Microbiology moving to Subscribe to Open model for 2027

Following the success of our Subscribe to Open (S2O) model on the Journal of General Virology and the Journal of Medical Microbiology, the Microbiology Society will be moving Microbiology to an S2O model from 2027 to support continued Open Access (OA) in a sustainable way. Under S2O, subscriptions enable the journal’s fully OA status—provided there are sufficient subscriptions, the content of that year will be published OA for all to access.  

Operating on a traditional subscription model until the start of 2023, Microbiology’s move to S2O in 2027 offers a stable model to enable the title to remain OA without relying on article processing charges (APCs) alone, supporting increased usage of Society content worldwide whilst protecting the journal’s viability into the future.  

The Microbiology Society is a membership charity and not-for-profit publisher. Submissions to our titles support our community—income from our journals is reinvested back into our activities, ensuring that we continue to provide events, grants and professional development for microbiologists at all career stages.  

Why S2O?  

S2O is designed to support the sustainable transition to OA through the regular renewals process with no additional costs for subscribers. Researchers at subscribing institutions have read access as well as unlimited OA publishing in that title.  

Under the Microbiology Society’s S2O model, authors not covered by an institutional agreement (S2O subscription or Publish and Read agreement) will be required to pay an article processing charge (APC), unless covered by our inclusivity policy. 

Check if your institution has an agreement with us and which journals are included on our institutional agreements page. 

About Microbiology 

Bringing together scientists from all microbiological disciplines, Microbiology publishes high-quality original research and reviews on bacteria, fungi, yeast, protists, archaea, algae, parasites, phages and other microscopic life forms. Key topics include: 

• Antimicrobials and Antimicrobial Resistance

• Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology 

• Ecology and Microbiomes 

• Microbial Cell Surfaces 

• Microbial Evolution 

• Microbial Infection, Virulence and Pathogenesis 

• Regulation, Sensing and Signalling 

Find out more about the journal on the Microbiology webpage.