Freie Universität Berlin has been participating in a new agreement with MDPI since April 2025. This agreement introduces changes that, among others, address the debate about MDPI's quality and questionable business practices. The most important change in that respect is that no longer all MDPI journals will be supported by the University Library's Open Access Publication Fund, but only those listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) [1]. The DOAJ inclusion criteria serve as a reference point for the assessment of eligibility for funding by the University Library.

More on the current discussion about MDPI: Pohlmann, T. (2025). MDPI, Frontiers et al.: Eine kritische Betrachtung von Qualitätsaspekten. (in German) https://doi.org/10.5282/o-bib/6134

Approximately 400 of the almost 470 scientific journals published by MDPI are listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) (as of May 2025). A current overview of these journals can be found here.

Members of Freie Universität Berlin have two options for publishing in the publisher's journals at a discount.

1. Central covering of publication costs (APC) by the University Library is possible if FU-affiliated authors publish in an MDPI journal that is listed in the DOAJ and if the APC does not exceed the amount of EUR 2,000 after deduction of 30% (this is the FU discount for DOAJ-listed MDPI journals). Information on the individual current APCs can be found on this MDPI website.

Calculation example 1 (as of 13.05.2025): An article in the journal “Systems” costs CHF 2,400. This corresponds to the equivalent of EUR 2,566 (at the daily exchange rate). Less 30 % FU discount (EUR 770), this leaves EUR 1,796. Costs are covered centrally by the university library (upon application, see below).

Calculation example 2 (as of 13.05.2025): An article in the journal “Antibiotics” costs CHF 2,900. This corresponds to EUR 3101 (at the daily exchange rate). Less 30 % FU discount (EUR 930), EUR 2171 remain. It is not possible for the University Library to cover the costs centrally (not even on a pro rata basis).

2. for FU affiliated authors who publish in an MDPI journal that is not listed in the DOAJ, a discount of 15% is generally granted. However, the University Library will not cover the costs centrally (not even on a pro rata basis).

 

Do you want to publish in MDPI?

• You are “corresponding author” or “submitting author” and submit your article directly to the journal as usual.
• Please indicate your affiliation with Freie Universität Berlin in the submission process and also as an affiliation in the manuscript. In addition, you should always provide your Freie Universität Berlin e-mail address throughout the publication process.
• If the journal in which you wish to publish is currently listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), you can submit an application to cover your publication costs using this web-form.
• Please note that the total amount for a central funding of the APC per article may not exceed EUR 2.000 (plus VAT).
• Information on the individual current journal APCs can be found on the MDPI website: Article Processing Charges Information.

[1] The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a website that hosts a community-curated list of open access journals, maintained by Infrastructure Services for Open Access (IS4OA). It was launched in 2003 with 300 open access journals. (Source)