About the Journal

Vision

To publish and promote the widest diversity of excellent South African research for the local and global academic community and inform policymakers and the public.

Mission

The South African Journal of Science is an open access, multidisciplinary journal published bimonthly by the Academy of Science of South Africa. Its objective is to promote the visibility and impact of South African and African research by publishing high-quality original research from Africa or on African-relevant issues that will be of interest to readers in any discipline and for the benefit of scholars, educators, the general public and policymakers. It also provides a forum for discussion of news and developments in research and higher education.

In order to be considered, submissions from countries outside South Africa must show relevance or application beyond an immediate local context – they must have clear relevance or application more broadly on the continent. 

Style

As a consequence of the multidisciplinary and wide readership, authors are requested to write their manuscripts in a manner and style that is intelligible to specialists and non-specialists alike. Research contributions, which are peer reviewed, are of three kinds: Review Articles, Research Articles and Research Letters. Details can be found in the guidelines to authors. The front section of the Journal covers news, news features, book reviews, obituaries, commentaries, and news and views articles. These contributions are not peer reviewed, and potential authors are encouraged to liaise with the Editor-in-Chief before submitting work of this nature to the Journal.

History

The South African Journal of Science was established in 1903 as the Proceedings of the Annual Meetings of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science. The annual volume became a monthly publication in August 1947. Since 1973, the Journal has in turn had a close association with Macmillan Journals in London (the then publisher of Nature), the Associated Scientific and Technical Societies of South Africa (AS&TS), the Foundation for Education, Science and Technology, and the National Research Foundation. The Academy of Science of South Africa became the title owner and publisher in 2002.

Publication frequency

The South African Journal of Science is published six times a year. 

eISSN

The electronic international standard serial number (eISSN) is 1996-7489.

The abbreviated title is S. Afr. J. Sci.

Rejection rate

The 2023 rejection rate was 95%.

Impact factor

Journal Impact Factor™ from Clarivate™ 2022 = 2.4 [released in 2023]
CiteScore™ from Elsevier™ 2023 = 3.2 [released in 2024]