Journal profile · Social Sciences-Social Sciences (all)
Frontiers in Sociology
ISSN 2297-7775 · Frontiers Media S.A. · Switzerland
Frontiers in Sociology: CAS Zone 3 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.3 (journal website); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 86 days to acceptance (128 articles, last 24 months); 372 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Sociology is published by Frontiers Media S.A. and is in Zone 3 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Employment and Welfare Studies, Migration and Labor Dynamics and Migration, Refugees, and Integration, together about 22.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Sociology is a multidisciplinary journal that highlights and explores the key challenges of human societies that connect personal troubles with wide social and economic processes. How do human relationships and social structures interact to form society in terms of hierarchies, networks, movements, inequalities and collaborations. Led by Field Chief Editor Hannah Bradby (Uppsala University, Sweden), the journal is indexed in PubMed Central (PMC), Scopus, DOAJ, and Web of Science (ESCI), among others. Frontiers in Sociology welcomes research with a focus on ideas, models, and literatures of sociology, but also political science, economics, history, philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and statistics. The journal welcomes critical and analytic approaches to understanding the social. Topics include, but are not limited to: gender, sex and sexualities media governance and the public sphere medical sociology migration and society race and ethnicity sociological theory sociology of emotion sociology of law sociology of stratification urban ecology work, employment, and organizations. Research contributions that bridge the gap between theory and empirical investigation within various domains of sociology are encouraged and innovative research design is welcome. Manuscripts that focus solely on medical or clinical aspects of disease, without a clear sociological perspective, are not suitable for publication in this journal. Similarly, studies that are purely mathematical or statistical in nature, without a clear sociological application or relevance, are not appropriate for this journal. Research that is primarily policy-oriented, without a clear sociological framework or analysis, is also not suitable for this journal. Research that is purely descriptive, without a clear analytic approach is not likely to be suitable for this journal. Frontiers in Sociology is committed to advancing developments in the field by allowing unrestricted access to articles and communicating scientific knowledge to researchers and the public alike, to enable the scientific breakthroughs of the future. Frontiers in Sociology is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Social Sciences (all)
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 7, Sweden 3, Austria 2, United States 1, Italy 1 (17 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Employment and Welfare StudiesHealth Professions7.8%
- Migration and Labor DynamicsSocial Sciences7.5%
- Migration, Refugees, and IntegrationSocial Sciences7.2%
- Migration, Health and TraumaPsychology5.5%
- COVID-19 and Mental HealthPsychology4.5%
- Work-Family Balance ChallengesSocial Sciences4.5%
- LGBTQ Health, Identity, and PolicyPsychology4.5%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Sociology | 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
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePMCPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, CLOCKSS, Crossref
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 (publisher)
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.75LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.28LetPub ·
- h-index
- 52OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 542OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.4OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 333LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,136 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 397 | 397 | 97 |
| 2025 | 372 | 372 | 992 |
| 2024 | 277 | 277 | 1,426 |
| 2023 | 311 | 311 | 2,997 |
| 2022 | 248 | 248 | 3,586 |
| 2021 | 242 | 242 | 4,129 |
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 PubMed · to
86 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 56 days – 122 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 22 days (128 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 112 days
- Sample
- 128 articles with submission and acceptance dates (828 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 review time (community reports)
- about 14 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 14 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 | CHF 1,175 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 1,175 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,285 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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 prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
Figures/tables/images published under CC-BY; permission required for copyrighted third-party material. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
Open access under CC-BY v4.0; authors retain copyright. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Manuscripts must meet international English language standards. Model summary
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
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
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2297-7775
- 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 ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Frontiers in Sociology
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Sociology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Frontiers in Sociology is in Zone 3 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Sociology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Frontiers in Sociology?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.3; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4, h-index 52.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Sociology?
Based on the dates recorded on 128 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 86 days (interquartile range 56–122 days); authors report an average review time of about 14 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Frontiers in Sociology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Reference style: Harvard; Templates: LaTeX and Word. 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 Frontiers in Sociology based?
Of the 17 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (7), Sweden (3) and Austria (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Sociology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Sociology is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and PMC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Sociology open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Sociology is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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: .