Article Processing Charge (APC) Waiver Policy

1. General Provisions

The scientific journal Environment & Health is committed to making scholarly publishing accessible to early-career researchers and ensuring transparent conditions for waiving charges associated with the editorial processing, production, and publication of scholarly articles.

In accordance with the journal's editorial policy and taking into account Criterion No. 6 of Annex 4 to the Procedure for Establishing the List of Professional Scientific Publications of Ukraine, approved by Order No. 56 of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated 19 January 2026, the journal provides a full waiver of all charges for the processing, peer review, and publication of sole-authored articles submitted by third-cycle (PhD) students enrolled in state-funded doctoral programmes.

The waiver applies to the entire editorial evaluation and publication process for eligible articles and involves no hidden or additional mandatory charges.

2. Eligibility for an APC Waiver

A full APC waiver is granted when all three of the following conditions are met:

  1. The author is enrolled in the third cycle of higher education (doctoral/PhD level) and is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree.
  2. The author is enrolled in a state-funded doctoral programme.
  3. The scholarly article has been prepared and submitted by the author alone, without co-authors.

Eligibility for the waiver is determined by the author's status on the date of initial manuscript submission to the journal.

The waiver applies regardless of the author's institutional affiliation, academic discipline, research topic within the journal's aims and scope, or manuscript language.

Article processing charge for eligible authors: UAH 0.

If any of the above conditions is not met, the standard or reduced APC rates established by the journal's editorial policy apply, as specified on the Article Processing Charges page.

3. Required Supporting Documentation

To confirm eligibility for an APC waiver, the author must provide the following documents:

1. Certificate of Enrollment

An official certificate issued by the higher education institution or research institution confirming:

  • Enrollment in the third cycle of higher education (doctoral/PhD level).
  • Participation in a state-funded doctoral programme.
  • The author's current enrollment status on the date of manuscript submission.

The certificate must contain the necessary institutional details and be duly issued.

An electronic document bearing a qualified electronic signature is acceptable.

2. Declaration of Sole Authorship

Confirmation of sole authorship may be included in the Cover Letter or submitted as a separate declaration.

The author must confirm that they are the sole author of the article and that authorship has been determined in accordance with the ICMJE authorship criteria.

The editorial office may request clarification where the submitted documentation is insufficient to establish eligibility for the waiver.

Supporting documents are used exclusively to verify eligibility for the APC waiver and are not published with the article.

4. APC Waiver Application Procedure

  1. The author submits the manuscript through the journal's Open Journal Systems (OJS) submission platform in accordance with the journal's general submission requirements.
  2. During submission, the author informs the editorial office of their eligibility for an APC waiver and uploads the supporting documents as separate files accessible only to the editorial office.
  3. If uploading the documents through OJS is not technically possible, they may be sent to environ.and.health@health.gov.ua, indicating the manuscript title and identification number.
  4. The editorial office verifies whether the author meets the established eligibility criteria.
  5. The manuscript undergoes the standard procedures of initial editorial screening and independent scientific peer review.
  6. If the article is accepted for publication and eligibility for the waiver has been confirmed, no APC will be assessed or collected.

Where eligibility has been confirmed, the author is not required to pay for editorial and production services, DOI assignment, or publication of the article.

5. Independence of Editorial Decisions

An APC waiver does not influence the scientific evaluation of a manuscript and does not guarantee acceptance for publication.

All manuscripts submitted by authors eligible for an APC waiver are evaluated under the journal's standard editorial procedures and policies.

In particular:

  • Initial editorial screening is conducted to assess the manuscript's alignment with the journal's aims and scope and its compliance with scientific requirements.
  • Independent double-blind peer review is applied.
  • Decisions to accept, request revisions to, or reject a manuscript are based exclusively on its scientific quality, methodological rigor, reliability of findings, and compliance with the journal's editorial requirements.

Financial arrangements, including APC waivers, do not influence reviewer selection, peer review outcomes, or final editorial decisions.

Further information: Peer Review Process.

6. Contact Information

Authors seeking clarification regarding their eligibility for an APC waiver may contact the journal's Editorial Office.

Email: environ.and.health@health.gov.ua

Editorial Office Contact Information

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