Call for preprints · Issue 1
Submission Guidelines
We seek clear, ambitious arguments about the philosophical foundations of STEM. Foundations shares selected work as student preprints while protecting authors’ freedom to develop and submit it elsewhere.
August–October 2026
Issue 1 Timeline
This first cycle includes developmental review and a dedicated opportunity to revise before final selection.
Call opens
Issue 1 submissions begin.
Submissions close
Manuscripts are due by 11:59 p.m. China Standard Time (UTC+8).
Developmental review
Readers assess the argument and prepare constructive feedback.
Initial decisions
Authors receive feedback and one of three decisions: accept pending editorial changes, invite revision, or decline.
Revision period
Invited authors respond to feedback and develop their manuscripts.
Revisions due
Revised manuscripts return to the editorial team.
Second review
The editorial team reviews revisions and makes final selection decisions.
Publication preparation
Copyediting, author proof approval, display consent, and anonymity choices are finalized.
Issue 1 release
Selected student preprints are published.
Who may submit
Foundations welcomes high school and undergraduate contributors worldwide. Exceptional middle-school students are welcome, and gap-year contributors are fully eligible. Authors do not need to be currently enrolled when their work fits the journal’s intellectual standards.
Authorship and anonymity
Individual and co-authored submissions are welcome, including collaborations between students and teachers. Authors may choose to withhold their names publicly to help preserve anonymity for future double-blind review. Foundations will still keep author identity privately for correspondence and integrity checks. Authors should follow a target journal’s rules on posting, updating, or promoting preprints during review.
Preprint status
Work selected for Foundations is shared as a student preprint, not as a formally peer-reviewed publication or Version of Record. Authors should disclose any earlier public version or publication when submitting.
Length and form
We do not impose a single rigid word limit. A submission should be as long as its argument requires and as concise as clarity permits. For the present, the journal primarily considers substantive research essays; additional formats may be introduced in future issues.
Citation style
Authors may use any recognized scholarly citation style, provided it is applied accurately and consistently throughout the submission.
Submission periods
Foundations curates four preprint issues annually. The Issue 1 call opens on August 17, 2026; submissions close on September 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. China Standard Time (UTC+8); and publication is planned for October 1, 2026.
Developmental review
Submissions normally receive open, developmental feedback from at least three readers drawn from students and teachers. Authors may be invited to revise before the editorial team makes a final selection for inclusion. This process is not formal journal peer review.
Editorial decisions
Following the initial developmental review, authors will normally receive one of three decisions: Accept pending editorial changes, Invite revision, or Decline. Accept pending editorial changes means that the manuscript is selected in principle and requires only limited copy, citation, or clarification changes. An invitation to revise indicates promise but does not guarantee inclusion; revised manuscripts receive a second review before final selection. A decision to decline may reflect fit, argumentative readiness, or the editorial capacity of the issue, and is not necessarily a judgment that the underlying question lacks value.
Copyright and display licence
Authors retain full copyright and do not transfer ownership to Foundations. With the author’s written consent, Foundations receives only a non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable licence to display the submitted version. Foundations will not apply a Creative Commons licence, sublicense, sell, or adapt the manuscript without separate written permission. Authors may revise, withdraw, submit, or publish their work elsewhere at any time.
Future journal submissions
A small number of journals may not consider manuscripts previously shared online. Before submitting elsewhere, authors should check the target journal’s current Preprint Policy, including through Jisc Open Policy Finder, disclose the Foundations version when requested, and follow any double-blind-review restrictions on updating or promoting the preprint. The receiving journal’s own policy always governs its decision. See Jisc Open Policy Finder.
Updating the record
If a preprint is later formally published, authors are encouraged to send Foundations the final citation, link, or DOI so the preprint page can point readers to the Version of Record.
AI collaboration
AI-assisted scholarship is welcome. Authors remain responsible for their claims, citations, and final prose. An optional Collaboration Appendix may explain how AI assisted, challenged, extended, or redirected the inquiry.
Fees
Foundations charges no submission or display fee.
Questions & submissions
VivianCao201103@hotmail.com
Please use the subject line Foundations Issue 1 Submission — [Manuscript Title] and include your name and complete manuscript with your email. Issue 1 submissions close on September 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. China Standard Time (UTC+8).