American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), founded in 1848, is the world's largest general scientific society. It publishes the Science family of journals, runs fellowships, advocacy, and STEMM equity programs, and serves 10 million individuals through 250+ affiliated societies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1848
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What American Association for the Advancement of Science does
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), founded in 1848 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the world's largest general scientific society and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It serves individual scientists, engineers, educators, and science-adjacent professionals through a portfolio that includes the Science family of journals (Science, Science Advances, Science Signaling, Science Translational Medicine, Science Immunology, and Science Robotics), the AAAS Annual Meeting, fellowships (Science & Technology Policy Fellows, Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship, Diverse Voices in Science Journalism Internship), advocacy and training programs (CASE Workshop, SciLine, EPI Center), and diversity initiatives (ISEED, SEA Change, IF/THEN Ambassadors). AAAS also operates a federation of 250+ affiliated societies and academies of science that together reach approximately 10 million individuals globally.
AAAS generates revenue through individual and institutional membership dues, journal subscriptions across the Science family, foundation and federal grants (notably NSF, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Ford Foundation, Tiger Global Impact Ventures), individual philanthropy and planned giving through the 1848 Society, and programming such as the newly launched AAAS Learning Hub (March 2026) and the Mani L. Bhaumik Breakthrough of the Year Award. Pricing is subscription-based with annual billing cadence and student discounts for .edu addresses; specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. The organization also operates the (AI)2 Initiative to examine AI's societal implications and is engaged in active federal science policy advocacy, including formal opposition to the OMB's proposed Uniform Guidance revisions.
Strategically, AAAS functions as both a learned society and a publishing and policy enterprise. Leadership includes CEO and Executive Publisher Sudip S. Parikh (Ph.D.) and President-Elect Gilda A. Barabino (Ph.D.). The organization has secured transformational philanthropic commitments in recent years, including the $11.4 million Bhaumik pledge (2022) and nearly $20 million in STEMM equity grants from NSF, TGIV, and Sloan (2022), alongside an ongoing federal advocacy posture on R&D appropriations, NSF governance, and peer review integrity.
American Association for the Advancement of Science firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Legal name
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Website
- https://aaas.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1848
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), founded in 1848, is the world's largest general scientific society. It publishes the Science family of journals, runs fellowships, advocacy, and STEMM equity programs, and serves 10 million individuals through 250+ affiliated societies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where American Association for the Advancement of Science is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
American Association for the Advancement of Science business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from individual scientists, engineers, and science professionals serving as the primary revenue stream
- Journal Subscriptions: Subscription revenue from the Science family of journals including Science, Science Advances, Science Signaling, Science Translational Medicine, Science Immunology, and Science Robotics
- Grants and Awards: Major grants from NSF, foundations, and philanthropists including nearly $20M in awards for STEMM initiatives, $11.4M from Mani L. Bhaumik for Breakthrough of the Year Award
- Philanthropy and Planned Giving: Donations, endowments, and legacy gifts from members and supporters including the 1848 Society for planned giving
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Individual membership with student discounts available |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
American Association for the Advancement of Science product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AAAS is a nonprofit scientific society that publishes the Science family of six peer-reviewed journals and delivers membership services, fellowship programs, science policy advocacy, public engagement with science, and STEMM equity initiatives to a global community of scientists, engineers, educators, and students. Its flagship outputs are the Science journal brand, the AAAS Annual Meeting, and a portfolio of professional development, fellowship, and diversity programs funded by member dues, subscriptions, grants, and donations.
Product overview
AAAS operates as a multidisciplinary scientific society offering a portfolio of publications, professional development programs, fellowship opportunities, and public engagement initiatives. The core Science family of journals (Science, Science Advances, Science Signaling, Science Translational Medicine, Science Immunology, Science Robotics) represents the flagship publication products. Beyond publishing, AAAS provides the AAAS Learning Hub for professional training, operates fellowship programs (Science & Technology Policy Fellows, Mass Media Fellowship), runs advocacy training (CASE Workshop), and administers diversity initiatives (ISEED, SEA Change, IF/THEN Ambassadors). The organization also delivers scientific evidence to policymakers through the EPI Center and facilitates science-religion dialogue through DoSER. Recent initiatives include the (AI)2 Initiative examining AI implications and the Mani L. Bhaumik Breakthrough of the Year Award recognizing scientific breakthroughs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Science Journals: The Science family of journals including Science, Science Translational Medicine, Science Signaling, Science Advances, Science Immunology, and Science Robotics.
Products and services
- Science Family of Journals Subscription-based portfolio of six peer-reviewed scientific journals (Science, Science Advances, Science Translational Medicine, Science Signaling, Science Immunology, Science Robotics) sold to individual and institutional subscribers worldwide.
- AAAS Membership Annual individual membership in the AAAS scientific society with access to member benefits, the Science journal, member community, and engagement programs; student discounts available.
- AAAS Annual Meeting Major annual scientific gathering bringing together scientists, policymakers, and science communicators for sessions, networking, and program launches.
- AAAS Learning Hub Online professional development and training platform offering learning sessions for STEMM professionals, accessible to members and the broader scientific community.
- Diverse Voices in Science Journalism Internship Paid summer internship placing undergraduate students underrepresented in science writing on the Science news team in Washington, D.C. for a 10-week term.
