About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Spectrum is a student-powered, collaborative undergraduate research journal supported by the Undergraduate Research Initiative at the University of Alberta. Spectrum is committed to publishing thought-provoking, insightful and dynamic interdisciplinary content. We seek to create an open-minded journal with a focus on connecting our readers with all areas of study and new methods of inquiry, from the liberal arts to the natural sciences.

What do we publish?

Spectrum strives to publish diverse and engaging research completed by undergraduate students within and across the areas of health sciences, natural sciences and engineering, social sciences, arts and humanities. We will consider submissions in a variety of formats, provided that the work is driven by an underlying research question.

Possible submission formats include (but are not limited to):

  • research articles
  • review articles
  • music
  • video
  • visual arts & design
  • curatorial projects

Who can publish in the journal?

To be published by Spectrum, you must be either:

  • a current undergraduate student at any post-secondary institution in any faculty, or
  • a recent alumnus of an undergraduate program (within the last 12 months), who has not yet started a graduate program.

Authors may be asked to provide verification of their undergraduate student (or recent alumni) status in order for editors to assess submission eligibility to Spectrum. 

Submissions from any discipline are welcome, but should be written in language accessible to readers from a variety of disciplines.

Student Involvement

Spectrum offers students the opportunity to gain experience in editing their academic work and subsequently having it published.

Spectrum recruits annually for the following volunteer roles with the journal:

  • Editors (undergraduate and graduate students)
  • Peer reviewers (undergraduate and graduate students)

Peer Review Process

Spectrum uses a double-anonymous peer review process. Submissions are normally reviewed by three reviewers:

  • One undergraduate student in a related discipline
  • One undergraduate student in an unrelated discipline
  • One graduate student in a related discipline

Open Access Policy

Spectrum provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports greater global exchange of knowledge. Authors will never be charged to submit or publish a manuscript through Spectrum, and all articles will be published under Creative Commons licences.

Spectrum does not charge any fees to authors, or require a subscription of any kind to access the work we publish.

Journal Policies

For a complete description of Spectrum's editorial policies, please see the detailed author guidelines.