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About the Journal

About

The University of Colombo Review (UCR) (Series III) is a double-anonymized peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes articles from all academic disciplines. It is an open-access journal which abides by internationally accepted research and publication ethics. It is funded, hosted and published by the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, as its flagship scholarly publication. The journal is steered by an independent editorial board that consists of members nominated by each faculty of the University and approved by the University Senate. It also has an international advisory board that is similarly constituted. It is currently published bi-annually, in both print and online formats.

Focus and scope

The UCR (Series III) publishes articles from all academic disciplines intended for a generalized scholarly readership. It also publishes thematic issues from time to time. The focus of the journal is determined by the Editorial Board. Submissions are accepted only for articles and reviews sections (see below). Academics, postgraduate students of the University of Colombo and other institutions of higher education, and public intellectuals are encouraged to submit their work. Within this mandate, the UCR (Series III) seeks to become a platform for scholarly communication and debate as well as a repository thereof.

The UCR is published in three sections: articles, reviews and symposia.

  • The Articles section publishes peer reviewed articles, which make a new and significant contribution to knowledge. Articles shall be academically rigorous and ethically sound research papers within respective disciplines, as well as multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary articles which are reflective, critical or exploratory. These include concept papers, exploratory essays and research articles based on empirical findings.
  • Reviews may include an assessment of the state of knowledge on a given topic, a review of an academic publication or an academic review of artistic work such as a movie, artwork or a play. Peer review of submissions published in the Review section may vary and will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the Editorial Board.
  • The Symposium section is meant to engage more broadly with academic debate and discourse with special reference to Sri Lankan scholarship. Examples include keynotes at an academic conference, interviews and debates on a specific theme. Symposia are published at the discretion of the Editorial Board and are not subject to peer review.

International Standard Serial Numbers

The ISSN of the online version of the journal is 2756-9152. The ISSN of the print version of the journal is 1800-3664.

Sponsorship

The UCR (Series III) is funded entirely by the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It does not charge publishing fees from authors. It is available online with open access, while print copies are sold at a reasonable price according to the costs of publication. The University of Colombo also funds the website and online archive of the UCR (Series III) which enables past issues to be downloaded free of charge. The journal does not accept advertisements.

Publication Frequency

The UCR (Series III) is published online biannually, i.e., twice a year. Print versions are typically published shortly afterwards.

History

The history of the journal goes back to 1943, when the University of Ceylon Review was first published by the University of Ceylon in Colombo. The publication shifted to the Peradeniya campus of the university in 1952. It ceased publication in 1967, although several other journals with different titles took its place.

Following the establishment of the University of Colombo in 1978, the University of Colombo Review commenced publication in 1981. A second series commenced in 2006 and ceased in 2010. The current series, begun in 2020, is therefore Series III of the University of Colombo Review.