Journal profile · History & Philosophy Of Science
Synthese
ISSN 0039-7857 · eISSN 1573-0964 · Springer Netherlands · NETHERLANDS · Monthly · Founded 1936
Synthese: CAS Zone 2 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 1.45; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,190; median 255 days to acceptance (134 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 544 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI, AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Synthese is published by Springer Netherlands and is in Zone 2 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Philosophy and History of Science, Philosophy and Theoretical Science and Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics, together about 49.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cognitive Neuroscience. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Synthese is a philosophy journal focusing on contemporary issues in epistemology, philosophy of science, and related fields. More specifically, we divide our areas of interest into four groups: (1) epistemology, methodology, and philosophy of science, all broadly understood. (2) The foundations of logic and mathematics, where ‘logic’, ‘mathematics’, and ‘foundations’ are all broadly understood. (3) Formal methods in philosophy, including methods connecting philosophy to other academic fields. (4) Issues in ethics and the history and sociology of logic, mathematics, and science that contribute to the contemporary studies Synthese focuses on, as described in (1)-(3) above. In order to be considered in Synthese, manuscripts need to engage in detail with and contribute substantially to the relevant current philosophical literature. Authors should make clear how their work goes beyond what has already been done in the relevant field. Information about submitting a Topical Collection proposal: https://www.springer.com/journal/11229/updates/18043866
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): History & Philosophy Of Science
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 4%); most named United States 10, United Kingdom 4, Germany 3, France 2, Netherlands 2 (27 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Philosophy and History of ScienceArts and Humanities17%
- Philosophy and Theoretical SciencePsychology16.6%
- Epistemology, Ethics, and MetaphysicsArts and Humanities15.9%
- Logic, Reasoning, and KnowledgeComputer Science6.4%
- Quantum Mechanics and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy3.7%
- Embodied and Extended CognitionNeuroscience3.5%
- Psychology of Moral and Emotional JudgmentNeuroscience3.2%
- Philosophical Ethics and TheoryArts and Humanities3.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Philosophy | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIAHCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
zbMATHDBLPERIH PLUSCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
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
- 1.45LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.88LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.51LetPub ·
- h-index
- 54LetPub ·
- h-index
- 166OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,121OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.67OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 13.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 62.61%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 535LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 2,300,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 11,205 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 434 | 292 | 86 |
| 2025 | 544 | 413 | 782 |
| 2024 | 397 | 321 | 1,434 |
| 2023 | 436 | 343 | 2,737 |
| 2022 | 539 | 368 | 4,301 |
| 2021 | 498 | 328 | 5,935 |
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
255 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 195 days – 349 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 26 days (135 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 282 days
- Sample
- 134 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,037 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 1 monthLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Open 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 3,190 / EUR 2,590 / GBP 2,290 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers3, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- APA
- Not considered
- survey articles; brief discussion notes
Article types accepted1
- editorialDouble-blind peer review This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout p…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Synthese, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Taxonomy
Double-blind peer review; authors must anonymize manuscripts and materials. Model summary
Synthese and Springer Nature are participating in a pilot of NISO/STM's Working Group on Peer Review Terminology. The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and STM, the International Association of Scientific, Technology and Medical Publishers have recognized a need to identify and standardize definitions and terminology in peer review practices in order to help align nomenclature as …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Important note: the journal may use software to screen for plagiarism.
• Authors should make sure they have permissions for the use of software, questionnaires/(web) surveys and scales in their studies (if appropriate).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as “A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to ass…
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
- Springer Netherlands
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1936
- ISSN
- 0039-7857
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-0964
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Synthese
What CAS zone is Synthese in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Synthese is in Zone 2 of Philosophy, and in Zone 2 of the minor category History & Philosophy Of Science / Philosophy; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Synthese?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.45; CiteScore 2.4, h-index 166.
How long does peer review take at Synthese?
Based on the dates recorded on 134 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 255 days (interquartile range 195–349 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month; 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 Synthese?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: APA. 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 Synthese based?
Of the 27 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (10), United Kingdom (4) and Germany (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Synthese?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Synthese is indexed in SCIE, SSCI, AHCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists zbMATH, DBLP, ERIH PLUS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Synthese open access, and what is the APC?
Synthese is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,190.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .