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Waivers and Discounts from Elsevier Journals for WashU Corresponding Authors 

Published October 31, 2024, via Research News

Earlier this year, Washington University Libraries and Bernard Becker Medical Library signed a four-year (2024 – 2027) transformative Open Access 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 Open Access publishing.

Under the agreement, WashU Corresponding Authors are eligible for waivers and discounts on Article Processing Charges (APCs) for Open Access 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, there are remaining APC waivers for Hybrid journals including Hybrid Cell Press journals. In addition, there are APC discounts for Gold journals including Gold Cell Press and Gold Lancet journals. The tables below display the tally of remaining waivers and discounts applicable for journal articles accepted for publication in 2024.

Journals with APC Waivers

Elsevier Journal BundleAPC Waivers Remaining for 2024
Hybrid351
Hybrid Cell Press38
Current as of October 25, 2024

Journals with APC Discounts

Elsevier Journal BundleAPC Discounts for 2024
Gold25%
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 Open Access 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 Open Access license without paying APCs, consider a Hybrid Elsevier journal for 2024 or next year. As of 2025, there are 455 waivers for Hybrid Elsevier journals and 62 waivers for Hybrid Cell Press journals.

For more information, see Open Access: Elsevier APC Waivers and Discounts for WashU Authors.