Submissions

Author Guidelines

Eligibility 

To submit a manuscript for publication, please ensure any author(s) conform to the following criteria:

• All writing submitted is/was completed during the authors' undergraduate career at an accredited institution;
• Submissions from authors who have graduated are welcome provided graduation was within a year of the relevant publication (typically Fall of each year). 

If the submission is based on coursework, it must:

• Discuss projects originally designed by the author(s);
• Acknowledge the help of the instructors of the course for which it was originally intended AND be granted permission by the instructor to be submitted for publication with CUJCS;
• The research cannot be currently under review for another journal or venue and it may not be published in another journal (undergraduate or otherwise).
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Please reach out to a member of the CUJCS Editorial Board if you have any questions regarding your eligibility.

Formatting Guidelines

For all manuscripts, ensure the following formatting criteria are met prior to submission to avoid unnecessary revision(s) and/or rejection:

• Please submit your completed manuscript as a .doc/.docx file, not as a PDF;
• Please use 12pt Times New Roman and 1.5 spacing throughout the manuscript;
• Headings and subheadings recommended (follow APA formatting if so);
• The text must include a complete reference list on a separate page submitted at the end of your manuscript;
• The text must include APA in-text citations where applicable and these must be fully cited in the references section at the end of the body text;
• No manuscripts exceeding 9,000 words will be considered for publication;
• Manuscripts should be submitted with a maximum of 6 keywords identifying the core themes or topics addressed in the main body text (CUJCS reserves the right to modify, add or remove keywords);
• CUJCS follows a double-bilnd editorial peer review process: please remove all identifying information from the manuscript before submission.
• Illustrations, figures and tables should be placed in-line as desired in the main body of the text or Appendices as well as be submitted separately in high-resolution formats (PNG, JPEG, Excel/CSV, etc.);
  • The total size of files received should not exceed 50MB.
• CUJCS follows a double-bilnd editorial peer review process: please remove all identifying information from the manuscript before submission.

General Tips and Guidelines for Authors

To ensure accessibility and clarity for our broad readership, CUJCS encourages authors to communicate their work in a clear, concise, and engaging manner. Submissions should be written to be understandable by readers outside the author’s specific area of research, including those from adjacent disciplines or with general academic backgrounds.

While manuscripts will not be rejected solely on the basis of language quality, CUJCS reserves the right to make final editorial decisions regarding writing style, tone, and structure in order to uphold our standards of clarity and accessibility.

Authors are expected to:

• Explain abstract or complex ideas clearly and succinctly upon first mention, providing intuitive analogies or plain-language definitions where appropriate.
  
• Include sufficient background and contextual information to help readers unfamiliar with the specific topic understand its relevance and significance within cognitive science.
  
• Minimize technical jargon and avoid specialized terminology unless it is essential to the argument. When such terms are necessary, they must be spelled out in full using internationally recognized nomenclature, followed by abbreviations or acronyms in parentheses upon first use.
  
• Avoid non-standard, ambiguous, or emotionally loaded language, as well as any terminology that lacks clear definition or risks misinterpretation across fields.
  

Our goal is to promote accessible, interdisciplinary dialogue within cognitive science and to support undergraduate authors in developing strong science communication skills.

AI Use Policy

CUJCS does not permit the use of generative image or language models, including for the generation of figures, summaries, or copyediting.
If you wish to submit a manuscript for which AI tools were used, you are welcome to do so provided you include a detailed AI declaration with your submission as a separate file. CUJCS reserves the right to reject papers on the basis of unsatisfactory declarations or uses of AI.