TL;DR

• Reinvention publishes original undergraduate research across most disciplines.

• Submissions require a full manuscript, abstract, and author declaration form.

• Peer review at Reinvention is double-blind and student-led.

• Acceptance is competitive; a strong literature review matters most.

• Submitting to the wrong scope is the most common reason for rejection.

You finished your research. You wrote the paper. Now you want to know whether it is good enough to publish, and where to send it. Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research is one of the most credible options available to undergraduate students, and understanding exactly how its submission process works will save you weeks of wasted effort.

Most students who approach Reinvention for the first time do so without reading the submission guidelines carefully. They send a paper that is either outside scope, incorrectly formatted, or missing required documents. The rejection that follows is not a reflection of the research quality. It is a process failure, and it is entirely avoidable.

This post walks through every stage of the Reinvention submission process, from checking whether your paper fits the journal to understanding what happens after you hit send.

What is Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research?

Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by the University of Warwick and Monash University. It publishes original research written by undergraduate students across a wide range of disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Submissions are reviewed by a student editorial board under academic supervision.

The journal has been operating since 2007. It publishes two issues per year. Because it is open-access, published articles are freely available to anyone online, which increases the reach of your work significantly compared to journals sitting behind a paywall. Open-access publication also means your research can be cited more easily by other scholars.

Reinvention is not a predatory journal. It is affiliated with two research-intensive universities and operates according to recognised editorial standards. If you are building an academic profile before graduate school or a research career, a publication here carries genuine weight.

How to check whether your paper fits Reinvention's scope

Reinvention accepts original research from undergraduate students currently enrolled at a recognised university. The journal is multidisciplinary, which means it does not restrict submissions to one field. However, your paper must present original research or a substantive original argument. Reviews of existing literature alone are not accepted unless they make a novel contribution.

Before you prepare your submission, ask three questions. First, is your research original? It must present new findings, a new analysis, or a new theoretical argument. Second, are you currently an undergraduate student? The journal's guidelines specify that at least the lead author must be enrolled at the undergraduate level at the time of submission. Third, does your institution qualify? Reinvention accepts submissions from universities worldwide, but the affiliation must be verifiable.

If your paper is a STEM study, check whether the methodology section is detailed enough for replication. If it is a humanities paper, the argument must be grounded in primary sources. Reinvention's editorial board is looking for papers that meet the standards of academic rigour expected at the undergraduate level, not postgraduate work, but not coursework either.

If you are still deciding whether your research is ready to submit anywhere, the guide on how to submit a research paper to a peer-reviewed journal covers the full preparation process from draft to submission.

How to submit to Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research, step by step

Submitting to Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research requires careful preparation of several documents before you reach the submission portal. Incomplete submissions are returned without review.

Follow these steps in order:

1. Prepare your manuscript. Your paper must be anonymised for double-blind review. Remove your name, institution, and any identifying acknowledgements from the document itself. The file should be submitted as a Word document (.doc or .docx). PDF submissions are not accepted at the initial stage.

2. Write your abstract. The abstract must be between 150 and 250 words. It should summarise the research question, methodology, key findings, and significance. Do not include citations in the abstract.

3. Complete the author declaration form. Reinvention requires all authors to confirm that the work is original, has not been published elsewhere, and is not under review at another journal simultaneously. This is a standard requirement across academic publishing and relates to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on duplicate submission.

4. Prepare a cover letter. Address it to the editorial board. State your current institution, your year of study, the discipline your paper falls under, and a one-paragraph summary of why the paper is a good fit for Reinvention specifically.

5. Submit through the journal's online portal. Reinvention uses an online submission system accessible through the journal's official website at the University of Warwick. Upload each document in the format specified. Double-check file names before submitting.

If you are working on your first academic submission and want structured support identifying the right journal and preparing your documents, joining the Publication Compass waitlist gives you early access to a platform built specifically for student researchers navigating this process.

What happens after you submit to Reinvention

After submission, Reinvention's editorial team conducts an initial desk review. This checks whether the paper meets the basic scope and formatting requirements before it is sent to peer reviewers. Papers that fail the desk review are returned quickly, usually within a few weeks, with a brief explanation.

Papers that pass the desk review enter double-blind peer review. In double-blind review, neither the author nor the reviewers know each other's identities. Reinvention uses a student editorial board, meaning your reviewers are fellow undergraduate or postgraduate students trained in academic review processes, working under the supervision of academic staff at Warwick and Monash.

