Publication Guide
Higher Education Press (HEP) is one of China's largest and oldest academic publishers, founded in 1954 and headquartered in Beijing. It operates under China Education Publishing & Media Group and is supervised by China's Ministry of Education. While HEP is best known domestically for university textbooks, international researchers encounter it mainly through its English-language journal program: roughly 60+ academic journals led by the Frontiers series (Frontiers of Physics, Frontiers of Computer Science, Frontiers of Medicine, and about two dozen sibling titles), spanning science, engineering, medicine, agriculture, and the humanities and social sciences.
One point of naming confusion to clear up immediately: HEP's "Frontiers of ..." / "Frontiers in ..." journals are completely unrelated to Frontiers Media SA, the Swiss open-access publisher of "Frontiers in Psychology" and similar titles. HEP's Frontiers series was launched in the mid-2000s as China's flagship English-language journal program, and for many years most titles were co-published and distributed internationally with Springer Nature. That arrangement has wound down in recent years, and flagship titles such as Frontiers of Physics and Frontiers of Medicine are now published on HEP's own journal platform (journal.hep.com.cn).
Which Higher Education Press journal fits your paper?
| You're most likely to... | Choose this route |
|---|---|
| Publish computer science or AI research in an established, Scopus/WoS-indexed venue | Frontiers of Computer Science - one of the strongest HEP titles by citation metrics. |
| Publish civil, structural, or mechanical engineering work | Frontiers of Structural and Civil Engineering or Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering. |
| Publish energy or power-systems research | Frontiers in Energy - HEP's energy-science title. |
| Publish agriculture or food-systems research with no publication fee | Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering - a sponsored, fully open-access title. |
| Publish materials or photonics research | Frontiers of Materials Science or Frontiers of Optoelectronics. |
| Publish mathematics | Frontiers of Mathematics in China. |
| Publish humanities or social-science research on China | Frontiers of History in China, Frontiers of Philosophy in China, and related HSS titles. |
What Higher Education Press actually publishes
- The Frontiers series - around two dozen English-language, peer-reviewed titles across physics, medicine, computer science, engineering, environmental science, agriculture, mathematics, economics, law, history, and philosophy. Most are sponsored by leading Chinese universities and the Chinese Academy of Engineering or Chinese Academy of Sciences.
- Co-published and partner titles - HEP has co-founded or co-published well-known titles such as Engineering (with the Chinese Academy of Engineering) and Protein & Cell; hosting and distribution arrangements for several of these have changed over the years, so check each journal's page for its current publisher of record.
- Chinese-language journals and textbooks - the core of HEP's domestic business, including national flagship textbooks for higher education.
Open access and APCs
HEP lists 12 fully open-access journals on its platform, including Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering and Quantitative Biology, published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. Most other Frontiers titles follow a subscription or hybrid model.
| Route | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fully open access (12 titles) | Varies - several sponsored titles charge no APC | Funded largely by Chinese universities and academies; articles are CC BY |
| Hybrid OA on subscription titles | Varies by journal | Optional OA for individual articles; check the journal's author guidelines |
| Subscription (non-OA) | Free to publish | Green self-archiving of the accepted manuscript is permitted |
HEP does not publish a single consolidated APC price list, and fees differ significantly between titles - always check the current fee information on the journal's own page before submitting. Waivers are available on request for many titles. HEP has only limited participation in transformative (Read & Publish) agreements.
Peer review
HEP journals use single-anonymized peer review as the default model. Editorial boards are typically internationally mixed, anchored by the sponsoring Chinese university or academy. First-decision times vary by title, commonly in the range of two to four months; check recent author-facing statistics on each journal's homepage.
How to submit
- Pick the journal from the portfolio on journal.hep.com.cn or via the SciSpace journal pages linked above.
- Read the Guide for Authors - each title has its own scope statement, formatting rules, and fee information.
- Prepare your manuscript. English titles generally follow Vancouver-style referencing; Chinese-language titles follow the GB/T 7714-2015 national standard. SciSpace templates handle both.
- Submit through the journal's system. Flagship Frontiers titles (e.g., Frontiers of Physics, Frontiers of Medicine) use ScholarOne Manuscripts (ManuscriptCentral); some titles use HEP's own portal - the journal homepage links the correct system.
- Track your submission through the same system; queries go to the title's editorial office.
Ethics and integrity
HEP is a COPE member, and its journals state adherence to COPE guidelines on misconduct, retractions, and authorship. As a state-owned publisher operating under the Ministry of Education, HEP is an established, legitimate publisher; its titles are not associated with predatory-publishing concerns. As always, verify a specific journal's indexing status in Scopus or the Web of Science Master Journal List before submission.
