Journal profile · Multiple
Policy Studies Journal
ISSN 0190-292X · eISSN 1541-0072 · Wiley-Blackwell
Policy Studies Journal: CAS Zone 2 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.18; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,050; median 330 days to acceptance (89 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 13% (journal website); 108 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Policy Studies Journal is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 2 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Public Policy and Administration Research, Policy Transfer and Learning and Local Government Finance and Decentralization, together about 40.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The primary focus of the Policy Studies Journal (PSJ) is the study of public policy. Published on behalf of the Policy Studies Organization and the American Political Science Association’s Public Policy Section, PSJ publishes individually-submitted articles and symposia of exceptional quality by social scientists and other public policy researchers and leaders. The journal addresses a wide range of public policy issues at all levels of government, and welcomes a comparative approach. We accept a variety of manuscript types.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Geoboo SongPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 1%); most named United States 67, United Kingdom 3, Germany 3, Mainland China 1, South Korea 1 (79 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Public Policy and Administration ResearchSocial Sciences15.9%
- Policy Transfer and LearningSocial Sciences15.1%
- Local Government Finance and DecentralizationSocial Sciences9.9%
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences8.2%
- Political Influence and Corporate StrategiesBusiness, Management and Accounting5.9%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences5%
- Fiscal Policy and Economic GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.6%
- Sustainability and Climate Change GovernanceEnvironmental Science3.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Management Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CAB AbstractsEconLitCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, AGRICOLA
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
- 4.18LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 9.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.36LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.23LetPub ·
- h-index
- 126OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,154OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.86OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 21.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 48%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 95LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 99Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 342,210Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,605 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 78 | 46 | 24 |
| 2025 | 108 | 76 | 291 |
| 2024 | 63 | 43 | 396 |
| 2023 | 42 | 27 | 609 |
| 2022 | 40 | 18 | 555 |
| 2021 | 41 | 10 | 780 |
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
330 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 270 days – 450 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 33 days (91 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 376 days
- Sample
- 89 articles with submission and acceptance dates (200 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) 2025
- 13%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 342 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 33 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 4,050 / EUR 3,350 / GBP 2,700 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
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
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 10,000 words
- Reference style
- Chicago
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Not considered
- Research Notes; Perspectives
Article types accepted6, with length limits
- full articleArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract Other Requirements Original Papers reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant …Length not stated
- original paperArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract Other Requirements Original Papers reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant …Length not stated
- original papersPSJ publishes two main types of articles: (1) Original Papers and (2) Short Articles. Original papers focus on the development and refinement of public policy t…main text ≤ 10,000 words
- perspectiveArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract Other Requirements Original Papers reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant …main text ≤ 5,000 words
- perspectivesShort Articles are divided into two types, (1) Research Notes and (2) Perspectives, both ranging between 3,000 and 5,000 words.Length not stated
- research notesShort Articles are divided into two types, (1) Research Notes and (2) Perspectives, both ranging between 3,000 and 5,000 words.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version. Review editorial standards and scroll down for a description of authorship criteria.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Availability
This journal encourages data sharing. Review Wiley’s Data Sharing policy where you will be able to see and select the data availability statement that is right for your submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Reproduction of Copyright Material
If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, credit must be shown in the contribution. It is your responsibility to also obtain written permission for reproduction from the copyright owners. For more information visit Wiley’s Copyright Terms & Conditions FAQ.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access WALS + standard CTA/ELA and/or Open Access for hybrid titles
You may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement, or Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons License.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 1. Submission and Peer Review Process
Double-anonymized peer review model Model summary
PSJ publishes two main types of articles: (1) Original Papers and (2) Short Articles. Original papers focus on the development and refinement of public policy theory and have a word limit of 10,000, excluding references. Short Articles are divided into two types, (1) Research Notes and (2) Perspectives, both ranging between 3,000 and 5,000 words. Research notes present empirical data and analysis,…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint policy:
Preprint policy Model summary
Please find the Wiley preprint policy here. This journal accepts articles previously published on preprint servers. PSJ will consider for review articles previously available as preprints. You are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article. You may also post the final published version of the article immediately after publication.
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0190-292X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1541-0072
- Society / sponsor
- Policy Studies Organization and the American Political Science Association’s Public Policy Section
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Policy Studies Journal
What CAS zone is Policy Studies Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Policy Studies Journal is in Zone 2 of Management, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Political Science / Public Administration. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Policy Studies Journal?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.18; CiteScore 9.9, h-index 126.
How long does peer review take at Policy Studies Journal?
Based on the dates recorded on 89 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 330 days (interquartile range 270–450 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 13% (2025). 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 Policy Studies Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Manuscript length: ≤ 10,000 words; Reference style: Chicago; 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 Policy Studies Journal based?
Of the 79 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 1%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (67), United Kingdom (3) and Germany (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Policy Studies Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Policy Studies Journal is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAB Abstracts, EconLit and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Policy Studies Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Policy Studies Journal is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,050.
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: .