Advanced Science — Journal Profile

Wiley-VCH's interdisciplinary premium open-access flagship — publishing high-impact fundamental and applied research across materials science, physics, chemistry, life sciences, and engineering since 2014.

Overview

Advanced Science (ISO 4 Adv. Sci.; NLM Adv Sci (Weinh); CODEN ASDCCF) is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, fully open-access scientific journal published by Wiley-VCH. Covering fundamental and applied research in materials science, physics and chemistry, medical and life sciences, as well as engineering, it was established in 2014 as the open-access flagship of Wiley's Advanced Portfolio — the model for the portfolio's later expansion into life and health sciences.

The journal selects cutting-edge research through a strict and fair reviewing process and presents it with high production standards, aiming to give top science maximum accessibility in a premium open-access environment. Metric figures in this profile are attributed to the named sources; they are snapshots, not independently verified facts.

History

Advanced Science was launched in 2014 with the stated intention of establishing a publishing platform for authors' top research in a premium open-access environment. It began without an impact factor and without a Web of Science listing — and within about a year it had been accepted for coverage in Thomson Reuters Web of Science, an unusually fast recognition. The first 12 issues drew contributions from leading scientists across materials, chemistry, physics, and bio-related fields, and the journal's early papers were quickly picked up by the media, as reflected in Altmetric attention.

The journal's impact factor rose steeply in its early years — increasing by almost 40% to 12.441 in the 2018 Journal Citation Reports (attributed) — establishing it as one of the highest-impact broad-scope open-access journals. In the years since, the Advanced Portfolio has grown to more than 25 titles, with Advanced Science serving as the philosophical model for the portfolio's expansion: a single-submission, cross-journal editorial model in which professional editors route interdisciplinary manuscripts to the best-fitting title without requiring authors to reformat or restart submission.

Publisher and publication details

• Publisher: Wiley-VCH GmbH, Weinheim (John Wiley & Sons)
• Online ISSN: 2198-3844
• CODEN: ASDCCF
• Frequency: Biweekly (per encyclopedic listing; attributed)
• Language: English
• Launch: 2014
• Access model: Fully open access (gold OA); articles published under open licenses (CC BY)
• Article publication charge: approximately $6,730 USD / £4,480 GBP / €5,640 EUR (per journalsinsights listing; attributed — verify current APC on the live journal page, as charges change)

Editorial leadership

The editor-in-chief is Kirsten Severing (per encyclopedic listing, citing Wiley; attributed — verify on the live masthead). As with the wider Advanced Portfolio, the journal is run by professional editors who evaluate submissions and route manuscripts across the portfolio family. Not publicly disclosed in the sources consulted: the full editorial and advisory board rosters.

Aims and scope

Advanced Science is an interdisciplinary premium open-access journal covering fundamental and applied research in:

• Materials science — synthesis, characterization, and application of advanced materials
• Physics and chemistry — from condensed matter and nanophotonics to chemical biology
• Medical and life sciences — biomedical materials, bioengineering, and translational research
• Engineering — devices, energy systems, and applied technologies

The journal's stated ambition is to publish only research of the highest significance and broad interest — "top science enjoying maximum accessibility" — positioned above the more specialized sister titles of the Advanced family (such as Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, and Advanced Healthcare Materials) while sharing their editorial standards.

Peer review and selectivity

The journal describes its reviewing process as strict and fair. Directory listings attribute an acceptance rate of approximately 20% (attributed — not independently verified), reflecting its selective, high-impact positioning. Professional in-house editors manage peer review, and the portfolio's cross-journal submission model means that strong manuscripts better suited to a sister title can be transferred without reformatting. Detailed review-model specifics (blinding, referee counts, median timelines) were not publicly disclosed in the sources consulted.

Selectivity at this level shapes author strategy. Manuscripts that succeed typically combine a clear conceptual advance with broad relevance: editors look for results that will interest readers outside the authors' immediate subfield, supported by robust evidence and presented with exceptional clarity. Papers that are technically excellent but narrowly specialized are more likely to be redirected to a sister title within the portfolio — a constructive outcome rather than a rejection, since the transfer preserves the manuscript's review history and avoids reformatting. Authors can improve their chances by writing an accessible significance statement, choosing figures that communicate to non-specialists, and citing the interdisciplinary literature their work bridges. The journal's professional editors, rather than academic handling editors, make the initial triage decisions, so framing the paper's broad importance in the cover letter is particularly worthwhile.

