Journal profile · PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Policy Studies
ISSN 0144-2872 · eISSN 1470-1006 · Taylor & Francis
Policy Studies: CAS Zone 3 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.91; JCR Q1 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 248 days to acceptance (96 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 14% (journal website); 84 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Policy Studies is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 3 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Social Policy and Reform Studies, Public Policy and Administration Research and Policy Transfer and Learning, together about 31% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Policy Studies is a long-standing, international journal focussing on public policy and governance at all levels and across all continents. It publishes original articles which are assessed through a rigorous peer review process. The journal aims to: Enable theoretical, methodological and empirical advances in the study of public policy and governance that have consequences of broad, international significance. Enable cutting-edge research to be connected to the real-world policy problems and vice versa. Identify ‘what works’ in improving the formation and delivery of policy through rigorous research. Identify the state of the art of research in public policy Trace new developments affecting public policy and governance including, but not limited to, those arising from technological, political, economic, informational, or demographic shifts. Breakdown geographical and disciplinary silos by encouraging inter-disciplinarily, historical, comparative and global approaches to the study of policy. Encourage diversity and opportunity in the academy. The journal takes a pluralistic approach and encourages submissions irrespective of the methodological approach and the country of study. Although the journal is traditionally based in political science, a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of public policy is encouraged. Articles published are predominantly original research articles, but review articles that assess the state of the field are also welcome. Peer review policy: All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous double anonymised peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymised refereeing by two anonymous referees.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Editor-in-chief Toby S. JamesPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 67%); most named Mainland China 2, Canada 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences13.7%
- Public Policy and Administration ResearchSocial Sciences9.2%
- Policy Transfer and LearningSocial Sciences8.1%
- Housing, Finance, and NeoliberalismEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.6%
- Political and Economic history of UK and USSocial Sciences5.3%
- Employment and Welfare StudiesHealth Professions5%
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences3.8%
- Healthcare innovation and challengesSocial Sciences3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Management Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q1 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEEconLitPublisher website
Other: OCLC, CSA Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Education Research Abstracts Online, Family Studies Database, Gay and Lesbian Abstracts, Higher Education Abstracts, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, International Political Science Abstracts, Periodicals Index Online, Research into Higher Education Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts
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
- 2.91LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.9LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.9Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.47LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.47Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 66OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 591OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.97OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 29.41%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 83LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 279,000Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2024
- 279,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,522 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 44 | 15 | 14 |
| 2025 | 84 | 43 | 272 |
| 2024 | 62 | 38 | 469 |
| 2023 | 46 | 26 | 465 |
| 2022 | 37 | 21 | 433 |
| 2021 | 59 | 25 | 914 |
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
248 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 195 days – 330 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 13 days (96 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 261 days
- Sample
- 96 articles with submission and acceptance dates (137 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)
- 14%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2024
- 14%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 88 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review 2025
- 88 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Policy Studies is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readersh…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double anonymised peer review with initial editor screening and two anonymous referees. Model summary
All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous double anonymised peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymised refereeing by two anonymous referees.
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0144-2872
- Electronic ISSN
- 1470-1006
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 47, Issue 5 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Policy Studies
What CAS zone is Policy Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Policy Studies is in Zone 3 of Management, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Public Administration. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Policy Studies?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.91; CiteScore 7, h-index 66.
How long does peer review take at Policy Studies?
Based on the dates recorded on 96 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 248 days (interquartile range 195–330 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 14% (2024). 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 JCR quartile is Policy Studies in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 3 of Management.
Where are the editorial board members of Policy Studies based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 67%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (2) and Canada (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Policy Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Policy Studies is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE and EconLit; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Policy Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Policy Studies is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
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: .