20 Journals to Publish Your Research in High School in 2026
A high school paper can be rejected in a week without a reviewer ever reading it. Usually the cause is a mismatch the student could have caught in advance: a literature review sent to a journal that only takes original data, a survey study with no ethics statement, or a submission the student filed themselves when the journal requires an adult to do it.
Picking the right student science journal is most of the work. Here are twenty that publish high school research, each checked against its own site in August 2026.
What counts as a student science journal
These journals publish research written by students rather than professional academics. The good ones run a real review process: an editor screens your manuscript, sends it to reviewers, and you revise before acceptance.
Three distinctions matter more than prestige.
Who reviews your work. Some journals use PhD candidates, postdocs, and faculty. Others are edited entirely by high school students. Both are legitimate, but the feedback quality differs, and so does how an admissions reader treats it.
Original research or literature review. Several journals accept only hypothesis-driven work with your own data; others welcome review articles. Submitting the wrong type is a common cause of rejection.
Journal or archive. A preprint server posts your paper without review. Useful, but not publication, and calling it that on an application is a mistake.
The 20 journals, verified August 2026
Highly selective
Journal | Field | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
History | $70 eBook, $100 print, includes a subscription | Essays of 5,000–10,000 words. Deadlines Feb 1, May 1, Aug 1, Nov 1. Publishes about 5%. | |
STEM | $49, waivers available | Hypothesis-driven research only, no reviews. PhD-candidate reviewers. An adult senior author must submit for you. | |
Sciences, social sciences | No fee published | 2026–27 deadline is September 30, 2026. Graduated seniors ineligible. | |
All STEM | CAD $400 on acceptance | Double-blind review. High school and undergraduate authors, solo or in teams. |
Broad, multi-subject journals
Journal | Field | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
All sciences | Free | The strongest free option. Graduate, postdoc and professional reviewers. 95% get a first decision within 14 weeks. | |
Sciences, engineering, business and social sciences | Free to submit, $350 on acceptance | Two or more external expert reviewers. Fee scholarships for US students on free or reduced-price lunch. | |
All disciplines | $50 at submission plus $299 after review, non-refundable | A teacher or advisor must guide the submission. 12–24 weeks, 5–6 fast-tracked. | |
All disciplines | $350 at submission | Research advisor mandatory. Under 4,000 words. Three to six months. | |
STEAM | Not published on site | Publishing quarterly in 2026. Confirm terms with the editors. | |
All disciplines | $200, or $250 fast-track, on acceptance | Formerly Curieux Academic Journal, which no longer publishes new work. Student editors. Financial aid on request. | |
Sciences, social sciences, humanities | Not published on site | Has an ISSN and a Summer 2026 issue. Ask about fees first. | |
Ethics, science, global issues | Not published on site | Edited by a university professor, with external reviewers. |
Subject-specific
Journal | Field | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Humanities, social sciences | $180, non-refundable, no waivers | Argument-driven essays of 5,500–6,500 words. Empirical work is not a fit; decisions in two to three weeks. | |
Psychology | None stated | Student-run, closed at the time of writing pending a Fall 2026 reopening. Accepts podcasts as well as papers. | |
Business, economics, finance | $250, or $275 fast track | High school authors only, reviewed by MBA and MS students, four to five weeks. | |
Sciences | None stated | Open to ages 12–20, one of the few venues for middle schoolers. Volunteer-run, so slow. | |
Neuroscience | None stated | One caveat: the journal states plainly that it is not peer-reviewed. Treat it as science writing. |
Widely listed, but verify first
Each of these appears on most lists with an issue worth knowing first.
Journal | Issue |
|---|---|
A real journal, but its author terms could not be confirmed. Email the editors for fees and deadlines. | |
Nothing published since January 2024. Confirm it is active. | |
No UC Berkeley affiliation despite the name, and high school eligibility is not stated on its site. |
A five-minute legitimacy check
Before you pay, run this on any journal, including the ones above:
Search for its ISSN. A journal without one is not indexed anywhere.
Paste a paper it published last year into Google Scholar. If nothing comes up, the journal is invisible to the people you want to reach.
Look for a named editorial board with real affiliations, not "our team of experts."
Check that articles carry DOIs.
Be suspicious of speed. Acceptance within 48 hours means nobody read your paper.
Any journal promising guaranteed publication is telling you the review is decorative. So is any mentorship programme.
Three things the journal lists leave out
Human-subjects research needs ethics clearance
If your study involved surveys, interviews or anything collected from people, several journals ask for an ethics statement at submission. Students without a university affiliation often have no idea this applies to them, and find out only when a paper is rejected months later. Sort it out at the design stage, through a school research committee or an independent review board.
Disclose your AI use
Most journals now have a generative AI policy, and screening tools are common. Using AI to tidy your grammar is usually fine if you say so. Using it to draft your analysis is not. Read the policy, then write the disclosure yourself.
Decide the byline honestly
If a mentor shaped your question and reviewed your methods, whether they belong on the byline depends on the journal. Some, like the Journal of Emerging Investigators, require an adult senior author. Others expect mentors in the acknowledgements instead. Follow the journal's rule, and never list someone who did not contribute.
Submit to one journal at a time
Nearly every peer-reviewed journal prohibits simultaneous submission. Build a ranked list of three: your first choice, a realistic second, and a broad journal that publishes steadily. If the first rejects you, send the paper to the second that week. Our mentors keep a shorter list of recommended journals, picked for clear guidelines and a supportive review process.
A "revise and resubmit" decision is good news, not a rejection. Address every comment in a short covering letter, explain anything you disagree with, and return it promptly. Papers usually get published on the second or third attempt.
Picking the target journal before you finish writing also improves the paper, because word limits and accepted article types change what you write. If you are still choosing a topic, our research project ideas are organised by field, and the High School Scholar Program works backwards from a target journal and your deadline. Conferences run in parallel, and ICONSTARS gives students a stage before publication.
How to use a publication on your application
Be accurate. A paper in a student journal is a real credential, and overstating it is easy to catch. Name the journal, the month, and your author position, and put it in the honours or activities section rather than stretching it across your essays. What admissions readers respond to is the thinking, not the venue. A student who can explain why their question mattered and what the data refused to show tends to interview better than one with a longer citation, which is the pattern across our students' research journeys.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can middle school students publish research? Yes, though options are narrower. The Journal of Emerging Investigators accepts authors aged 13 and up; Young Scientists Journal accepts authors from 12.
How long does publication take? Three to six months from submission, longer with revisions. If you are applying in the autumn, submitting after August is cutting it fine.
Are the paid journals worth it? It depends what the fee buys. A charge funding genuine external review is reasonable; one with no named reviewers or indexing is not. Both NHSJS and JEI belong in most students' top three.
