International Journal of Strength and Conditioning Accepted for Indexing in Scopus

The International Universities Strength and Conditioning Association (IUSCA) is proud to announce that the International Journal of Strength and Conditioning (IJSC) has been formally accepted for indexing in Scopus, marking one of the most significant milestones in the journal’s development.

Scopus is one of the world’s leading scholarly abstract and citation databases. Journals undergo independent evaluation against rigorous criteria covering peer review, academic contribution, journal standing, publishing regularity, ethics and international accessibility. The process is deliberately selective, with Elsevier reporting that fewer than half of titles reviewed are accepted for Scopus coverage.

For the IJSC, acceptance follows more than five years of continuous development since the publication of its first volume in January 2021. It represents independent recognition of the journal’s development as an international scholarly publication and creates an important new platform for the research being published across strength and conditioning, sports performance and exercise science.

Greater international visibility for strength and conditioning research

Scopus indexing will significantly increase the discoverability of IJSC publications within the international research community. Scopus states that content included within the database is visible to millions of users and is used by researchers across scholarly papers, grant applications, reports and other research activity.

This provides an important opportunity for IJSC authors, while further strengthening the journal’s central mission: to provide a global platform through which high-quality research can reach academics, practitioners and students across the world.

The milestone builds on substantial growth in recent years. During 2025 alone, the IJSC recorded 253,718 article views, published 50 articles, reached readers in 93 countries and published work from researchers representing 38 nationalities.

Diamond Open Access remains at the centre of the IJSC

Importantly, the development of the IJSC has been achieved while maintaining its commitment to Diamond Open Access.

Every IJSC article remains freely available to readers, while authors are not required to pay mandatory article processing charges. The model is designed to remove financial barriers on both sides of academic publishing, allowing research to be published and accessed irrespective of an individual researcher or institution’s ability to pay.

Dr Tom Gee, Co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Strength and Conditioning, commented:

“Acceptance by Scopus marks a significant progressive step for the International Journal of Strength and Conditioning. With being indexed within this globally renowned database the journal will have enhanced visibility to researchers, practitioners and students who benefit from our commitment to Diamond Open Access and regular weekly publication of articles within the field of strength and conditioning.”

Thank you to our international supporters

Maintaining a Diamond Open Access journal requires a different model of academic publishing. Rather than transferring the cost of publication to individual authors or placing research behind subscription barriers, the IJSC is supported by universities, libraries, academic consortia and other organisations that share its commitment to accessible scholarly research.

The IUSCA and IJSC would therefore like to recognise Jisc and Lyrasis, whose Community Open Access initiatives have helped universities support the journal, together with VIVA, Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium, and our growing international community of institutional funding supporters:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

The Ohio State University

Imperial College London

University of Massachusetts Amherst

York St John University

University of Bath

University of Southern Queensland

New York University (NYU)

Yale University

University College Birmingham

University of Washington

Swarthmore College

University of Wolverhampton

Iowa State University

Sacred Heart University

University of Rhode Island

KU Leuven

University of Arkansas

Manchester Metropolitan University

Their support has helped demonstrate that an international academic journal can combine rigorous scholarly publishing, global reach and genuine open access without requiring authors or readers to carry the financial burden.

Acceptance for Scopus indexing represents an important validation of what has been built since the IJSC was established, but it is also a platform for its next stage of development.

For the IUSCA, the objective remains unchanged: to make high-quality strength and conditioning research as rigorous, visible and accessible as possible to the global academic and practitioner community.

Visit the journal at: https://journal.iusca.org

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