Fastest-accepting engineering journals 2026

95 engineering journals ranked by the median number of days from submission to acceptance, measured from the dates publishers deposit in PubMed for articles published 2024–2025. The interval includes peer review and revisions.

Journals: 95
Typical median: 99 d
Under 60 days: 9
Over 180 days: 6

Read this before using the ranking

Accepted papers only. Rejected manuscripts never receive an acceptance date, so these figures say nothing about desk-rejection speed, rejection rates or your chance of acceptance.
Not the time to a first decision. The interval runs from the “received” date to the “accepted” date the publisher deposits in PubMed. It includes editorial handling, peer review, every round of revision and the time authors spent revising.
Journals record dates differently. Some reset the received date when a revised manuscript arrives, and manuscripts transferred from another journal may keep or lose their earlier dates. Short medians are therefore not always comparable with long ones.
Past timelines are not a promise. Each figure comes from up to 100 recent articles published 2024–2025. Article types, special issues, editors and workload all change, and your paper may take much longer or much less time.
Fast is not the same as good. Check the journal’s scope, indexing, peer-review policy and editorial board before submitting. An unusually quick acceptance can be a warning sign of light peer review.

Journal Metrics is independent and is not affiliated with any journal or publisher listed. The figures are for information only, may contain errors and change as PubMed records are updated. Confirm current timelines on the journal’s own website. See how to spot predatory journals.

Engineering journals by median days from submission to acceptance

Engineering journals ranked by median days from submission to acceptance in PubMed
Rank	Journal	Median days	Middle half	Articles	Quartile	2026 score
1	Micromachines	29†	24–38	100	Q2	3.9
2	Materials	30	25–38	100	Q1	4.3
3	Membranes	33	27–44	100	Q1	4.5
4	Biomimetics	34	26–44	100	Q1	4.3
5	SENSORS	37	30–48	100	Q1	5.0
6	Bioengineering-Basel	38	29–45	100	Q1	4.8
7	Biosensors-Basel	43	33–51	100	Q1	6.9
8	ACS Energy Letters	53	40–69	100	Q1	16.1
9	EXCLI Journal	54	31–84	100	Q4	0.0
10	Smart Medicine	60	45–83	56	Q1	10.2
11	ACS Applied Optical Materials	63	51–77	44	Q2	3.2
12	Nanophotonics	65	55–82	100	Q1	5.7
13	ChemSusChem	66	50–81	74	Q1	5.4
14	Biomedical Optics Express	67	47–95	99	Q1	3.3
15	Nano Convergence	68	47–89	100	Q1	14.6
15	Frontiers of Optoelectronics	68	51–107	58	Q1	3.8
17	ACS Applied Energy Materials	69	52–87	99	Q1	5.4
17	ACS Materials Letters	69	46–88	55	Q1	9.2
17	Photoacoustics	69	48–111	98	Q1	7.7
20	Research	70	49–96	100	Q1	8.9
21	Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology	73	57–103	100	Q1	5.8
22	Frontiers in Neurorobotics	74	43–118	100	Q1	5.6
23	ACS Applied Electronic Materials	75	57–92	97	Q1	4.7
23	Journal of Materials Chemistry C	75	51–92	57	Q1	4.8
23	BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY	75	62–93	100	Q1	6.7
23	Biomaterials Advances	75	60–106	100	Q1	5.1
27	Materials Today Bio	78	61–108	99	Q1	5.8
28	ENERGY & FUELS	79	63–97	99	Q1	6.5
28	BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS	79	56–119	100	Q1	10.4
30	Nano-Micro Letters	80	70–89	100	Q1	30.4
31	Journal of Materials Chemistry A	81	65–112	65	Q1	8.0
31	Small	81	57–129	52	Q1	8.6
33	Materials Advances	84	51–106	47	Q1	6.0
33	Advanced Science	84	57–128	60	Q1	8.7
35	RSC Sustainability	88	74–111	24	Q1	6.8
35	ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering	88	76–120	97	Q1	7.2
37	Journal of Biophotonics	89	64–117	100	Q3	1.8
38	Biointerphases	90	59–116	82	Q3	1.7
38	Journal of Tissue Engineering	90	77–121	98	Q1	9.6
40	Advanced Healthcare Materials	91	69–123	91	Q1	7.6
40	BME Frontiers	91	55–129	61	Q1	10.3
42	Accounts of Materials Research	92	61–108	24	Q1	12.2
42	CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS	92	70–118	98	Q1	6.3
44	Frontiers in Robotics and AI	93	66–132	100	Q1	4.2
45	ACS Photonics	95	74–134	97	Q1	5.4
46	Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials	97	64–176	100	Q1	3.9
47	npj Materials Degradation	98	76–128	23	Q1	6.7
48	Sensors & Diagnostics	99	75–118	29	Q1	5.4
49	SLAS Technology	100	79–140	99	Q2	3.5
50	JOURNAL OF CONTAMINANT HYDROLOGY	101	79–133	99	Q1	4.7
50	JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL OPTICS	101	79–133	99	Q1	3.3
52	Biomedical Engineering Letters	103	77–141	99	Q1	3.8
53	Microsystems & Nanoengineering	104	83–133	100	Q1	8.6
54	Bioactive Materials	105	80–126	100	Q1	10.2
54	National Science Review	105	69–134	99	Q1	9.5
54	ELECTROPHORESIS	105	77–154	97	Q3	2.1
57	Waste Management	107	83–156	100	Q1	7.4
58	Biomicrofluidics	108	73–133	100	Q2	3.8
59	Biomaterials Research	109	76–134	100	Q1	6.2
60	Energy & Environmental Science	110	76–158	29	Q1	29.7
61	International Journal of Nanomedicine	111	85–135	100	Q1	9.4
62	Cyborg and Bionic Systems	112	87–146	100	Q1	12.7
63	INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH	113	82–135	96	Q1	4.1
64	ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY	114	86–150	100	Q3	1.2
65	BIOMATERIALS	119	94–150	100	Q1	11.2
65	MICROSCOPY AND MICROANALYSIS	119	95–181	98	Q4	0.5
67	PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT	120	97–151	97	Q1	2.5
67	Bioinspiration & Biomimetics	120	94–165	100	Q2	2.9
69	Biomedical Engineering Online	121	92–170	100	Q1	5.3
70	JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICS	124	99–154	100	Q1	2.6
70	Biomedical Materials	124	98–162	96	Q1	4.0
72	REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS	126	88–155	100	Q2	1.8
73	APL Bioengineering	129	105–161	100	Q1	5.7
74	Discover Nano	131	103–166	100	Q1	6.5
75	ULTRASONICS	132	99–159	100	Q1	4.1
76	Acta Biomaterialia	135	107–167	100	Q1	8.7
77	HardwareX	136	94–205	100	Q3	1.9
78	IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology	144	101–192	100	Q1	4.0
79	Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering	145	99–191	54	Q1	2.1
80	Biofabrication	149	100–200	99	Q1	6.6
81	Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation	151	112–226	100	Q1	5.4
82	Bioengineering & Translational Medicine	153	118–199	100	Q1	4.7
83	GAIT & POSTURE	158	113–243	99	Q2	1.4
84	IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine	160	123–211	100	Q1	3.3
85	Light-Science & Applications	161	138–196	86	Q1	16.5
86	3D Printing in Medicine	164	112–222	100	Q1	3.7
87	Wearable Technologies	167	125–241	76	Q1	3.7
88	Progress in Biomedical Engineering	169	141–232	62	Q1	3.4
89	Integrative Biology	174	133–213	39	Q2	2.5
90	ISA TRANSACTIONS	185	148–254	100	Q1	5.0
91	Applied Bionics and Biomechanics	189	123–316	44	Q3	1.1
92	MEDICAL & BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING & COMPUTING	193	132–293	100	Q1	3.4
93	Communications Engineering	202	161–270	100	Q1	6.8
94	Journal of Applied Biomechanics	215	138–284	100	Q3	1.2
95	PROSTHETICS AND ORTHOTICS INTERNATIONAL	276	222–343	98	Q3	0.9

