Refund Policy

Frontiers in Multidisciplinary Studies (FMS) is committed to providing high-quality services and ensuring a transparent process for authors and contributors. While FMS is an open-access journal and does not charge any submission or access fees, we understand that certain situations may require special consideration regarding fees for additional services (e.g., publication charges for special issues, expedited review services, etc.).

This Refund Policy outlines the conditions under which refunds may be requested and processed. Please carefully read the policy to ensure clarity on how refunds are handled.

1. No Submission Fees

FMS does not charge any fees for manuscript submissions, and all articles are published under an open-access model. Therefore, no refunds are applicable for manuscript submission or review fees.

2. Refund Conditions for Additional Services

In the case of any services for which a fee has been paid (e.g., for expedited review, open-access publication charges for special issues, or article processing charges), the following refund conditions apply:

  • Full Refund: A full refund will be issued if a manuscript is withdrawn from the journal before the peer review process has started, or if the author requests the withdrawal within 7 days of payment and before any review work has begun.

  • Partial Refund: If the manuscript is withdrawn after the review process has started but before any editorial decision is made, a partial refund may be issued at the discretion of the editorial board. This refund will be less the administrative costs incurred up to that point.

  • No Refund: No refund will be issued once the peer review process has been completed, or if the article has already been published. This includes instances where an author requests a withdrawal after the article has been sent for review, revised, or published.

3. Refund Requests

To request a refund for any services, the following steps must be taken:

  • Request Submission: Authors must submit a formal refund request in writing to the editorial office at [contact email] within 7 days of making the payment.

  • Provide Reason: The refund request should include the reason for the request, along with any relevant documentation or communication regarding the manuscript.

  • Decision Notification: Once the request is reviewed, authors will be notified of the decision within 10 business days. The refund, if granted, will be processed within 30 days.

4. Bank Charges and Transaction Fees

Refunds will be processed to the same payment method used by the author. However, any bank charges, transaction fees, or processing costs associated with the refund will be deducted from the total refund amount.

5. Non-Refundable Services

Certain additional services such as advertisement placements, extra revisions beyond the agreed scope, and other non-core services are non-refundable once the service has been provided or the work has started.

6. Changes to Refund Policy

FMS reserves the right to modify this refund policy at any time. Any changes to the policy will be communicated to authors and contributors via the journal’s website or email notifications.