Abstracting and indexing

Per encyclopedic and directory listings (attributed), the journal is abstracted and indexed in:

• Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS)
• Current Contents / Physical, Chemical & Earth Sciences
• Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)
• Scopus

Citation metrics (attributed snapshots)

The following figures are reported by the named sources and are explicitly attributed, not independently verified:

• Journal Impact Factor: 14.1 for 2025 (per encyclopedic listing citing the 2025 Journal Citation Reports; earlier attributed values include 15.84 for 2019 and 12.441 for 2018)
• CiteScore: ~18.2 (attributed)
• SJR: ~3.775 (attributed)
• SNIP: ~2.18 (attributed)
• H-index: ~220 (attributed)
• Quartile: Q1 (attributed)

Current-year metrics should always be verified against the live Journal Citation Reports or the journal's Wiley page.

The journal's place in scholarly publishing

Advanced Science pioneered a model that has since become influential: a high-selectivity, broad-scope, fully open-access journal run by professional editors within a coordinated portfolio. It demonstrated that open access and high impact factors could coexist at the top of the materials-and-physics publishing hierarchy — a proposition that was far from obvious in 2014. Its success helped legitimize the portfolio model for interdisciplinary work, where the most interesting research increasingly refuses to fit a single disciplinary journal. For authors, it offers the reach of a multidisciplinary megajournal with the selectivity and production values of a top-tier specialty title; for readers, it is a curated window onto high-significance advances across the physical and life sciences.

Distinguishing similarly named titles

Advanced Science (Wiley-VCH, ISSN 2198-3844, CODEN ASDCCF, launched 2014) should not be confused with Science Advances (AAAS, ISSN 2375-2548, launched 2015) — a different publisher's similarly named open-access multidisciplinary journal — nor with the many "Advanced …" specialty titles in Wiley's own portfolio. The ISSN and publisher imprint uniquely identify this title.

For authors

Authors considering Advanced Science should note: it is a fully open-access journal with an article publication charge (verify the current APC on the live page); it targets research of broad, cross-disciplinary significance rather than incremental specialty advances; review is managed by professional editors with a portfolio-wide transfer network; and the journal's selectivity is high (attributed acceptance rate ~20%). Confirm aims, APCs, and formatting requirements on the live journal page before submitting.

Frequently asked questions

What is Advanced Science?

An interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, fully open-access journal from Wiley-VCH (ISSN 2198-3844), established in 2014, covering materials science, physics, chemistry, life sciences, and engineering.

Who is the editor-in-chief?

Kirsten Severing, per encyclopedic listing (attributed); verify on the live masthead.

Is Advanced Science open access?

Yes — it is a fully open-access (gold OA) journal; authors pay an article publication charge (approximately $6,730 / £4,480 / €5,640 per directory listing, attributed).

What is the impact factor?

Attribution: 14.1 for 2025 per encyclopedic listing citing JCR. Verify current-year figures against live sources.

How is it different from Science Advances?

Different publishers and journals: Advanced Science is published by Wiley-VCH (ISSN 2198-3844, since 2014); Science Advances is published by AAAS (ISSN 2375-2548, since 2015).

What subjects does it publish?

Fundamental and applied research across materials science, physics, chemistry, medical and life sciences, and engineering — with emphasis on work of broad, interdisciplinary significance.

Research threads in depth

Materials science and nanotechnology

Materials research is the journal's largest domain, reflecting its Advanced Portfolio heritage. Contributions span nanomaterials, two-dimensional materials, energy materials (batteries, photovoltaics, fuel cells, thermoelectrics), photonic and plasmonic materials, and bio-inspired materials. The journal's early volumes drew heavily on the Advanced Materials community, and it remains a premier outlet for materials advances with broad significance.