Median days: half of the journal’s accepted articles took less time from submission to acceptance and half took more. Middle half: the 25th to 75th percentile. Articles: how many recent PubMed articles had both dates. Journals with the same rounded median share a rank.

Median under 30 days. Very short intervals usually reflect how a journal records its dates (for example a new received date after revision) or invited and fast-track article types such as reviews and editorials, not unusually quick peer review. Check the journal’s peer-review policy before reading anything into them.

Questions about engineering journal acceptance times

Which engineering journals accept papers fastest?

Among the 95 engineering journals with enough PubMed dates, the shortest median times from submission to acceptance (leaving out medians under 30 days, which usually reflect how dates are recorded) are Materials (30 days), Membranes (33 days), Biomimetics (34 days), SENSORS (37 days), Bioengineering-Basel (38 days). These medians include peer review and revisions, and cover accepted papers only.

How long does a engineering journal take to accept a paper?

The typical engineering journal on this page has a median of 99 days from submission to acceptance. 9 of 95 journals have a median under 60 days and 6 take more than 180 days.

Is this the peer review time?

No. PubMed records when a manuscript was received and when it was accepted, not the individual review stages. The interval includes editorial handling, peer review, revisions and the time authors spent revising, so it is longer than the time to a first decision. For first-decision times, check the journal’s own website.

Does a fast journal mean my paper is more likely to be accepted?

No. Only accepted papers have an acceptance date, so this ranking says nothing about acceptance rates or how quickly a journal rejects papers. A very fast acceptance can also be a sign of light peer review. Check the journal’s scope, indexing and peer-review policy before submitting.

About this data

Source: the received and accepted dates publishers deposit in PubMed, read through the public NCBI E-utilities for articles published 2024-01-01 to 2025-12-31, up to 100 recent articles per journal. Data checked 2026-11-03.
A journal is ranked only when at least 20 articles have both dates and at least half of the articles checked have them. Journals that do not deposit dates in PubMed, including most journals outside the life sciences, cannot be ranked here.
The ranking uses each journal’s median: half of its accepted articles took less time and half took more. The middle-half range shows the 25th to 75th percentile.
Fields come from the OpenAlex classification of each journal’s research topics. A journal joins a field when at least two of its four main topics are in it, so a journal can appear in more than one field and some classifications are imperfect.
Quartile and score are the journal’s best OpenAlex subfield quartile and its Journal Metrics Score, shown for context; they play no part in the order.

The full journal-level dataset is in the journal acceptance times study (with a CSV download). Spot an error or a journal whose dates look wrong? Tell us.

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