Last Updated on August 21, 2026 by Dr. Bhagat
Updated August 2026. iScience has a 2025 Journal Impact Factor of 4.5 in the 2026 Journal Citation Reports cycle. It is a Q1 Multidisciplinary Sciences journal indexed in SCIE. This guide combines the corrected Impact Factor history with current Cell Press information, open-access pricing, scope and submission guidance.
iScience metrics at a glance
| 2025 Journal Impact Factor | 4.5 |
| JCR category / quartile | Multidisciplinary Sciences / Q1 |
| Web of Science edition | Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) |
| Total citations in supplied 2025 JCR data | 57,379 |
| CiteScore shown by ScienceDirect | 7.4 |
| Publishing model | Fully open access |
| Current APC | US$3,240, excluding taxes |
| Publisher | Cell Press, an Elsevier imprint |
| Online ISSN | 2589-0042 |
Impact Factor and CiteScore use different citation databases and windows, so the values should not be treated as interchangeable. The APC and CiteScore above are displayed on the official ScienceDirect journal-insights page.
What is the iScience Impact Factor for 2025?
The iScience Journal Impact Factor for 2025 is 4.5. The value belongs to the 2025 citation year and appears in the 2026 JCR release. It is a journal-level citation ratio, not a prediction for one paper or a substitute for reading the research.
iScience Impact Factor history
| Impact Factor year | Journal Impact Factor |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Not applicable — journal not yet launched |
| 2018 | No JIF reported — journal launched in 2018 |
| 2019 | 4.447 |
| 2020 | 5.458 |
| 2021 | 6.107 |
| 2022 | 5.8 |
| 2023 | 4.6 |
| 2024 | 4.1 |
| 2025 | 4.5 |
iScience launched in 2018, so there is no valid 2017 JIF and no JIF is reported for its launch year. Its first reported JIF was 4.447 for 2019. The value peaked at 6.107 in 2021, moved down in the following years and increased from 4.1 in 2024 to 4.5 in 2025. These movements describe journal-level citation patterns and should not be interpreted as the quality trajectory of every paper.
About iScience
iScience is a multidisciplinary, fully open-access journal from Cell Press. It publishes research across the life, physical, Earth and health sciences, including interdisciplinary work that connects methods or concepts across fields. Authors should check the current aims page carefully because the journal can revise areas it considers in or out of scope.
- Biological and biomedical sciences
- Chemistry, physics and materials science
- Earth, environmental and energy research
- Engineering and technology
- Computational and data-intensive research
- Interdisciplinary studies with a clear scientific advance
Q1 status and indexing
iScience is Q1 in Multidisciplinary Sciences and indexed in SCIE. The journal is also covered by Scopus and the Directory of Open Access Journals. Its online ISSN is 2589-0042. Quartile status is category-specific and should not be used as a universal ranking across unrelated fields.
Open access and APC
iScience is fully open access. ScienceDirect currently lists an Article Publishing Charge of US$3,240 excluding taxes. Elsevier may apply institutional agreements or other arrangements during submission, and charges can change. Authors should recheck the official publishing-options and insights pages before submitting.
The APC is a publication charge after acceptance; it does not buy acceptance or influence the independent editorial and peer-review process.
Article types
The official author information identifies the Research Article as the full-length format for original research. The journal also publishes review and commentary formats selected for their relevance to its multidisciplinary readership. Format requirements can change, so authors should use the current article-type page rather than copying limits from older third-party summaries.
How to prepare an iScience submission
- Read the current aims and scope and confirm that the subject has not been excluded by a recent policy update.
- State the principal finding and its disciplinary or interdisciplinary relevance clearly.
- Support each conclusion with suitable controls, sample sizes and transparent analysis.
- Prepare detailed methods and follow Cell Press reporting standards where applicable.
- Deposit data and code in recognized repositories and provide stable accession details.
- Disclose competing interests, preprints, related submissions, funding and author contributions.
- Verify the latest APC, licence and institutional agreement on the official publisher pages.
Review time and acceptance rate
Processing-time values on publisher dashboards can change as the underlying period is updated. Authors should consult the live ScienceDirect insights page for the current submission-to-decision and submission-to-acceptance figures rather than relying on an undated number copied elsewhere.
Cell Press does not publish a dependable current acceptance-rate percentage for iScience on the main public page. This guide therefore does not present a third-party estimate as official. Scientific fit, evidence quality, reporting and editor or reviewer assessment determine the outcome.
Frequently asked questions
What is the latest iScience Impact Factor?
The 2025 JIF is 4.5 in the 2026 JCR release.
Is iScience Q1?
Yes. It is Q1 in Multidisciplinary Sciences.
Is iScience open access?
Yes. It is a fully open-access Cell Press journal.
Who publishes iScience?
iScience is published by Cell Press, an Elsevier imprint.
Sources and data notes
- iScience official journal page and current JIF
- Official aims and scope
- Official information for authors
- Official article types
- Official publishing options
- ScienceDirect journal insights and APC
- Clarivate Journal Citation Reports
Data checked: 22 August 2026. Policies, fees and dashboard metrics can change; verify the official pages before submission.
