Description
The School of Social Sciences Open Access (OA) Publication Grants are intended to increase the visibility and accessibility of School of Social Sciences faculty research by helping defray open-access publication fees. Recipients of a SoSS OA Publication Grant are expected to upload the published version of each funded article to the Rice Digital Scholarship Archive, Rice’s open-access digital archive of scholarly work created by the Rice community.
The SoSS OA Publication Grant may not be used for journals covered by Fondren Library’s “read and publish” agreements, which already cover eligible author fees. Applicants should review Fondren Library’s Transformative Agreement guidance before applying: https://libguides.rice.edu/c.php?g=45224&p=10112397.
Eligibility
Applicants must be full-time Rice University tenured or tenure-track faculty members in the School of Social Sciences. Students are not eligible to apply. The applicant must be the lead or senior author, defined as the person most responsible for the work. The research presented in the publication must have been conducted at Rice University, although co-authors may be affiliated with other institutions. Faculty members may receive no more than one SoSS Open Access Publication Grant per SSRI funding cycle, which runs from July 1 through June 30.
Application Deadline
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis through June 30, 2027, or until available funds are exhausted.
Award Information
Estimated Number of Awards: 4
Anticipated Funding Amount per Award: Up to $3,000 per publication.
The amount awarded may differ from the amount requested and is subject to available funding.
Review Process
Applications will be reviewed by the Dean of Social Sciences and the Associate Dean for Research. Awards will be made on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to eligibility, publication requirements, and available funding.
Application Procedure
Applicants must submit the completed online SoSS OA Publication Grant application after the article, chapter, or book has been accepted for publication. Incomplete applications will not be considered for funding.
The application must include the following:
- Documentation of publication acceptance
- Documentation of the open-access publication fee or subvention cost
- Any other supporting documents, if applicable
Evaluation Criteria/Publication Requirements
The publication must be published through a reputable journal, press, or publisher. The publication may not be published by a predatory journal or publisher.
The journal, press, or publisher should preferably meet at least one of the following standards:
- Membership in the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association: https://oaspa.org/
- Membership in the Committee on Publication Ethics: https://publicationethics.org/members
- Inclusion in the Directory of Open Access Journals: https://doaj.org/
The publication must not be subject to mandatory embargoes or other restrictions that limit or delay open access to the funded work.
Identifying Predatory Journals or Publishers
Applicants are encouraged to review available guidance on identifying predatory journals and publishers before applying:
- https://blog.stfm.org/2016/05/23/predatory-publisher/
- https://beallslist.net/how-to-recognize-predatory-journals/
Applicants may also contact Rice’s Fondren Library for assistance in assessing whether a publication venue is appropriate: https://library.rice.edu/contact.
Awardee Requirements
Recipients must upload the published version of the funded work to the Rice Digital Scholarship Archive after publication. If the publisher does not permit upload of the published version, recipients should contact Fondren Library for guidance on whether another permissible version may be deposited.