Payment Policy

At Synergy: International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies (SIJMDS), we are committed to maintaining open access to all published content and upholding the highest standards in academic publishing.

1. Article Processing Charges (APC)

The APC is collected in two parts:

  • Initial Payment: A non-refundable fee of USD 5 for international author(s) or INR 500 for Indian author(s), payable at the time of submission.

    • Note:
      The initial payment serves as a processing fee and helps ensure that only genuine and serious authors submit their work. Authors who are committed to publishing their research typically prepare their manuscripts carefully, following the journal’s guidelines.

      This step is also necessary to discourage the submission of low-quality or AI-generated content submitted solely for the purpose of obtaining publication, without regard for scholarly standards.

  • Final Payment: A fee of USD 45 for international author(s) or INR 2000 for Indian author(s), payable upon acceptance and before final publication.

Base APC $50 USD (Increases to $100 USD starting with the December 2025 issue)
Includes: - Editorial & peer-review management
- DOI assignment
- Digital hosting & archiving
- Article formatting
- Indexing support

2. Additional Charges

Description Charge
Each author beyond the 3rd $10 USD per author
Each figure beyond the 5th $5 USD per figure
Each table beyond the 3rd $5 USD per table
Every 1,000 words beyond 6,000 $5 USD per 1,000 words

3. Referencing and Citation Policy

To ensure academic accuracy, SIJMDS enforces the following strict referencing standards:

  • All in-text citations must appear in the reference list

  • All references must be cited in the text

  • Use APA 7th edition citation style without exceptions

  • References must be authentic, verifiable, and free of AI-generated or fabricated entries

Example of a violation: An author cites “Smith (2021)” and “Smith (2022)” in-text but lists only one in the reference list — this will be flagged as an error.

4. Rejection, Ethics, and Refund Policy

The initial payment of the APC is non-refundable, even if the manuscript is later rejected.

Manuscripts will be rejected without refund for any of the following reasons:

  • Incomplete, inconsistent, or missing references

  • Use of AI-generated or fake citations

  • Failure to follow APA 7th edition style

  • Plagiarism or unethical research practices

  • Failure to meet submission guidelines or quality standards

Authors are responsible for thoroughly reviewing and formatting their manuscripts before submission.

5. Waivers and Discounts

SIJMDS currently does not offer any waivers or discounts for the APC. 

  • For authors based in India, the Article Processing Charge (APC) is ₹2500 INR (split into ₹500 at submission and ₹2000 after acceptance), instead of the standard USD-based fee.

  • This rate applies only if all authors are affiliated with Indian institutions.

  • Indian authors must submit valid institutional affiliation and ID proof at the time of submission to be eligible.

No other fee reductions or waivers are currently offered, regardless of financial hardship, institutional status, or country of origin.

6. Author Responsibilities

Authors must ensure:

  • Full alignment between in-text citations and reference list

  • Proper APA 7th edition formatting

  • Ethical, original, and high-quality content

  • Compliance with all journal guidelines