Applied Sciences Cover Letter: What Editors Actually Need to See
Applied Sciences editors screen for section fit and applied focus before anything else. A clear cover letter that names the right section and states a practical result moves fastest through triage.
Readiness scan
Before you submit to Applied Sciences, pressure-test the manuscript.
Run the Free Readiness Scan to catch the issues most likely to stop the paper before peer review.
Applied Sciences at a glance
Key metrics to place the journal before deciding whether it fits your manuscript and career goals.
What makes this journal worth targeting
- IF 2.5 puts Applied Sciences in a visible tier — citations from papers here carry real weight.
- Scope specificity matters more than impact factor for most manuscript decisions.
- Acceptance rate of ~~50-60% means fit determines most outcomes.
When to look elsewhere
- When your paper sits at the edge of the journal's stated scope — borderline fit rarely improves after submission.
- If timeline matters: Applied Sciences takes ~~60-90 days median. A faster-turnaround journal may suit a grant or job deadline better.
- If OA is required: gold OA costs ~$1,800-2,200. Check institutional agreements before submitting.
How to use this page well
These pages work best when they behave like tools, not essays. Use the quick structure first, then apply it to the exact journal and manuscript situation.
Question | What to do |
|---|---|
Use this page for | Getting the structure, tone, and decision logic right before you send anything out. |
Most important move | Make the reviewer-facing or editor-facing ask obvious early rather than burying it in prose. |
Common mistake | Turning a practical page into a long explanation instead of a working template or checklist. |
Next step | Use the page as a tool, then adjust it to the exact manuscript and journal situation. |
Applied Sciences (MDPI) at a glance | Value |
|---|---|
Impact Factor (JCR 2024) | 2.5 |
Acceptance rate | ~40-50% |
Desk rejection rate | ~20-30% |
Desk decision | ~1-2 weeks |
Publisher | MDPI |
Key editorial test | Section fit + applied relevance + contribution clarity |
Cover letter seen by reviewers | No |
Quick answer: Applied Sciences (IF 2.5, ~40-50% acceptance) spans over 40 MDPI sections covering engineering, materials, computer science, physics, and more. A strong cover letter names the target section in the first sentence and states a clear applied result. Without that section identification, the handling editor is routing blind in a journal with more than four dozen editorial sub-areas.
What Applied Sciences Editors Screen For
Criterion | What They Want | Common Mistake |
|---|---|---|
Section fit | Paper clearly belongs in the named MDPI section | Submitting without specifying a section or choosing the wrong one |
Applied relevance | Work is genuinely applied, not purely theoretical or fundamental | Dressing up a fundamental study with a token application paragraph |
Contribution clarity | A clear, identifiable contribution worth reviewing | Vague descriptions that do not justify review in a broad-scope journal |
Submission completeness | All files, figures, and supplementary materials included | Incomplete submissions that cause administrative delays |
Practical result | A stated applied result with real-world implications | Describing the methodology without stating what the applied outcome was |
What the official sources do and do not tell you
The official Applied Sciences pages describe the MDPI submission process and list section scopes, but they do not prescribe a specific cover-letter format.
What the journal structure implies:
- the manuscript must fit a named section and its scope
- the work should be applied, not purely theoretical or fundamental
- the editor needs enough information to route the paper without guessing
That means section selection and scope clarity matter more here than at most journals.
What the editor is really screening for
At triage, the academic editor handling the paper is asking:
- does this paper belong in the section the author selected?
- is the work genuinely applied, or is it a fundamental study dressed up with an application paragraph?
- does the submission look complete enough to send to reviewers without administrative delays?
- is the contribution clear enough to justify review in a broad-scope journal?
A cover letter that answers these questions in the first few sentences moves through triage fastest.
What a strong Applied Sciences cover letter should actually do
A strong letter usually does four things:
- names the target MDPI section in the first sentence
- states the applied result directly (not the methodology, the outcome)
- explains in one sentence why the work is genuinely applied rather than fundamental
- confirms submission completeness
A practical template you can adapt
Dear Editor,
We submit the manuscript "[TITLE]" for consideration in the
[SECTION NAME] section of Applied Sciences.
