Earlier this year, Washington University Libraries and Bernard Becker Medical Library signed a four-year (2024-2027) transformative Open Access (OA) agreement with Elsevier that provides access to additional journal content, makes it free to read and share, and offers WashU authors waivers and discounts for OA publishing.
Under the agreement, WashU corresponding authors are eligible for waivers and discounts on Article Processing Charges (APCs) for OA articles in over 2,500 Elsevier journals. A full list of eligible Elsevier journals under the agreement is available in the Elsevier Journal Finder List for WashU. Note that some journals published by societal/professional organizations are not covered under the agreement.
As of October 2024, APC waivers remain for WashU corresponding authors in Hybrid journals that publish both OA and non-OA articles including Hybrid Cell Press journals. The table below displays the tally of remaining waivers and discounts applicable for journal articles accepted for publication in 2024.
Journals with APC Waivers
| Elsevier Journal Bundle | APC Waivers Remaining for 2024 |
| Hybrid | 354 |
| Hybrid Cell Press | 38 |
The agreement also provides APC discounts for fully OA or Gold journals including Gold Cell Press and Gold Lancet journals.
Journals with APC Discounts
| Elsevier Journal Bundle | APC Discounts for 2024 |
| Gold | 25% |
| Gold Cell Press and Lancet | 10% |
If you published an article in an Elsevier journal that was accepted for publication in 2024 and did not receive the option to publish under an OA license, please reach out to Cathy Sarli or Amy Suiter. If the journal is under the agreement, Elsevier will allow WashU corresponding authors the opportunity to retroactively publish the work under an Open Access license, with a waiver or discount of the APCs.
If you are working on manuscripts not yet submitted for peer review and want to publish under an OA license without paying APCs, consider a Hybrid Elsevier journal for 2024 or next year. In 2025, 455 waivers will be available for Hybrid Elsevier journals and 62 waivers for Hybrid Cell Press journals. The available discount on Gold journals and Gold Cell Press and Lancet journals remains the same in 2025.
For more information, see: Open Access: Elsevier APC Waivers and Discounts for WashU Authors.