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Higher Education

The International Journal of Higher Education Research

Publishing model:

Overview

Higher Education is a leading international journal dedicated to advancing knowledge in the field of higher education studies. Established in 1972, the journal publishes twelve issues annually, reporting on educational developments in universities, polytechnics, colleges, and vocational institutions worldwide, encompassing both public and private sectors. Contributions are peer-reviewed and come from scholars around the globe, addressing the challenges faced by researchers, teachers, institutional leaders, and policymakers in the higher education sector.
Our key criterion for publication is that submitted manuscripts must make a significant contribution to the body of knowledge in higher education studies and be situated clearly within the existing literature of the field. As an international journal, we aim to bridge insights from different educational systems and contexts, and encourage submissions that are relevant to an international audience or that promote cross-national dialogue.
We particularly welcome the following types of contributions:

  1. Empirical research studies that are cross-national or cross-sectoral in scope, or that involve large datasets—such as data from multiple institutions and/or over extended time periods.
  2. Historical syntheses and policy studies, including secondary analyses of primary data that offer original interpretations of higher education systems, policies, or contexts.
  3. Smaller-scale empirical studies that offer significant conceptual or methodological advances in the international higher education literature.
  4. Conceptually based studies that are not primarily empirical, including theoretical discussions, explorations of methodological issues, reflective essays, and critical literature reviews that provide substantial original insights into higher education and its evolving context.

Higher Education serves as a platform for the exchange of research findings, experiences, and perspectives, fostering ongoing dialogue among experts in the field. By publishing a diverse range of authoritative overview articles, comparative studies, and focused analyses, the journal aims to deepen our understanding of higher education across the world.

Editors-in-Chief
  • Hugo Duarte Alves Horta PhD
  • Simon Marginson PhD
  • Shen Wenqin PhD

Journal metrics

Journal Impact Factor
4.3 (2025)
5-year Journal Impact Factor
6.2 (2025)
Submission to first decision (median)
7 days
Downloads
2.2M (2025)

Latest issue

Special Issue: Higher Education in the Eye of the COVID-19 Storm (pp. 1–119); Regular Papers (pp. 121–561)

Latest articles

Journal updates

  • Policy of Higher Education

    HIGHER EDUCATION is an international journal in the multidisciplinary field of higher education research. Its policy is to give priority to papers that are relevant to the international higher education research and policy community.

  • English Language Editing

    For editors and reviewers to accurately assess the work presented in your manuscript you need to ensure the English language is of sufficient quality to be understood.

Journal information

Electronic ISSN
1573-174X
Print ISSN
0018-1560
Abstracted and indexed in
  1. ABS Academic Journal Quality Guide
  2. ANVUR
  3. BFI List
  4. Baidu
  5. CLOCKSS
  6. CNKI
  7. CNPIEC
  8. Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS)
  9. Current Contents/Social & Behavioral Sciences
  10. Dimensions
  11. EBSCO
  12. ERIC
  13. ERIH PLUS
  14. Gale
  15. Google Scholar
  16. JSTOR
  17. MLA International Bibliography
  18. Naver
  19. Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals and Series
  20. OCLC WorldCat Discovery Service
  21. Ovid Discovery
  22. Portico
  23. ProQuest
  24. SCImago
  25. SCOPUS
  26. Social Science Citation Index
  27. TD Net Discovery Service
  28. Wanfang
  29. eLibrary.ru
© Springer Nature B.V.

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