Journal profile · Computer Science, Theory & Methods
Journal of the ACM
ISSN 0004-5411 · eISSN 1557-735X · Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 1954
Journal of the ACM: CAS Zone 2 · Computer Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.04; hybrid open access; median 467 days to acceptance (79 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 36 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of the ACM is published by Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and is in Zone 2 of Computer Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Complexity and Algorithms in Graphs, semigroups and automata theory and Logic, programming, and type systems, together about 24.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Computational Theory and Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of the ACM (JACM) provides coverage of the most significant work on principles of computer science, broadly construed. The scope of research covered encompasses contributions of lasting value to any area of computer science. To be accepted, a paper must be judged to be truly outstanding in its field. JACM is interested in work in core computer science and in work at the boundaries, both the boundaries of subdisciplines of computer science and the boundaries between computer science and other fields.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Computer Science, Theory & Methods
Editor-in-chief Venkatesan GuruswamiPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Complexity and Algorithms in GraphsComputer Science9.9%
- semigroups and automata theoryComputer Science7.5%
- Logic, programming, and type systemsComputer Science7.5%
- Algorithms and Data CompressionComputer Science7.3%
- Optimization and Search ProblemsComputer Science6.7%
- Advanced Graph Theory ResearchComputer Science5.9%
- Formal Methods in VerificationComputer Science5.1%
- Computability, Logic, AI AlgorithmsComputer Science4.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Computer Science Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Hardware & Architecture | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Information Systems | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Software Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Computer Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Hardware & Architecture | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Information Systems | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Software Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Computer Science Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Hardware & Architecture | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Software Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Information Systems | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
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
- 3.04LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.37LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.99LetPub ·
- h-index
- 117LetPub ·
- h-index
- 297OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,430OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.4OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 41.73%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 43LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,344 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 27 | 25 | 10 |
| 2025 | 36 | 35 | 82 |
| 2024 | 46 | 35 | 388 |
| 2023 | 39 | 35 | 296 |
| 2022 | 49 | 22 | 637 |
| 2021 | 48 | 33 | 1,062 |
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
467 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 318 days – 610 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 79 days (80 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 566 days
- Sample
- 79 articles with submission and acceptance dates (92 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 3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
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.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1954
- ISSN
- 0004-5411
- Electronic ISSN
- 1557-735X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 73, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of the ACM
What CAS zone is Journal of the ACM in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of the ACM is in Zone 2 of Computer Science, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Computer Science, Hardware & Architecture / Computer Science, Information Systems / Computer Science, Software Engineering / Computer Science, Theory & Methods. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Computer Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of the ACM?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.04; CiteScore 6.7, h-index 297.
How long does peer review take at Journal of the ACM?
Based on the dates recorded on 79 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 467 days (interquartile range 318–610 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly 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.
Which databases index Journal of the ACM?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of the ACM is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of the ACM open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of the ACM is a hybrid journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
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: .