Applications Now Open for Supporting Open Access Research (SOAR) 2024 Fund

The UMass Amherst Libraries are accepting applications for the Supporting Open Access Research (SOAR) Fund. The deadline for Round 1 applications is October 6, 2023; Round 2 applications are due April 19th, 2024. This year, Nandita Mani, Dean of Libraries, increased the fund to $25,000 based on historical use and current trends in scholarly publishing, making the 2023-24 maximum award $1,900, an increase of $700. For full details on eligibility requirements, award determination criteria, and the application form, visit the SOAR Fund guide.

The SOAR Fund was established by the Libraries in 2014 to support open access (OA) publication of journal articles, books, and book chapters in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Faculty, staff, and students who are the corresponding author of an open access publication listed above are invited to apply for funding to cover their publisher’s author processing charge (APC).

The Libraries are committed to open scholarship. Over the 2023 academic year, 16 awards were granted to authors representing 14 departments. A bibliography provides links to funded works since SOAR’s inception.