The review process at Reinvention typically takes several months. The journal publishes two issues per year, so timing your submission matters. Submitting early in a submission window gives your paper more time in the review cycle before the issue closes. Check the journal's website for current submission deadlines, as these change each academic year.

After peer review, you will receive one of three decisions: accept, accept with revisions, or reject. An outright acceptance on the first submission is rare at any peer-reviewed journal. Most accepted papers go through at least one round of revisions. If you receive a revise-and-resubmit decision, treat it as a positive signal. It means the editorial board sees value in your work.

What makes a strong Reinvention submission

The most common reason undergraduate papers are rejected at Reinvention is not poor writing. It is an underdeveloped literature review. Your paper needs to demonstrate that you understand the existing scholarship in your area and that your work adds something to it. A literature review that only summarises what other researchers have said, without positioning your own argument within that conversation, will not pass peer review.

Three qualities distinguish papers that succeed at Reinvention:

1. A clear, specific research question. Broad questions produce unfocused papers. A paper asking "What is the impact of social media on mental health?" is too wide. A paper examining a specific relationship, in a specific population, using a specific method, is far more publishable.

2. Methodological transparency. Whether your research is qualitative or quantitative, you must explain exactly how you gathered and analysed your data. Reviewers need to be able to evaluate whether your conclusions follow from your methods.

3. Honest engagement with limitations. Undergraduate research has constraints. Acknowledging them directly, rather than ignoring them, demonstrates academic maturity and strengthens your credibility with reviewers.

For students comparing Reinvention to other student journals, the Journal of Student Research scope and submission guide outlines a different peer-reviewed option worth considering alongside Reinvention.

Common mistakes to avoid when submitting to Reinvention

Failing to anonymise your manuscript is one of the most frequent errors. Because Reinvention uses double-blind review, any identifying information in the document, including your name in the file metadata, can compromise the review process and result in your submission being returned.

Simultaneous submission is another issue. Submitting the same paper to Reinvention and another journal at the same time violates standard publication ethics as defined by COPE. If you are discovered to have done this, both journals will likely reject your paper and may flag your name with other editors. The rule is straightforward: one journal at a time.

Students also frequently underestimate the importance of the cover letter. A generic cover letter that does not mention Reinvention by name, or does not explain why the paper fits this specific journal, signals to editors that the submission is part of a bulk send. Editors notice this. Write a specific cover letter for every journal you approach.

If you are also considering where else your research might fit, the best journals for undergraduate research covers a range of peer-reviewed options across disciplines, which can help you build a submission strategy rather than relying on a single journal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can high school students submit to Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research?

No. Reinvention specifically requires that the lead author is currently enrolled as an undergraduate student at a recognised university. High school students are not eligible. If you are still in high school and want to publish, journals such as the International Journal of High School Research are designed for pre-university researchers.

How long does the Reinvention review process take?

The review process at Reinvention typically takes between two and five months from initial submission to a decision. This varies depending on the submission window and reviewer availability. Reinvention publishes twice per year, so papers accepted after a deadline may be held for the following issue.

Is there a submission fee for Reinvention?

Reinvention does not charge authors a submission fee or an article processing charge. It is a fully open-access journal funded through its university partnerships at Warwick and Monash. Authors retain copyright under a Creative Commons licence, which allows others to share and use the work with proper attribution.

Can I submit a paper I wrote for a university course?

Coursework can form the basis of a submission, but the paper must be revised and developed beyond its original coursework form before submission. A paper submitted exactly as it was handed in for a grade is unlikely to meet the research depth and originality standards Reinvention requires. Significant development is expected.

What happens if my paper is rejected by Reinvention?

A rejection from Reinvention does not mean your research is unpublishable. Read the reviewer feedback carefully. Use it to revise the paper before submitting elsewhere. Many published papers were rejected by the first journal they were sent to. Identify the specific weaknesses raised and address them systematically before your next submission.

What to do next

Submitting to Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research is a structured process. Prepare your manuscript carefully, anonymise it correctly, write a specific cover letter, and make sure your research question and methodology are clearly articulated. If you receive reviewer feedback, engage with it seriously. The revision process is where most published papers are actually made.

For a broader view of how academic publishing works at the student level, and to explore more journals and submission tools built for researchers at your stage, visit the Publication Compass blog for guides across every part of the research and publication process.