Physics, photonics, and quantum-adjacent research

The journal publishes high-impact physics: condensed matter, nanophotonics and metamaterials, ultrafast phenomena, and device physics. Work at the materials–physics interface — topological materials, quantum materials, strongly correlated systems — finds a natural home here, complementing the portfolio's dedicated quantum title.

Chemistry and chemical engineering

From synthetic chemistry and catalysis to chemical engineering of functional systems, the journal covers molecular design, self-assembly, porous materials, and sustainable chemistry. The emphasis is on chemical advances with demonstrable impact beyond the subdiscipline.

Biomedical and life-science interfaces

The portfolio's expansion into life and health sciences — with new titles such as Advanced Oncology — builds on Advanced Science's long-standing biomedical coverage: biomaterials, drug delivery, diagnostics, tissue engineering, and bioelectronics. Translational and clinically relevant advances are particularly valued.

Energy and sustainability

Energy conversion and storage, carbon management, and sustainable technologies form a major applied thread, connecting materials innovation with the global energy transition. The journal's broad scope lets energy papers reach readers across physics, chemistry, and engineering simultaneously.

Editorial policies and publishing standards

Wiley applies its standard ethics framework to the journal: authorship and contributorship criteria, plagiarism and image-integrity screening, conflict-of-interest disclosure, and data-availability expectations. As a fully open-access title, all articles are published under open licenses (CC BY), maximizing reuse. Professional in-house editors manage peer review and the portfolio's cross-journal transfer network. Authors should confirm current policies — including preprint compatibility and data-sharing mandates — in the live author guidelines.

Author guidance: preparing a submission

Advanced Science targets work of broad, cross-disciplinary significance: authors should articulate why their advance matters beyond their specialty, with clear statements of novelty and impact. Manuscripts rejected as too specialized may be offered transfer to a sister title without reformatting — a genuine advantage of the portfolio model. As a gold-OA journal, publication carries an article publication charge (verify the current APC on the live page; institutional and funder agreements may cover it). High-quality figures, concise writing, and a compelling significance statement materially improve prospects at a journal with an attributed acceptance rate near 20%.

Readership, libraries, and discovery

The journal's readership is among the broadest in the physical sciences: materials scientists, physicists, chemists, biomedical researchers, and engineers worldwide. For librarians, the title requires no subscription — it is fully open access — but remains worth cataloguing: ISSN 2198-3844 and CODEN ASDCCF identify it in records, and its SCIE/Scopus indexing supports discovery. Its high Altmetric visibility means individual articles frequently circulate beyond academia into media and policy discussions.

Key milestones

• 2014: Journal launched by Wiley-VCH as an interdisciplinary premium open-access title — starting with no impact factor and no Web of Science listing.
• ~2015: Accepted for coverage in Thomson Reuters Web of Science about a year after launch; the first 12 issues drew contributions from leading international scientists.
• 2018: Impact factor rose by almost 40% to 12.441 in the Journal Citation Reports (attributed), cementing its top-tier status.
• 2019: Attributed impact factor 15.84 (JCR via directory listing).
• 2020s: The Advanced Portfolio grows to 25+ titles with Advanced Science as its philosophical model; new life-science titles (e.g., Advanced Oncology) extend the portfolio's reach, and the journal's attributed 2025 impact factor stands at 14.1.

Understanding the journal's metrics

The journal's metrics place it among the highest-impact broad-scope journals: an attributed 2025 JIF of 14.1, CiteScore around 18.2, SJR around 3.775, and an h-index near 220 (all attributed, vintage-dependent). Such figures reflect both selectivity (attributed acceptance rate ~20%) and the citation dynamics of materials and biomedical research, where well-chosen interdisciplinary papers accrue citations across multiple fields. Readers should note that impact factors reward fields with fast citation cycles; the journal's influence is better judged across the full metric set and, ultimately, by the significance of individual papers.

Related journals and alternatives

Authors of broad-significance work may also consider: Nature Communications and Communications Materials/Physics/Chemistry (Springer Nature); Science Advances (AAAS — a different journal from a different publisher, despite the similar name); PNAS; and Wiley's own Advanced Materials for materials-specific advances. Within the Advanced Portfolio, the transfer network means a submission to Advanced Science can be redirected to the best-fitting sister title without reformatting — a practical reason to start with the flagship when scope fit is uncertain.

