a particular issueLength not stated
- research articles*Research articles – the majority of articles, communicating original researchLength not stated
- review articles*Review articles – providing a critical review and state-of-the-art on a given topicLength not stated
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2053-4701
- Society / sponsor
- Design Society
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Design Science
What CAS zone is Design Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Design Science is in Zone 3 of Engineering, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Engineering, Manufacturing. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Design Science?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 48 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 5.6, h-index 42.
How long does peer review take at Design Science?
Authors report an average review time of about 22 weeks. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Design Science based?
Of the 43 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (17), United Kingdom (6) and France (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Design Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Design Science is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Design Science open access, and what is the APC?
Design Science is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,450.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .