Journal profile · HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Foundations of Science
ISSN 1233-1821 · eISSN 1572-8471 · Springer Netherlands · NETHERLANDS · Quarterly · Founded 1995
Foundations of Science: CAS Zone 4 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.19; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,390; median 177 days to acceptance (32 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 56 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Foundations of Science is published by Springer Netherlands and is in Zone 4 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Philosophy and History of Science, Quantum Mechanics and Applications and History and Theory of Mathematics, together about 36.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Astronomy and Astrophysics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Foundations of Science focuses on methodological and philosophical topics of foundational significance concerning the structure and the growth of science. It serves as a forum for exchange of views and ideas among working scientists and theorists of science and it seeks to promote interdisciplinary cooperation. Since the various scientific disciplines have become so specialized and inaccessible to workers in different areas of science, one of the goals of the journal is to present the foundational issues of science in a way that is free from unnecessary technicalities yet faithful to the scientific content. The aim of the journal is not simply to identify and highlight foundational issues and problems, but to suggest constructive solutions to the problems. The editors of the journal admit that various sciences have approaches and methods that are peculiar to those individual sciences. However, they hold the view that important truths can be discovered about and by the sciences and that truths transcend cultural and political contexts. Although properly conducted historical and sociological inquiries can explain some aspects of the scientific enterprise, the editors believe that the central foundational questions of contemporary science can be posed and answered without recourse to sociological or historical methods.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Editor-in-chief Diederik AertsPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 5, Italy 3, Poland 2, United Kingdom 1, Canada 1 (14 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Philosophy and History of ScienceArts and Humanities20.5%
- Quantum Mechanics and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy11.1%
- History and Theory of MathematicsMathematics5.2%
- Philosophy and Theoretical SciencePsychology5%
- Origins and Evolution of LifePhysics and Astronomy4.5%
- Embodied and Extended CognitionNeuroscience4.5%
- Space Science and Extraterrestrial LifePhysics and Astronomy4.3%
- Relativity and Gravitational TheoryPhysics and Astronomy3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEAHCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexzbMATHERIH PLUSPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
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
- 1.19LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.41LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.3LetPub ·
- h-index
- 21LetPub ·
- h-index
- 48OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 337OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.96OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 48.8%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 55LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 280,400Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,224 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 23 | 12 | 2 |
| 2025 | 56 | 34 | 47 |
| 2024 | 31 | 15 | 57 |
| 2023 | 45 | 34 | 241 |
| 2022 | 65 | 40 | 405 |
| 2021 | 102 | 59 | 418 |
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
177 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 129 days – 225 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 43 days (77 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 217 days
- Sample
- 32 articles with submission and acceptance dates (85 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
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 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 2,390 / EUR 3,290 | — | — |
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.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- APA
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted3
- commentaryFoundations of Science publishes ‘standard articles’, ‘target articles’, ‘commentaries’ and ‘review articles’. Standard articles present new ideas, which can be…Length not stated
- review articleFoundations of Science publishes ‘standard articles’, ‘target articles’, ‘commentaries’ and ‘review articles’. Standard articles present new ideas, which can be…Length not stated
- standard articleFoundations of Science publishes ‘standard articles’, ‘target articles’, ‘commentaries’ and ‘review articles’. Standard articles present new ideas, which can be…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Competing Interests
Authors are requested to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last 3 years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside the 3-year time frame must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Foundations of Science, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
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
- Springer Netherlands
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1995
- ISSN
- 1233-1821
- Electronic ISSN
- 1572-8471
- Society / sponsor
- Association for Foundations of Science
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 31, Issue 2 (June 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Foundations of Science
What CAS zone is Foundations of Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Foundations of Science is in Zone 4 of Philosophy, and in Zone 4 of the minor category History & Philosophy Of Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Foundations of Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.19; CiteScore 3, h-index 48.
How long does peer review take at Foundations of Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 32 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 177 days (interquartile range 129–225 days); the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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 Foundations of Science?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: APA; Suggested reviewers: Optional. 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 Foundations of Science based?
Of the 14 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (5), Italy (3) and Poland (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Foundations of Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Foundations of Science is indexed in SCIE, AHCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, zbMATH and ERIH PLUS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Foundations of Science open access, and what is the APC?
Foundations of Science is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,390.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, 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: .