More frequently asked questions

When was Advanced Science founded?

2014, by Wiley-VCH — launched with no impact factor and accepted into Web of Science about a year later.

What is its CODEN?

ASDCCF.

What does it cost to publish?

As a gold open-access journal it charges an APC — approximately $6,730 / £4,480 / €5,640 per directory listing (attributed); verify the current charge on the live page.

How selective is it?

Directory listings attribute an acceptance rate of about 20% (not independently verified).

Is it related to Science Advances?

No — Advanced Science (Wiley-VCH, ISSN 2198-3844) and Science Advances (AAAS, ISSN 2375-2548) are separate journals from separate publishers.

Open science and the premium-OA model

Advanced Science's 2014 launch was a bet: that authors would pay a premium APC for a selective, high-visibility, fully open-access venue — and that readers and citers would reward openness with attention. The bet paid off, and the model has since been widely imitated. The journal's experience illustrates several open-science dynamics: open articles accrue media and policy attention (Altmetric visibility was noted from the earliest volumes); CC BY licensing enables text-and-data mining, translation, and reuse; and the absence of paywalls gives researchers in less-resourced institutions the same access as those at wealthy universities. The countervailing concern — that high APCs (attributed at roughly $6,730) price out unfunded authors — is real across premium OA publishing and is partly mitigated by institutional agreements, funder mandates (such as Plan S-aligned policies), and waiver programs whose details should be checked on the live journal page. The journal's trajectory suggests that selectivity plus openness, professionally edited, is a durable formula.

What license do articles use?

Open licenses — CC BY — permitting broad reuse with attribution.

Can manuscripts be transferred to sister journals?

Yes — the Advanced Portfolio's cross-journal model allows editors to redirect suitable manuscripts to a sister title without reformatting (per Wiley's portfolio description).

How fast did it get an impact factor?

Fast: accepted into Web of Science about a year after its 2014 launch, with the attributed impact factor reaching 12.441 by 2018.

How to cite and find articles

Articles are cited by author, year, title, Advanced Science (Adv. Sci.), volume, and DOI. As a fully open-access journal, every article is immediately free to read on Wiley Online Library, and all content is indexed in SCIE and Scopus for discovery. The journal's high media visibility means notable papers are often summarized in science news outlets — readers can follow the journal's press highlights alongside the primary literature. For citation management, the ISSN 2198-3844 and CODEN ASDCCF identify the title unambiguously in reference databases.

Are all articles free to read?

Yes — Advanced Science is fully open access; every article is free to read, download, and reuse under its open license.

What is the journal's abbreviation?

Adv. Sci. (ISO 4); NLM abbreviation Adv Sci (Weinh); CODEN ASDCCF.

Corrections and post-publication practice

Wiley maintains standard correction, retraction, and expression-of-concern procedures for the journal under its publishing-ethics framework. Because all articles are open access with wide readership, post-publication scrutiny is vigorous — an advantage of openness. Published corrections are linked to the original article record on Wiley Online Library, preserving a transparent version history. Authors who discover errors should contact the editorial office; readers can also engage through scholarly post-publication forums.

Does the journal allow preprints?

Preprint policies evolve; Wiley generally permits preprint posting — authors should confirm the current policy in the live author guidelines before submitting.

What is the journal's scope in one sentence?

High-significance, interdisciplinary open-access research across materials science, physics, chemistry, life sciences, and engineering — selected for broad impact well beyond any single specialty field today.

Verification notes

Core identity facts (publisher, ISSN, CODEN, 2014 launch, open-access model, scope, editorial leadership, indexing) were verified against encyclopedic records citing Wiley and Clarivate sources, and Wiley-adjacent reporting on the Advanced Portfolio. Metric snapshots and APC figures are attributed to the named directories. Not publicly disclosed: full board rosters, review-model specifics, and current APC schedules. No outreach was performed; this profile is for informational purposes.