The Southwest Journal of Arts and Sciences (SJAS) is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed academic journal owned and housed at University of the Southwest in Hobbs, New Mexico. Its purpose is to foster and promote quality research in the liberal arts and sciences by aspiring and seasoned scholars alike. An entirely electronic journal, SJAS is published through Alexander Street once a year with one to two issues per volume.

Under the direction of its editorial board, all articles accepted into SJAS have passed through a double-blind peer reviewed process by scholars holding terminal degrees in that specific field. While each respective author’s thoughts and statements remain his or her own and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts, opinions, or positions of the editorial board of SJAS or University of the Southwest, the peer-review process ensures that such work has been assessed for quality.

As an interdisciplinary journal, SJAS publishes quality research in the hard sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.), social sciences (psychology, counseling, sociology, anthropology, history, etc.), and the humanities (religion, philosophy, literature, etc.). Prospective authors should focus on original research and theory development and may include both quantitative and qualitative inquiry. It is encouraged that interested authors submit inquiries to the respective managing editor prior to writing to ensure fittingness of the topic.

SJAS welcomes quality, unsolicited, original articles for consideration provided they meet the following specifications. All articles within SJAS must be between 2,000 to 5,000 words (excluding title, abstract, and reference pages). Any articles below or above that word count must be approved by the respective managing editor. Furthermore, all articles must be set in Times New Roman 12-point type and conform to the American Psychological Association (APA) Manual of Style 7th Edition. Any exceptions to these writing style guidelines must be approved by the managing editor. Files should be submitted as Microsoft Word documents. While minor corrections and suggestions will be made by the respective editors, all authors should ensure their submission is of highest quality both in what it affirms as well as how it is written. All authors must hold a terminal degree from an accredited institution of higher learning, be working towards a terminal degree from an accredited institution of higher learning, or work in collaboration with an individual with a terminal degree from an accredited institution of higher learning.

To submit an article, please read the Terms and Conditions. Then, remove any and all identifying markers of the author(s) on the article submitted to ensure fair objectivity during the blind review. Finally, complete the online submission form (below), attach the respective article, agree to the Terms and Conditions, then click submit. Your submission will be delivered to the General Editor who may forward it to the appropriate managing editor to begin the review process. While there is no guarantee how long the review process will take, SJAS editors make every effort to have materials reviewed within 60 days of receipt.

SJAS also published Book Reviews in various disciplines. The word count for book reviews is typically between 500 – 1,000 words. Book reviews should follow the writing style of Journal Articles (described above). Book reviews will be reviewed by the managing editor but will not be double-blind reviewed. The following are general guidelines for book review submissions:

•    Title including complete bibliographic citation for the work (i.e., title in full, author, place, publisher, date of publication, edition statement, pages, special features [maps, color plates, etc.], price, and ISBN. Provide a short summary of the author’s biography.
•    One paragraph identifying the thesis, and whether the author achieves the stated purpose of the book.
•    One or two paragraphs summarizing the book.
•    One paragraph on the book’s strengths.
•    One paragraph on the book’s weaknesses.
•    One paragraph on your assessment of the book’s strengths and weaknesses.

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