This study addresses [specific applied problem]. We show that
[main result], which has direct relevance to [practical domain
or application].
The manuscript fits Applied Sciences because it reports applied
results in [field] rather than purely fundamental findings.
The work is original, not under consideration elsewhere, and
approved by all authors.
Sincerely,
[Name]The section-naming sentence is the single most important addition compared to a generic MDPI cover letter.
Mistakes that make these letters weak
The common failures are:
- never naming the target section, forcing the editor to guess routing in a 40+ section journal
- writing a letter as though Applied Sciences were a specialist venue rather than a broad applied-science platform
- describing the study topic without stating what applied result was found
- submitting a fundamentally theoretical paper and expecting the word "applied" in the title to carry section fit
- using the same generic MDPI template that works for Sensors, Energies, or any other MDPI journal without section adaptation
What should drive the submission decision instead
Before polishing the letter further, confirm the journal fit. Applied Sciences is broad but explicitly applied; purely fundamental work without a practical angle will struggle regardless of letter quality.
The better next reads are:
- Applied Sciences Basel acceptance rate
- Applied Sciences Basel formatting guide
- Applied Sciences Basel submission guide
If the paper is primarily a sensors application, Sensors (~3.9) is a more precise fit. If it is primarily energy systems, Energies (~3.2) is more targeted. Applied Sciences makes sense for genuinely cross-disciplinary applied work that does not fit a single-topic MDPI journal.
Practical verdict
The strongest Applied Sciences cover letters are short, section-specific, and results-focused. They tell the editor where to route the paper and why the work is applied.
A Applied Sciences cover letter framing check is the fastest way to pressure-test whether your framing already does that before submission.
In Our Pre-Submission Review Work with Manuscripts Targeting Applied Sciences
In our pre-submission review work with manuscripts targeting Applied Sciences, five cover letter patterns generate the most consistent desk rejections and editorial routing failures, even when the underlying science is technically sound.
Cover letter never names the target section. Applied Sciences is published by MDPI and divided into more than 40 editorial sections, each with its own academic editor pool covering areas as distinct as civil engineering, food science, computer vision, quantum mechanics, and materials processing. A cover letter that submits to "Applied Sciences" without specifying a section leaves the editorial office to assign the paper based on keywords alone. Section misrouting is the most common cause of desk rejection for papers that are technically within scope. The cover letter should name the exact section in its first sentence; if the author is uncertain, the MDPI section list is publicly available and section scope pages describe the editorial focus explicitly.
Fundamental paper with a thin application paragraph. Applied Sciences explicitly publishes applied research, not fundamental studies with incidental application context. A cover letter that describes an experimental or theoretical investigation of a physical phenomenon, then appends a single sentence noting that "this could be useful for X" is describing a fundamentals paper, not an applied one. The editorial model expects the application to be the primary motivation for the work, not a postscript. The cover letter should state the practical problem that motivated the study, the applied result obtained, and why that result matters in the engineering or technological domain.
Wrong section chosen, leading to wrong editorial routing. Within Applied Sciences' 40+ sections, editorial standards vary significantly. The civil engineering section and the artificial intelligence section have different publication norms, reviewer pools, and acceptance criteria. A paper submitted to the wrong section will be handled by an editor who may not recognize its contribution or may reject it as out of scope for their editorial remit. The Applied Sciences section list includes section editor names and their specific expertise areas. Matching the paper to the correct section, and confirming that match in the cover letter with a one-sentence justification, is the most important routing decision in this submission.
Methodology described instead of applied result stated. Applied Sciences editors are evaluating whether the work has practical relevance, not whether the methods are novel. A cover letter that describes what was measured, what algorithms were used, or what experimental setup was employed without stating what the applied outcome was leaves the primary editorial question unanswered. The cover letter should lead with the applied result: what engineering problem was solved, what device performance was achieved, what practical parameter was improved and by how much. The methodology can follow, but the applied result must come first.
