Open Access Publishing Support

Indiana University authors are eligible for a 10% discount when publishing with MDPI. MDPI is a publisher of open access scientific journals, meaning that all research outputs are openly licensed and disseminated without barriers, financial or otherwise. Open access publishing is sometimes accompanied with an article processing charge, or APC, which helps offset publishing costs traditionally covered by subscription fees.

For those interested in publishing with MDPI, the following provides a walkthrough of their submission process, including when and how to apply your IU-affiliated APC discount. 

MDPI’s open access program grants free access to their Submission System (SuSy). New users must register with their IU email. Once registered and logged in, researchers can submit a manuscript for publication following MDPI’s 5-step submission process.

Steps 1 and 2 include inputting manuscript and author information, respectively. Authors can suggest three peer reviewers in Step 3 and upload their manuscript in either a Word or ZIP file format in Step 4. Step 5 completes the process and sends a confirmation to the journal’s editors. It is here where authors will be prompted to designate their IOAP partnership and any applicable discounts. Authors will be provided with a drop-down box where they can select IU as their institution and receive the discount.

Sample drop-down menu of IOAP partner institutions

Once Indiana University is selected, the APC discount will be automatically processed. IU’s partnership with MDPI is non-centralized, so the remaining APC will be invoiced directly to the author. For further questions regarding APCs, the IOAP partnership, or publishing with MDPI, see MDPI’s IOAP FAQ page or contact iusw@indiana.edu.