Journal profile · Engineering, Civil
Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering
ISSN 1021-2019 · eISSN 2309-8775 · South African Institute of Civil Engineers · SOUTH AFRICA · Semiannual
Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering: CAS Zone 4 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.21; diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review over 12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 11 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering is published by South African Institute of Civil Engineers and is in Zone 4 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Geotechnical and construction materials studies, Construction Project Management and Performance and Asphalt Pavement Performance Evaluation, together about 20.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Civil and Structural Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering The forerunner of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering was established in 1903 as a learned society aiming to improve and share knowledge about civil engineering developments of the day. The minutes of the proceedings of the then Cape Society of Civil Engineers mainly contained technical papers presented and discussed at the Society's meetings. Since then, and throughout its long history during which time it has undergone several name changes, the organisation has continued to publish technical papers in its monthly publication (magazine) until 1993 when it created a separate journal (the current journal) for the publication of such technical papers.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Engineering, Civil
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named South Africa 26, United Kingdom 1 (27 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geotechnical and construction materials studiesEngineering7.4%
- Construction Project Management and PerformanceDecision Sciences6.8%
- Asphalt Pavement Performance EvaluationEngineering6%
- Infrastructure Maintenance and MonitoringEngineering6%
- Structural Load-Bearing AnalysisEngineering4.6%
- Hydraulic flow and structuresEngineering4.6%
- Geotechnical Engineering and Underground StructuresEngineering4.6%
- Hydrology and Watershed Management StudiesEnvironmental Science4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Engineering, Civil | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Engineering, Civil | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Engineering, Civil | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceSciELOPublisher website
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
- 0.21LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.17LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.31LetPub ·
- h-index
- 13LetPub ·
- h-index
- 20OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 63OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.67OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 94.87%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 6LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 374 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| 2025 | 11 | 11 | 8 |
| 2024 | 14 | 14 | 16 |
| 2023 | 15 | 15 | 17 |
| 2022 | 23 | 23 | 89 |
| 2021 | 26 | 26 | 355 |
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)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 42 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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY-NC-ND | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
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
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- 5
- Reference style
- Harvard
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted5
- discussionsDiscussions on published articles are welcomed up to six months after publication. The length of discussion contributions is limited to 1 500 words.Length not stated
- review papersReview papers are considered for publication as either technical papers or technical notes on condition that they are the original work of the author and will a…Length not stated
- technical noteTechnical notes are short, fully referenced technical articles that do not exceed 2 000 words. A typical technical note will have limited scope often dealing wi…Length not stated
- technical notesTechnical notes are short, fully referenced technical articles that do not exceed 2 000 words.Length not stated
- technical papersTechnical papers are well-researched, in-depth, fully referenced technical articles not exceeding 6 000 words in length (excluding tables, illustrations and the…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use
The journal has an AI policy that all submissions must comply with, providing guidance on the appropriate use of AI tools for authors and reviewers. Model summary
The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) is committed to the responsible, ethical, and transparent use of artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in its journal. All submissions must comply with the journal’s AI policy, which provides guidance to authors and reviewers on the appropriate use of AI tools.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY-NC-ND). Model summary
Copyright remains with the authors. As a peer-reviewed, open-access journal licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) the content of this journal is available to users free of charge. Users are therefore allowed to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format, but such material may only be used in unadapted …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
Copyright remains with the authors; open access under CC BY-NC-ND licence. Model summary
Copyright remains with the authors. As a peer-reviewed, open-access journal licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) the content of this journal is available to users free of charge.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Blind peer review by at least two referees after initial screening. Model summary
Following an initial selection/screening process, all eligible papers are peer-reviewed by at least two referees whose identities remain confidential (blind peer-review).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Archiving via Portico by SciELO and inhouse archiving by SAICE. Model summary
Apart from inhouse archiving of published editions of the journal by SAICE, published papers are formally archived via the Portico system by SciELO.
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
- South African Institute of Civil Engineers
- Country or region
- SOUTH AFRICA
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semiannual
- ISSN
- 1021-2019
- Electronic ISSN
- 2309-8775
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering
What CAS zone is Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering is in Zone 4 of Engineering, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Engineering, Civil. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 0.21; CiteScore 1.2, h-index 20.
How long does peer review take at Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering?
Authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; 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 Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: 5; Reference style: Harvard; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not 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 Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering based?
Of the 27 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (26) and United Kingdom (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and SciELO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
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: .