Generic MDPI boilerplate submitted without Applied Sciences adaptation. MDPI operates dozens of journals, and the administrative submission requirements are similar across them. Authors who have previously submitted to Sensors, Energies, Sustainability, or other MDPI journals sometimes reuse the same cover letter template without adapting it to Applied Sciences' multi-section structure. A cover letter that omits the section name, describes the paper's significance in terms relevant to a single-topic MDPI journal, or uses the wrong journal name creates an immediate triage inefficiency. Applied Sciences requires section identification that other MDPI journals do not, because without it the editorial routing cannot proceed.
A Applied Sciences cover letter framing check is the fastest way to verify that your framing meets the editorial bar before submission.
Submit Now If / Think Twice If
Submit to Applied Sciences if:
- the work is genuinely applied: engineering or technology results with direct practical relevance, not fundamental research
- the correct section has been identified from the MDPI section list and named in the cover letter
- the applied result is stated explicitly: what problem was solved, what performance was achieved, what engineering parameter improved
- the submission is complete: all required files, data availability statement, and ethics declarations ready
- no single-topic MDPI journal (Sensors, Energies, Remote Sensing) is a more precise audience fit
Think twice if:
- the work is primarily fundamental research without direct applied outcomes (a specialty journal is more appropriate)
- Sensors (~3.9) is a better fit for sensor technology, IoT, or measurement systems specifically
- Energies (~3.2) is a better fit for energy systems, power engineering, or renewable energy work
- Remote Sensing (~4.1) is a better fit for geospatial, satellite, or earth observation work
- the journal choice is based on MDPI's fast publication rather than genuine scope fit for the target section
Readiness check
Run the scan while Applied Sciences's requirements are in front of you.
See how this manuscript scores against Applied Sciences's requirements before you submit.
How Applied Sciences Compares for Cover Letter Strategy
Feature | Applied Sciences | Sensors | Energies | Remote Sensing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
IF (JCR 2024) | 2.5 | ~3.9 | ~3.2 | 4.1 |
Desk rejection | ~20-30% | ~20-30% | ~20-30% | ~20-30% |
Cover letter emphasis | Section fit + applied result in correct MDPI section (40+ sections) | Sensor technology, IoT, measurement systems | Energy systems, power, renewable technology | Geospatial, satellite, earth observation |
Best for | Cross-disciplinary applied science spanning multiple MDPI section topics | Sensor, IoT, and measurement-focused work | Energy, power, and renewable systems work | Remote sensing and geospatial applications |
Frequently asked questions
It should name the specific MDPI section you are targeting and state the applied relevance of your main finding. With over 40 sections, the editor needs to route the paper quickly.
Submitting without specifying a section or writing a generic letter that does not explain why the work is applied rather than purely fundamental.
MDPI does not strictly mandate one, but submitting without a cover letter removes your best chance to frame section fit and applied focus for the handling editor.
Acceptance rates vary by section but generally fall in the 40 to 50 percent range. Desk rejection is common when the section choice is wrong or the applied angle is missing.
Sources
- 1. Applied Sciences instructions for authors, MDPI.
- 2. Applied Sciences section list and scope, MDPI.
- 3. MDPI editorial process, MDPI.
- 4. Clarivate Journal Citation Reports (JCR 2024), Clarivate.
Final step
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Where to go next
Start here
Same journal, next question
- Applied Sciences Basel submission guide
- How to Avoid Desk Rejection at Applied Sciences Basel
- Applied Sciences Basel Review Time: What Authors Can Actually Expect
- Applied Sciences Impact Factor 2026: 2.5, Q2, Rank 50/175
- Applied Sciences APC and Open Access: MDPI Pricing, Volume, and How It Stacks Up
- Applied Sciences (Basel) Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide
Supporting reads
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