- Science & Technology Policy Fellows (STPF) Program Fellowship program placing scientists and engineers in federal government assignments, with STEMM diversity outcomes tracked across cohorts.
- AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship Fellowship placing science students in media organizations to strengthen science journalism through practical experience; 2026 cohort welcomed.
- Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) Workshop Workshop equipping STEM students with science policy engagement skills and direct experience in the policymaking process, including congressional process and federal budget training.
- AAAS Fellows Recognition Program Lifetime honor recognizing scientists, engineers, and innovators for scientifically and socially distinguished achievements, with nearly 500 elected in each annual class.
- Mani L. Bhaumik Breakthrough of the Year Award International science prize awarding $250,000 annually to up to three scientists whose foundational research best exemplifies the Science Breakthrough of the Year, funded by an $11.4M endowment.
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 500 scientists and engineers recognized annually as AAAS Fellows
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use American Association for the Advancement of Science
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
American Association for the Advancement of Science technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature1 record
American Association for the Advancement of Science partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
American Association for the Advancement of Science competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- National Geographic Society: The National Geographic Society is a large non-profit science and exploration organization that combines membership dues, philanthropic funding, and grants to researchers - a comparable operating model in adjacent space. Its focus on public engagement with science parallels AAAS's mission and public-facing programs.
- Elsevier: Elsevier is a global commercial publisher of scientific, technical, and medical journals, including Cell, The Lancet, and thousands of others. It is a broader incumbent competitor in the scientific journal publishing market where AAAS competes with its Science family of journals, though Elsevier operates across many disciplines rather than anchoring a single society.
- Smithsonian Institution: The Smithsonian Institution is a comparable large U.S. science and education non-profit with research, public engagement, fellowship, and education missions, but operates from museums, research centers, and the Smithsonian museum network rather than scientific journals. They have collaborated directly (IF/THEN Ambassadors exhibit of 120 3D-printed statues at the Smithsonian).
Direct peers
- American Medical Association: The AMA is a 501(c)(6) professional association and journal publisher (JAMA family) that mirrors AAAS's blend of individual membership, peer-reviewed publishing, fellowship credentials, and policy advocacy. It serves as a structural peer for understanding AAAS's diversified professional-society revenue model.
- American Physical Society: APS is a major U.S. scientific society that publishes leading peer-reviewed physics journals (Physical Review Letters, Physical Review, etc.) and operates fellowship and advocacy programs structurally similar to AAAS's. The model of discipline-specific society publishing competes directly with Science journal's multidisciplinary positioning.
- National Academy of Sciences: The National Academy of Sciences is the closest U.S. peer to AAAS - a congressionally-chartered, non-profit scientific society that advises the U.S. government on science and publishes the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Both organizations serve as authoritative voices for the scientific community, recognize scientific excellence through elected membership, and engage in science policy advocacy.
- Springer Nature: Springer Nature, the publisher of Nature and the Nature Research journal family, is AAAS's most direct competitor in high-impact scientific publishing. Both compete for top scientific manuscripts, institutional subscription dollars, and the attention of working researchers, with comparable journal brand portfolios.
- American Chemical Society: ACS is a 501(c)(3) scientific society and journal publisher with a similar membership dues + journal subscription revenue model, comparable headcount, and a network of divisions and local sections analogous to AAAS's 250+ affiliated societies. Its portfolio of peer-reviewed journals competes with Science in chemistry and adjacent fields.
- IEEE: IEEE is a large non-profit professional society with a comparable operating model - membership dues, conference revenue, fellowship programs, and a substantial journal portfolio (over 200 active titles). It is a relevant structural peer for understanding AAAS's membership + publishing + standards + conferences architecture.
- Royal Society: The Royal Society is the U.K.'s national academy of science and publishes Philosophical Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society. It mirrors AAAS in combining fellowship election, scientific publishing, government science advisory work, and public engagement, and is the most internationally comparable peer society to AAAS.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
American Association for the Advancement of Science social profiles
Digital presenceAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
American Association for the Advancement of Science financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
American Association for the Advancement of Science leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
American Association for the Advancement of Science funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
American Association for the Advancement of Science M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about American Association for the Advancement of Science
What does American Association for the Advancement of Science do?
AAAS is a nonprofit scientific society that publishes the Science family of six peer-reviewed journals and delivers membership services, fellowship programs, science policy advocacy, public engagement with science, and STEMM equity initiatives to a global community of scientists, engineers, educators, and students. Its flagship outputs are the Science journal brand, the AAAS Annual Meeting, and a portfolio of professional development, fellowship, and diversity programs funded by member dues, subscriptions, grants, and donations.
Is American Association for the Advancement of Science a public or private company?
American Association for the Advancement of Science is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was American Association for the Advancement of Science founded?
American Association for the Advancement of Science was founded in 1848. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is American Association for the Advancement of Science based?
American Association for the Advancement of Science is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does American Association for the Advancement of Science make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Membership Dues are the primary driver. The others are journal Subscriptions, grants and Awards and philanthropy and Planned Giving.
Who are American Association for the Advancement of Science's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are National Geographic Society, Elsevier and Smithsonian Institution. Direct peers are American Medical Association, American Physical Society, National Academy of Sciences, Springer Nature, American Chemical Society, IEEE and Royal Society.
Does American Association for the Advancement of Science have an API?
No public API is recorded for American Association for the Advancement of Science.