Research Tools

Read & Publish Agreement: Springer Nature

Sultan Qaboos University’s agreement with Springer Nature enables eligible SQU authors to publish open access in hybrid journals with fees covered, while also benefiting from access to Springer Nature subscription content.

Agreement Overview

What the Agreement Covers

If you are a corresponding author affiliated with Sultan Qaboos University, you can publish your article open access with fees covered in hybrid journals across the Springer Nature portfolio.

  • Open access publishing in eligible hybrid journals with covered fees.
  • Access to subscription content from Springer, Adis, Palgrave Macmillan, and Academic Journals.
  • Support for wider visibility and dissemination of SQU research outputs.
Eligible Journals

Covered Platforms

The agreement covers open access publications in Springer, Palgrave & Adis journals on Springer Nature Link, and Academic Journals on Nature.com.

Springer
Palgrave Macmillan
Adis
Nature Academic Journals
Eligibility

Who Can Receive Support

  • The manuscript must be published in a First Quartile (Q1) journal indexed in Scopus.
  • Only original research articles and review papers are eligible for funding under the SQU support criteria.
  • Funding is limited to SQU-affiliated corresponding authors as indicated in the published paper.
  • If the corresponding author is not affiliated with SQU, the first author must be an SQU affiliate.
  • Support is granted only to SQU staff members or officially registered SQU students at the time of application.
  • Applicants must complete and update their Scopus research profile and ensure Sultan Qaboos University is correctly listed as the institutional affiliation.
Funding Conditions

Important Requirements

  • The SQU affiliation must be stated clearly and exclusively in the published paper.
  • Papers with dual or multiple institutional affiliations for the SQU author are not eligible.
  • Each eligible SQU author may apply for APC support for a maximum of one paper per funding cycle.
  • Submission of the application is treated as a declaration that no financial support or compensation has been received from any other funding source within the University for the same publication.
Article Types

Covered and Supported Types

Springer Nature’s agreement information lists several covered article types, while the SQU funding page narrows local support to original research articles and review papers.

  • Publisher-side agreement examples: Original Paper, Review Paper, Brief Communication, Continuing Education.
  • SQU funding support on this page: Original research articles and review papers only.
Author Help

Guidance and Approval

  • On submission, authors should use an eligible institutional recognition method and provide their institutional affiliation upon acceptance.
  • Eligibility is approved by the institution’s approval manager based on institutional affiliation, article type, and journal name.
  • After approval, the author is notified by email and the article proceeds to publication.
Useful Links

Official Resources

Springer Nature agreement page
Eligible journals list
Author guide
Springer Nature support
Notice to Researchers

Additional Pilot Initiative

In addition to the university’s agreement with Springer Nature, there is a pilot initiative for publishing in selected Springer Nature open access journals.

This initiative applies to only 64 journals, and researchers from the Sultanate of Oman receive a 25% discount on publication fees in these journals only, as part of the open access service.

More information about the pilot initiative

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