Library Subject Guides
If you are hoping to submit an article to the REF, or your article was supported by research funding, you will have been required to comply with the REF or funder's open access requirements. To comply with your requirements either:
Deposit your research into the repository and allow it to be made openly available in accordance with the University's open access policy. The University's default policy will comply with REF and funder requirements.
Or
If you are planning to request an embargo or alternative licence for a paper you plan to deposit, check whether the planned embargo/licence will meet the REF and/or funder requirements listed on this page
To meet the open access requirements for REF 2029 you can either:
a) Pay to make the article openly available via the journal's website (Gold route), or;
b) Deposit your article in a repository (e.g. Pure) and make it openly available.
To meet the requirements via deposit, follow the instructions below. Note that REF makes no preference between routes to open access.
Prior to submitting your article, decide whether you would like to request an embargo for your research, and use the Request an Embargo form to communicate this to the Library. (By default, the University does not apply publishers' suggested embargoes to deposited research).
If you are requesting an embargo, make sure that this is in line with the REF open access requirements (see table below). If the embargo you are hoping to apply exceeds the maximum permitted by REF, speak to your publisher about this.
As soon as your article is accepted for publication, create a Pure record for it and attach a PDF copy of the accepted manuscript.
Under "public access to file" select "Open" (or "embargoed" if you have requested an embargo). The Library will then ensure that the document is made openly available at the point at which the final version is published by the journal (or that the correct embargo is applied).
The table below lists the main open access requirements for the next REF.
|
|
Articles published on or before 31 December 2025 | Articles published on or after 1 January 2026 |
| Embargo period permitted |
12 months for Science outputs 24 months for Humanities and Social Science outputs |
6 months for Science outputs 12 months for Humanities and Social Science outputs |
| Open Access licence permitted | CC-BY preferred. CC-BY-NC, CC-BY-ND, CC-BY-NC-ND and equivalents also permitted. | Requirements unchanged. (See box to left) |
To meet the open access requirements for UKRI or the Wellcome Trust you can either:
a) Pay to make the article openly available via the journal's website (Gold route), or;
b) Deposit your article in a repository (e.g. Pure) and make it openly available.
To meet the requirements via deposit, follow the instructions below. Note that UKRI and Wellcome Trust make no preference on routes to open access.
Prior to submitting your article, decide whether you would like to request an embargo for your research and, if you do, use the Request an Embargo form to communicate this to the Library. (By default, the University does not apply publishers' suggested embargoes to deposited research).
If your publisher insists on an embargo period note that this will not meet UKRI/Wellcome's policy for immediate open access. You may need to consider an alternative venue for publication.
As soon as your article is accepted for publication, create a Pure record for it and attach a PDF copy of the accepted manuscript.
Under "public access to file" select "Open". The Library will then ensure that the document is made openly available at the point at which the final version is published by the journal.
The table below lists the main open access requirements for UKRI and Wellcome Trust.
|
|
UKRI | Wellcome Trust |
| Embargo period permitted |
No embargo permitted. Article must be made openly available at point of publication. |
No embargo permitted. Article must be made openly available at point of publication. |
| Open Access licence permitted | CC-BY or Open Goverment Licence (OGL). (May permit CC-BY-ND on case-by-case basis) | CC-BY. (or CC-BY-ND allowed if exception registered with Wellcome) |