Publication Guide
The Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) is the definitive scholarly society for mathematical statistics and probability. Founded in 1935 and headquartered in the Greater Cleveland area of Ohio, the IMS has roughly 4,000 members worldwide and publishes some of the most rigorous journals in the mathematical sciences: the four Annals titles, Statistical Science, and a family of co-sponsored, fully open-access electronic journals. Journal content is hosted on Project Euclid, a Duke University Press initiative.
IMS publishing works very differently from the big commercial houses. There are no article processing charges on IMS-run titles - publishing is subsidized by the society - and authors are actively encouraged to post their papers on arXiv. This guide covers the journal portfolio, open-access routes, peer review, and how to submit.
Which IMS journal fits your paper?
The IMS portfolio is deliberately compact: every title serves statistics or probability, but they differ sharply in scope, selectivity, and access model. Use the table below to choose the right venue.
| You're most likely to... | Choose this route |
|---|---|
| Have a theoretical statistics result of broad importance | Annals of Statistics - the flagship for mathematical statistics; extremely selective, rigorous mathematical review. |
| Have a core probability-theory result | Annals of Probability - the flagship for probability theory and its foundations. |
| Apply statistics to a substantive scientific problem | Annals of Applied Statistics - founded 2007 for methodological work driven by real applications in science, policy, and industry. |
| Work on applied probability, stochastic models, or their analysis | Annals of Applied Probability - stochastic modelling, mathematical finance, applied stochastic processes. |
| Write a review, synthesis, or discussion piece | Statistical Science - expository and review articles, interviews, and cross-disciplinary discussions. |
| Want a rigorous, fully open-access venue with no fees | Electronic Journal of Statistics or Electronic Journal of Probability - co-sponsored diamond-OA titles: free to publish, free to read. |
| Work at the interface of probability and mathematical statistics with a European community | Bernoulli - published with support of the IMS on behalf of the Bernoulli Society. |
What the IMS actually publishes
Around 10 core journals, plus a bulletin and monograph series:
- Owned journals (5) - Annals of Statistics, Annals of Probability, Annals of Applied Statistics, Annals of Applied Probability, and Statistical Science.
- Co-sponsored journals - Electronic Journal of Statistics, Electronic Journal of Probability, Electronic Communications in Probability, Probability Surveys, Statistics Surveys, and (jointly with the American Statistical Association) the Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics.
- Supported and affiliated journals - Bernoulli, Bayesian Analysis, Brazilian Journal of Probability and Statistics, ALEA, Annales de l'Institut Henri Poincare, Stochastic Systems, and others.
- Books and series - IMS Monographs and Textbooks (with Cambridge University Press), Lecture Notes-Monograph Series, and the members' IMS Bulletin.
Open access and fees
The IMS model is unusually author-friendly: there are no APCs on IMS-run titles. The routes:
| Route | What it means | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond OA (co-sponsored electronic journals) | EJS, EJP, ECP, Probability Surveys, Statistics Surveys, and supported titles like Bayesian Analysis are fully open access on Project Euclid | $0 to authors and readers |
| Subscription (the Annals, Statistical Science, Bernoulli) | Access via institutional or IMS member subscriptions on Project Euclid; selected articles appear as open access | $0 to publish |
| Green OA (arXiv) | The IMS explicitly encourages authors to post their articles on arXiv; check the copyright transfer agreement for the version allowed | $0 |
The IMS does not run transformative (Read & Publish) agreements; because publishing is free for authors, funder OA mandates are usually satisfied through the arXiv route or the diamond-OA titles. If your funder requires a specific license (e.g., CC BY on the version of record), confirm options with the journal's editorial office before submitting.
Peer review process
- Model: single-anonymized review is the norm across IMS journals - referees know the authors, authors do not know the referees.
- Depth: reviews are mathematical and detailed; referees are expected to check proofs, not just plausibility.
- Turnaround: expect several months to first decision at the Annals; the electronic journals are often somewhat faster, but no IMS title is a quick-turnaround venue.
- Discussion papers: Statistical Science and some Annals papers include invited discussions and rejoinders.
How to submit
- Pick the journal. Match the mathematical depth and scope of your paper to the table above.
- Prepare the manuscript. IMS journals use the
imsartLaTeX class with IMS author-year citation style; templates are available on SciSpace. - Submit via EJMS. IMS-owned journals use the IMS Electronic Journal Management System at e-publications.org - register once and submit a PDF. Co-sponsored titles such as JCGS use their own systems.
- Post to arXiv. Encouraged at any stage; most of the community reads working papers there.
- Respond to referees. Revision rounds at the Annals are substantive; budget time for them.
Ethics and integrity
The IMS is a non-profit membership society; the catalog lists it as a COPE member, and its journals follow standard scholarly-ethics expectations: submissions must be original, not under consideration elsewhere, and approved by all co-authors. Retractions and corrections are handled by the editors on Project Euclid. There are no paid-publication shortcuts - acceptance is determined solely by peer review.
