Journal profile · Multiple
Developmental Science
ISSN 1363-755X · eISSN 1467-7687 · Wiley-Blackwell
Developmental Science: CAS Zone 1 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 3.18; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,140; median 276 days to acceptance (88 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 20% (journal website); 139 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Developmental Science is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 1 of Psychology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Child and Animal Learning Development, Language Development and Disorders and Reading and Literacy Development, together about 41.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Developmental and Educational Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal scope Developmental Science aims to represent the very best of contemporary scientific developmental psychology and developmental cognitive neuroscience, both in the presentation of theory and in reporting new data. Developmental Science includes: comparative and biological perspectives, connectionist and computational perspectives, and developmental disorders. Developmental Science publishes work that bridges levels of explanation, such as from brain development to cognitive or social change, or work that specifically attempts to elucidate mechanisms of developmental change at one level. We do not consider submissions on aging, although studies on the effects of early experience on later development (especially those from a biological perspective) are welcome. Manuscripts judged to fall outside this remit may be rejected without full refereeing. Abstracting and Indexing Information Academic Search (EBSCO Publishing) Academic Search Alumni Edition (EBSCO Publishing) Academic Search Premier (EBSCO Publishing) Current Contents: Social & Behavioral Sciences (Clarivate Analytics) ERIC: Educational Resources Information Center (CSC) Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest) Hospital Premium Collection (ProQuest) InfoTrac (GALE Cengage) ISI Alerting Services Journal Citation Reports/Social Science Edition (Clarivate Analytics) MEDLINE/PubMed (NLM) ProQuest Central (ProQuest) ProQuest Central K-140 ProQuest Central K-141 Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection (EBSCO Publishing) Psychology Collection (GALE Cengage) Psychology Database (ProQuest) PsycINFO/Psychological Abstracts (APA) PSYNDEX (ZPID) Research Library (ProQuest) Research Library Prep (ProQuest) Social Sciences Citation Index (Clarivate Analytics) Zoological Record (Clarivate Analytics)
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 3%); most named United States 21, United Kingdom 14, Canada 5, Germany 4, Mainland China 2 (61 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Child and Animal Learning DevelopmentPsychology21.5%
- Language Development and DisordersPsychology11%
- Reading and Literacy DevelopmentPsychology8.9%
- Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skillsMathematics6.2%
- Early Childhood Education and DevelopmentSocial Sciences4.5%
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychology4.1%
- Face Recognition and PerceptionNeuroscience3.4%
- Action Observation and SynchronizationPsychology3.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Psychology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Developmental | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Psychology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Developmental | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Psychology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Developmental | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedPsycINFOERICCurrent 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
- 3.18LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.64LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.59LetPub ·
- h-index
- 199OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,268OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.87OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 63.55%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 81LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 120Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 682,618Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,321 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 170 | 126 | 60 |
| 2025 | 139 | 101 | 277 |
| 2024 | 156 | 112 | 996 |
| 2023 | 115 | 97 | 1,200 |
| 2022 | 146 | 85 | 2,725 |
| 2021 | 146 | 90 | 3,002 |
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
276 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 202 days – 357 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 25 days (90 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 305 days
- Sample
- 88 articles with submission and acceptance dates (338 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)
- 20%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 20%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 225 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 23 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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 4,140 / EUR 3,450 / GBP 2,810 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Other fees
- No other fees
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)
What to prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Not considered
- aging
Article types accepted8, with length limits
- commentaryShort Reports – succinct accounts of high impact scientific findings typically involving (but not limited to) a single empirical study or computational model (4…main text ≤ 1,000 words
- editorialShort Reports – succinct accounts of high impact scientific findings typically involving (but not limited to) a single empirical study or computational model (4…Length not stated
- registered reportShort Reports – succinct accounts of high impact scientific findings typically involving (but not limited to) a single empirical study or computational model (4…Length not stated
- registered reportsRegistered Reports - Registered Reports represent a new format of research article in which manuscripts containing a study proposal (inclusive of an Introductio…Length not stated
- research articleShort Reports – succinct accounts of high impact scientific findings typically involving (but not limited to) a single empirical study or computational model (4…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- research articlesResearch Articles – works that report on more extended empirical or modelling studies (8,000 word limit).Length not stated
- short reportsShort Reports – succinct accounts of high impact scientific findings typically involving (but not limited to) a single empirical study or computational model (4…Length not stated
- target articles for peer commentaryTarget Articles for peer commentary – papers judged by the editorial team to present important theoretical issues in developmental science may be selected as Ta…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
Please refer to the journal’s Authorship policy in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section for details on eligibility for author listing.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest Statement
Authors will be asked to provide a conflict of interest statement during the submission process. For details on what to include in this section, see the Conflict of Interest section in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section below. Authors should ensure they liaise with all co-authors to confirm agreement with the final statement.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Accessibility
Data sharing and data accessibility policy Model summary
The journal expects authors to archive all the data from which their published results are derived in a public repository. All accepted manuscripts are required to publish a data availability statement to confirm the presence or absence of shared data. If authors have shared data, this statement will describe how the data can be accessed, and include a persistent identifier (e.g., a DOI or an acce…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 1. SUBMISSION AND PEER REVIEW PROCESS
Double anonymous peer review policy Model summary
Developmental Science is transitioning to the Research Exchange platform, which is Wiley's integrated submission, screening, and peer review platform. Thank you for your patience while we familiarise ourselves with the new platform.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprint policy Model summary
This journal accepts articles previously published on preprint servers.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 1363-755X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1467-7687
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 29, Issue 6 (November 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Developmental Science
What CAS zone is Developmental Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Developmental Science is in Zone 1 of Psychology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Psychology, Experimental / Psychology, Developmental; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Psychology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Developmental Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.18; CiteScore 7, h-index 199.
How long does peer review take at Developmental Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 88 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 276 days (interquartile range 202–357 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 20% (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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Developmental Science?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 6; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Graphical abstract: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Developmental Science based?
Of the 61 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (21), United Kingdom (14) and Canada (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Developmental Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Developmental Science is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Developmental Science open access, and what is the APC?
Developmental Science is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,140.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .