Journals to Publish Your Research
in High School
Pursuing research at the high school level is one of the best ways for you to demonstrate co-curricular academic competence. Getting a study published is a significant bonus because it gives your research a certain amount of credibility and backing. High school students might find guidance on conducting research, but few are familiar with academic journals that publish high school research. This guide will give you recommendations on where to publish your research. Regardless of your subject of interest, we have options for you here!
The Journal of Emerging Investigators is one of the most prestigious journals for students doing original research in STEM. JEI is well known for its extensive review process that can take as long as 7-8 months. The most important thing to remember is that JEI only accepts original hypothesis-driven research. While the JEI website is dominated by research in STEM, it also accepts research from other disciplines. For instance, if you conduct original research on financial markets or political preferences based on demographics, you can still submit with the help of these guidelines. Here is our extensive guide to publishing in JEI.
Cost: $35 submission fee; need-based fee waiver is available
Deadline: Rolling Subject area: Mainly STEM, but non-STEM is accepted if original research
Type of research: Original hypothesis-based research
Estimated acceptance rate: 70-75%
The NHSJS is run and peer-reviewed by high school students around the world, with a scientific advisory board of adult academics. The journal usually takes 2-3 months to provide an initial decision followed by an editing process of 1-2 months resulting in a 3-5 month total timeline. NHSJS accepts practically all science and social science disciplines on a rolling basis. We usually recommend NHSJS as a backup journal given its relatively high acceptance rate. Based on our experience of guiding students to NHSJS, we estimate that it has an acceptance rate of approximately 70%.
Cost: $390 for publication
Deadline: Rolling
Subject area: All science and social science disciplines
Type of research: Original research, literature review
Estimated acceptance rate: 60-70%
IJHSR publishes high school student research in behavioral and social sciences, technology, engineering, and math, both original research and literature review articles. Six issues are published each year. IJHSR has a rolling submissions window and offers open access to the public. It is run by the nonprofit Terra Science and Education. A unique aspect of the IJHSR is that it requires you to contact 3 professors or post-doctoral scholars who agree to review your paper. This is a fairly time-consuming process, so if you’re aiming to publish in IJHSR, we recommend that you get started early in your research process! You can expect the complete publication process to take at least 6-8 months!
Cost: $200 Deadline: Rolling
Subject area: All science and social science subjects
Type of research: Original Research, Literature Review
Estimated acceptance rate: 20-30%
This is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal for scholarly research by high school and university students in STEM run by Canadian Science Publishing. The journal accepts original investigations, review articles, and “viewpoints,” usually around 5 pages long. While SFJ is a great option, we have noticed that the journal can often lag in communication with students who submit there. The journal’s entire review process is estimated to take about 8 months to a year. Please keep this in mind, especially if you are on a tight deadline!
Cost: $400 Deadline: Rolling
Subject area: All Scientific Disciplines
Type of research: Hypothesis Driven Research, Review, Abstract, Original Research
Estimated Acceptance Rate: 5-10%
The American Journal of Student Research (AJSR) is a peer-reviewed, student-led academic journal that publishes both original research and review articles by high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis and are welcomed from all academic disciplines, including but not limited to the sciences, engineering, humanities, social sciences, and business. When considering all submissions, including those screened out in the initial stage, the overall acceptance rate is approximately 40–50%. It’s a strong choice for those looking to have their work peer-reviewed and published in an open-access format.
Cost: $480
Deadline: Rolling
Subject Areas: All disciplines: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Engineering, Business, Politics, and Social Sciences
Type of Research: Original Research and Review Articles
Estimated Acceptance Rate: 40 – 50%
JHSS is a peer-reviewed STEM journal that publishes the research and ideas of high school students and is regarded as a top choice due to its very high standards. While it does occasionally accept literature reviews, these must meet specific criteria—merely summarizing existing research is not sufficient, as JHSS places strong emphasis on novelty and original insight. Due to its rigorous standards and competitive 20% acceptance rate, it is best positioned as a first-choice target for students aiming to publish high-quality, original research.
Cost: Free
Deadline: Rolling
Subject area: All science and social science subjects
Type of research: Original Research, Literature Review
Estimated acceptance rate: 20%
Intersect is an international Science, Technology, and Society research journal run by undergraduate students at Stanford University and supported by the Program in STS at Stanford. It publishes research and scholarship on the social factors that shape research and invention. While the website states otherwise, Stanford Intersect does accept research from high school students on topics at the intersection of science, technology, and society. In our experience of guiding students to publication here, we rate this journal as extremely selective. We have also noticed that students using AI-based methods in research tend to do particularly well here.
Cost: Free Deadline: Rolling
Subject area: Science, Technology, and Society
Type of research: Research Articles, Papers/Essays, Thesis Chapters, Book Reviews, Editorials, Interviews, Multimedia
Estimated Acceptance Rate: < 5% (for high schoolers)
Young Scientist is another publication that recognizes the achievements of high school scientists. It is published by the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach, a group that works in the field of scientific and technological literacy through partnerships between Vanderbilt University scientists, K-12 educators and students, and the local and global science community. At Lumiere, YSJ is another of our selective recommendations for students producing the highest quality of research.
