Journal profile · Multidisciplinary Sciences
South African Journal of Science
ISSN 0038-2353 · eISSN 1996-7489 · National Research Foundation · SOUTH AFRICA · Monthly · Founded 1903
South African Journal of Science: CAS Zone 4 · Multidisciplinary (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.68; diamond open access (no APC); no APC; median 187 days to acceptance (81 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 145 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Vision To publish and promote the widest diversity of excellent South African research for the local and global academic community and inform policymakers and the public. Mission The South African Journal of Science is an open access, multidisciplinary journal published bimonthly by the Academy of Science of South Africa. Its objective is to promote the visibility and impact of South African and African research by publishing high-quality original research from Africa or on African-relevant issues that will be of interest to readers in any discipline and for the benefit of scholars, educators, the general public and policymakers. It also provides a forum for discussion of news and developments in research and higher education. In order to be considered, submissions from African countries outside South Africa must show relevance or application beyond an immediate local context – they must have clear relevance or application more broadly on the continent. Style As a consequence of the multidisciplinary and wide readership, authors are requested to write their manuscripts in a manner and style that is intelligible to specialists and non-specialists alike. Research contributions, which are peer reviewed, are of three kinds: Review Articles, Research Articles and Research Letters. Details can be found in the guidelines to authors. The front section of the Journal covers news, news features, book reviews, obituaries, commentaries, and news and views articles. These contributions are not peer reviewed, and potential authors are encouraged to liaise with the Editor-in-Chief before submitting work of this nature to the Journal. Language All articles are published in English and manuscripts submitted should be written in English. For ease of submission, the submission interface is available in multiple languages. History The South African Journal of Science was established in 1903 as the Proceedings of the Annual Meetings of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science. The annual volume became a monthly publication in August 1947. Since 1973, the Journal has in turn had a close association with Macmillan Journals in London (the then publisher of Nature), the Associated Scientific and Technical Societies of South Africa (AS&TS), the Foundation for Education, Science and Technology, and the National Research Foundation. The Academy of Science of South Africa became the title owner and publisher in 2002. Publication frequency The South African Journal
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multidisciplinary Sciences
Editor-in-chief Leslie SwartzPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named South Africa 21, United Kingdom 3, United States 2 (26 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologySocial Sciences12.3%
- Evolution and Paleontology StudiesEarth and Planetary Sciences7.7%
- Archaeology and Rock Art StudiesSocial Sciences6.2%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science5.9%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science5.1%
- Health and Medical Research ImpactsMedicine4.6%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences4.2%
- Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology StudiesArts and Humanities4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Multidisciplinary Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Multidisciplinary Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Multidisciplinary Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- 1.68LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.41LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.66LetPub ·
- h-index
- 55LetPub ·
- h-index
- 81OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,299OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.18OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.17%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 75LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,210 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 106 | 106 | 13 |
| 2025 | 145 | 145 | 123 |
| 2024 | 168 | 168 | 360 |
| 2023 | 136 | 136 | 550 |
| 2022 | 152 | 152 | 1,048 |
| 2021 | 151 | 151 | 1,216 |
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
187 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 50 days – 286 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 81 days (82 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 280 days
- Sample
- 81 articles with submission and acceptance dates (292 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)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 52 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double 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 | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- No page charges
- 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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted8, with length limits
- book reviewsItems for consideration for publication in the front section of the journal, such as Book Reviews and Scientific Correspondence, should be submitted online.Length not stated
- commentariesCommentaries and Perspectives deemed appropriate by the Editor-in-Chief will be subject to a double-anonymous assessment by two members of the Editorial Board o…Length not stated
- letterviewed research communications Research Letters are short reports (no more than 2000 words, including abstract, significance and references) and shoulmain text ≤ 2,000 words
- perspectivesCommentaries and Perspectives deemed appropriate by the Editor-in-Chief will be subject to a double-anonymous assessment by two members of the Editorial Board o…Length not stated
- research articled be of wider than specialist interest. Research Articles are longer papers (no more than 6000 words, including abstract, significance and references). Althoughmain text ≤ 6,000 words
- research letterResearch Letters are short reports (no more than 2000 words, including abstract, significance and references)Length not stated
- review articled be of wider than specialist interest. Review Articles (no more than 6000 words, including abstract, significance and references) should bemain text ≤ 6,000 words
- scientific correspondenceItems for consideration for publication in the front section of the journal, such as Book Reviews and Scientific Correspondence, should be submitted online.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Peer review, Plagiarism, Self-archiving
- AI use
AI use must be detailed in Methods or Supplementary Material. Model summary
If used, in accordance with the Policy on Use of AI and LLMs, please detail such use in the Methods or Supplementary Material.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
Author contributions listed per CRediT taxonomy. Model summary
Authorship of a manuscript should be agreed upon by authors prior to submission. Generally, a person attributed as an author should have contributed to (1) the conception and design of the study and data collection or data analysis; (2) writing or revising the manuscript; and (3) final approval of the version to be published. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed aut…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
Data availability statement required with options: open data set, all data included, on request from authors, not available, not applicable. Model summary
The availability of your data should be indicated in your published article in the form of: open data set, all data included, on request from authors, not available, or not applicable: Open data set* The entire data set supporting the results of this study has been deposited in a recognised repository and is openly accessible via the link included. All data included All the data supporting the res…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Permits required; numbers and validity dates in Methods. Model summary
Authors are responsible for obtaining all relevant permits, and the permit numbers and validity dates must be provided in the Methods.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright & Permissions
Creative Commons Attribution Licence; copyright retained by authors. Model summary
All articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence; copyright is retained by the authors. Readers are welcome to reproduce, share and adapt the content without permission, provided the source is attributed. Permission to reproduce copyrighted third-party material, as indicated in articles, should be sought from the copyright holder.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-anonymous review process. Model summary
Please ensure authors’ names and affiliations, acknowledgements and other identifying information are omitted [and provided on the title page] to facilitate the double-anonymous review process.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
Plagiarism screening before peer review using similarity detection software. Model summary
Plagiarism is when you use someone else’s work (book, article, website, etc.) or idea without acknowledging them as the source, whether it be copied verbatim or paraphrased. Manuscripts submitted online will be screened for potential plagiarism before peer review using similarity detection software. All cases of suspected or alleged plagiarism are considered very seriously in accordance with the j…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Self-archiving
Authors must suggest three potential reviewers. Model summary
You may archive the final published version of your article in personal or institutional repositories immediately after publication. Self-archiving prior to publication is not permitted and may result in the withdrawal of a submission or accepted manuscript. See Preprints, digital archiving and preservation policy for more information.
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
- National Research Foundation
- Country or region
- SOUTH AFRICA
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1903
- ISSN
- 0038-2353
- Electronic ISSN
- 1996-7489
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 122, Issue 7 (2026)
- Official links
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about South African Journal of Science
What CAS zone is South African Journal of Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, South African Journal of Science is in Zone 4 of Multidisciplinary, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Multidisciplinary Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Multidisciplinary. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of South African Journal of Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.68; CiteScore 3.2, h-index 81.
How long does peer review take at South African Journal of Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 81 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 187 days (interquartile range 50–286 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 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 South African Journal of Science?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Reference style: Vancouver; 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 South African Journal of Science based?
Of the 26 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (21), United Kingdom (3) and United States (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index South African Journal of Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, South African Journal of Science is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is South African Journal of Science open access, and what is the APC?
South African Journal of Science 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .