APS Achieves Open Access Goals with Subscribe to Open for 2025

The Society expands access to physiology research while strengthening nonprofit publishing.

Rockville, Md. (March 24, 2025)—The American Physiological Society (APS) is proud to announce the successful implementation of Subscribe to Open (S2O), achieving its goal of making 10 of its primary research journals fully open access in 2025 through S2O. Thanks to continued institutional and library partner support, APS has expanded free, unrestricted access to high-quality physiological research worldwide in 2025—while reinforcing its commitment to sustainable nonprofit publishing.

“This is a milestone achievement for APS and the entire physiology community,” said Wolfgang Kuebler, MD, FERS, FAPS, ATSP, chair, APS Publications Committee. “With the support of our subscribing institutions, we are eliminating barriers for authors and readers, increasing usage and citations, and ensuring broader global access to research that will advance the discipline of physiology.” 

Key achievements of the Society’s S2O program:

• Opened 10 APS research journals to full open access for calendar year 2025.
• Eliminated article processing charges (APCs) for authors.
• Expanded global access to groundbreaking research in physiology and related disciplines.
• Established a sustainable path for open-access publishing.

Benefits of S2O for Institutions

A benefit of APS’ S2O program is an open-access guarantee for institutions subscribing to the APS Digital Library or the American Journal of Physiology (AJP Consolidated) packages. These package subscribers receive two critical assurances whether or not open access thresholds are met:

• Full access to 10 of APS’s primary research journals for all affiliated researchers.
• Corresponding authors at subscribing institutions can publish open access without APCs in the journals within purchased packages, ensuring a seamless and predictable publishing experience.

“This new S20 program offers institutions a simple, worry-free way to support open science,” said Colette Bean, MA, chief publishing officer at APS. “By subscribing to our packages each year, institutions secure full access to those APS journals and provide their researchers with open access publishing benefits—without additional administrative burden or unpredictable fees. We look forward to partnering with the library community to continue momentum with this program in 2026 and beyond.”

To streamline participation, APS launched an open access eligibility tool, allowing institutions to quickly check their subscription status and publishing benefits. Learn more about the tool.

As a mission-driven, nonprofit publisher, APS reinvests into the research community—supporting authors, funding travel awards, hosting scientific meetings, and advancing the physiological sciences. By subscribing to APS journals through the S2O program, institutions play a critical role in sustaining high-quality, society-led publishing while promoting a sustainable open access future.

APS’s S2O program demonstrates its commitment to expanding open access publishing and encouraging broader institutional participation. As the Society continues to advocate for open access, it will explore ways to enhance accessibility and maintain the long-term sustainability of its publishing program.

Learn more about the Society’s open access initiatives and how APS will make the articles in its 2025 journal editions open access. 

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: To learn more, contact APS Media Relations or call 301.634.7314. Find more news in our Newsroom. 

Physiology is a broad area of scientific inquiry that focuses on how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. The American Physiological Society connects a global, multidisciplinary community of more than 10,000 biomedical scientists and educators as part of its mission to advance scientific discovery, understand life and improve health. The Society drives collaboration and spotlights scientific discoveries through its 16 scholarly journals and programming that support researchers and educators in their work.