Cost: Free
Deadline: December
Subject area: Sciences
Type of research: Original research, literature review
Estimated Acceptance Rate: 10-15%
The Concord Review is a quarterly journal publishing history essays by high school students. It is the most prestigious journal for high school students in the social sciences. Its prestige comes from its high level of selectivity (currently less than 5%), focus on quality, and long track record of winners going on to top universities. The quality of published papers is very high, with the average length of papers in the past year 9000 words. A qualitative assessment of the quality of the papers also indicates significant time invested and a high level of writing. We have covered this journal in a lot more detail in a separate post here.
Cost: $50 to Submit and $200 Publication Cost (if accepted)
Deadline: Fixed Deadlines in February, May, August, and November
Subject area: All Academic Disciplines
Type of research: All types of academic articles
Estimated Acceptance Rate: < 5 %
The Schola is a quarterly journal publishing academic essays in the humanities and social sciences, authored by high school students from around the world. The journal maintains solid academic standards through rigorous review and editorial refinement, resulting in selective publication. The journal accepts essays of approximately 5000 words that explore specific, answerable, and academic questions across disciplines, including philosophy, history, art history, literature, economics, public policy, sociology, and related interdisciplinary fields. The Schola is one of our top recommendations for students pursuing advanced research and publication in the humanities and social sciences.
Cost: $180 (per submission)
Deadline: Rolling
Subject area(s): Humanities and Social Sciences
Type of research: Primarily historical and textual analysis, presented in standard academic writing
Acceptance Rate: Not publicly disclosed
Critical Debates in Humanities, Science, and Global Justice is a selective, peer-reviewed academic journal that invites high school students to delve deeper into pressing questions at the intersection of science, society, and ethics. Supported by university scholars, the journal publishes both original research and in-depth review articles that tackle topics ranging from identity and public policy to environmental justice and the philosophy of science.
By encouraging interdisciplinary thinking, Critical Debates offers students the opportunity to engage in scholarly dialogue and contribute to contemporary academic conversations. Its competitive selection process makes it an ideal choice for students seeking a rigorous, research-oriented introduction to academic publishing.
Cost: $100
Deadline: Rolling
Subject area: Humanities
Type of research: Literature (review/critique, poem, prose), research papers, art (illustration, photography), editorials.
Estimated Acceptance Rate: 30%
OJBM is an international journal dedicated to the latest advancements in the study of business and management. This journal aims to provide a platform for scientists and academics worldwide to promote, share, and discuss various issues. It is one of the few journals that accept research in business and management from high school students. An important thing to keep in mind is that there is a distinction between business and economics that we are making here, i.e., many concepts of economics might not be included within the realm of business. So if you are doing research on financial markets, IJHSR or JEI (mentioned above) might be better options.
Cost: $299
Deadline: Rolling
Subject area: Economics and Business
Type of research: Most types of academic articles – reviews, original research, short reports
Estimated Acceptance Rate: 15-20% (for high schoolers)
The Curieux Academic Journal is a youth-led nonprofit founded in 2017 to publish research by high school and middle school students. They currently operate in California but have editors from across the nation. Submitting your paper to Curieux is a great way to get experience in the craft of academic writing. They are open to submissions from any academic subject, including the sciences and humanities. They encourage all forms of academic writing, including but not limited to research papers, review articles, and humanities/social science pieces. At Lumiere, we usually recommend Curieux as a backup publication for students pursuing research in the social sciences and humanities since they have a relatively high acceptance rate.
Cost: $200
Deadline: Rolling
Subject area: Engineering, Humanities, and Natural Science, Mathematics, and Social Science
Type of research: Including but not limited to research papers, review articles, and humanity/social science pieces.
Estimated Acceptance Rate: 60-70%
The Journal of Research High School (JRHS) is an open-access online journal that aims to publish academic work prepared exclusively by high school researchers. JRHS publishes across science to social science. They publish biannually but release publications each month! For the publication at JRHS, in general, there are four processes of publication such as original formatting and plagiarism check, peer review, revision, and editorial decision. Each process has a different timeline, but overall turnover is generally approximately 3 – 6 months.
Cost: $100
Deadline: Rolling
Subject area: Any academic subject including the sciences and humanities
Type of research: Original research and significant literature reviews.
Estimated Acceptance Rate: 30%
The WWJOP is an entirely student-led publication in which high school student-conducted research and literature reviews in the field of psychology are recognized. The Journal reaches hundreds of schools and psychology students around the world and is published bi-annually and electronically. We have found WWJOP to be a fantastic option for Psychology students, given that it offers a specialized publication in Psychology at the high school level. It is one of the few journals at this level to offer a subject specialization.
Cost: Free
Deadline: Rolling
Subject area: Psychology
Type of research: Original Research, Analysis Pieces, Letters
Estimated acceptance rate: 20-30%