The useful answer is therefore more than one headline number: the publisher also reports the journal's submission profile, turnaround medians, and several non-JIF indicators. Put those pieces together before deciding whether the journal fits your paper.
What is Science Advances's impact factor?
Science Advances at a glance
A scientific figure is part of the production decision, so pair the metric with the journal's artwork rules before you shortlist it.
| Publisher metric | Science Advances |
|---|---|
| Two-year Impact Factor | 13.9 |
| Five-year Impact Factor | 14.8 |
| Submissions, full year 2025 | 35,831 |
| Review rate, full year 2025 | 16.4% |
| Accept rate, full year 2025 | 8.8% |
| Median first decision | 8 days |
| Median first post-review decision | 58 days |
| Median submission to acceptance | 174 days |
| Median accept to publish | 33 days |
The profile and turnaround rows cover research articles, reports, and research resources. They exclude reviews and analytical reviews, so do not use the table as if every manuscript category shared the same rate or timeline.
You searched 2026 — why this is the 2025 JIF
A 2026 search often mixes three different clocks:
- The publisher's journal profile labels the submission and acceptance data as the full year 2025.
- The turnaround table reports medians from January 2025 through December 2025.
- The citation-based metrics table says its data are current as of June 2026.
- Clarivate describes the 2026 JCR release as reflecting 2025 data.
That is why this page calls the number the 2026 public figure while preserving the publisher's own metric labels. Do not compare it with a value from a different release without checking the JCR release year, metric year, and the two-year versus five-year definition.
Where this number comes from, and how to check it yourself
The source page explicitly attributes the first group to Web of Science and the CiteScore to Scopus. That attribution matters: a publisher page can display several measures without making them interchangeable. Record the date you checked, then compare like with like in later reviews.
Is Science Advances Q1? Quartile and category rank
Is Science Advances's impact factor rising or falling?
This answers the recent direction question; it is not a claim that the long-term series is a straight line.
Beyond the headline: CiteScore, SJR, and h-index
Use them for different decisions:
- Immediacy is about how quickly recent work is cited.
- Eigenfactor and Article Influence are network-weighted citation measures.
- The h-index is cumulative and depends strongly on publication history.
- CiteScore comes from Scopus rather than Web of Science.
Do not average these values into a homemade ranking. First decide whether you need speed, long-run visibility, field fit, or a publication-policy match.
Science Advances vs peers
What this number does not tell you
The Impact Factor does not tell you:
- whether your manuscript will be sent for external review;
- whether your article type is included in the profile's denominator;
- how the journal will assess image manipulation or data presentation;
- whether the journal's figure-production requirements fit your current artwork;
- or whether the publication charge fits your funding plan.
Preparing figures for Science Advances
Choose the journal before you finish the figure
Science Advances combines a competitive acceptance profile with explicit production specifications. Check both before the manuscript is ready.
Explore the ToolShould you submit to Science Advances?
Submit when all three answers are yes:
- The central result is a major advance rather than only a local optimization.
- The article type and evidence package fit the journal's scope and review model.
- You can meet the manuscript, figure, supplementary-file, and APC requirements if the paper is accepted.
If the paper is strong but narrowly specialist, compare the fit with a field journal rather than using the Impact Factor alone.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
This page uses official AAAS and Science Advances pages captured through a rendered browser session and reviewed in 2026.
- Science Advances — Information for Authors — article types, initial submission, abstract, figures, and supplementary files
- Science Advances — Licensing and Charges — APC and Creative Commons options
- Science journals — Editorial Policies — authorship and contributor policies
- Science family — Journal metrics — 2025 profile, turnaround, and citation-based metrics
- Clarivate — Journal Citation Reports 2026 — release naming and the statement that the 2026 release reflects 2025 data
- Science Advances — Guide to Preparing Figures — file formats, resolution, type, line weight, and dimensions
