Special Issues
Submitting a Special Issue Proposal
IJMS welcomes proposals for Special Issues built around focused, timely, and academically relevant themes within the journal's multidisciplinary scope. A Special Issue might center on a specific discipline, an emerging research area, an interdisciplinary topic, or a pressing research problem whatever best serves the journal's readers and mission.
All Special Issues, and every manuscript submitted to them, are held to the same standards that govern the rest of the journal: editorial review, peer review, publication ethics, confidentiality, and conflict-of-interest management.
What to Include in Your Proposal
A strong Special Issue proposal should cover:
- Proposed Title: A working title for the issue
- Theme and Scope: A short description of the theme and why it matters academically
- Objectives: What the issue aims to achieve and the scholarly contribution it's expected to make
- Guest Editor(s): Name, affiliation, academic or professional background, and contact details
- Proposed Article Types: Original research, review articles, case studies, or other relevant formats
- Expected Number of Contributions: A rough estimate of how many manuscripts you anticipate
- Proposed Timeline: An expected submission window, if known
Above all, the proposal should make a clear case for why the theme is academically relevant and why it's a good fit for IJMS.
What We Expect from Guest Editors
Guest Editors taking on a Special Issue are expected to:
- Promote the issue through relevant academic and professional networks
- Reach out to and invite strong scholarly contributions
- Support the editorial and peer-review process from start to finish
- Maintain confidentiality and editorial independence throughout
- Disclose any conflicts of interest and manage them appropriately
- Ensure submitted manuscripts meet IJMS's academic and ethical standards
- Follow the Guest Editor Guidelines and other applicable IJMS policies
Editorial decisions should never be shaped by personal, professional, institutional, commercial, or financial interests.
How Proposals Are Evaluated
Every Special Issue proposal goes through editorial evaluation before approval. In reviewing it, IJMS looks at the theme's academic relevance, how well it aligns with the journal's scope, the qualifications of the proposed Guest Editor(s), and whether the issue is practically feasible.
Submitting a proposal doesn't guarantee it will be approved.
And even once a Special Issue is approved, that approval applies to the issue as a whole — not to any individual manuscript. Every submission still goes through the journal's standard editorial screening and peer-review process on its own merits.
Submitting Your Proposal
Send your Special Issue proposal to the IJMS Editorial Office using the contact details listed on the journal website. Please use "Special Issue Proposal" as your email subject line so it reaches the right team.