EHESS

What EHESS does

EHESS (École des hautes études en sciences sociales), founded in 1975, is a French public higher education and research institution (a 'grand établissement') headquartered at 54 boulevard Raspail, Paris, with regional campuses in Marseille (since 1977), Lyon, Toulouse, and Aubervilliers (Campus Condorcet). Its mission is the unity of social sciences — history, anthropology, sociology, economics, and adjacent disciplines — through original research-based training rather than traditional undergraduate education. The institution hosts roughly 3,000 students (including about 1,500 doctoral candidates), ~800 teachers and researchers across 37 research units, and ~400 administrative and technical staff, defending over 250 doctoral theses annually. About 40% of students are international, and the institution hosts 230 visiting researchers per year under 85 international partnership agreements. Core infrastructure comprises Éditions de l'EHESS (scholarly publishing), Didomena (research data repository), OpenEdition (electronic resources portal), HAL EHESS (open archives), Savoirs (knowledge platform), and a Plateforme géomatique & Humanités numériques (digital humanities and spatial analysis). Products and services include master's programs (notably the RCAHS in Marseille), doctoral training with a tri-disciplinary core (anthropology, history, sociology), the Diplôme de l'EHESS, formation continue (continuing education), and cultural programming such as the Allez Savoir festival in Marseille (since 2019, 5,000–7,000 attendees) and the Marc Bloch lecture cycle (since 1979).

Revenue mechanics are those of a French public scientific, cultural, and professional institution: primary funding flows from the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (operational costs, salaries, research infrastructure), supplemented by competitive research grants from national agencies (ANR), European programs (EURETES), and international funding bodies, plus revenues from continuing education (formation continue). Tuition is regulated under the standard French public higher education fee schedule. The go-to-market model is community-led: student recruitment through competitive admission and partnership referral, researcher recruitment through international invitations, and public engagement through events, conferences, the festival, podcasts, and an active multi-platform social media presence. Customer segments are primarily graduate students, doctoral candidates, visiting international researchers, partner universities and cultural institutions (Mucem, Ville de Marseille, CNRS, Fondation Camargo), and the general public.

Name

EHESS

Legal name

École des hautes études en sciences sociales

Website

https://ehess.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

EHESS (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) is a French public research institution founded in 1975 that trains graduate and doctoral students in the unity of social sciences, hosts 37 research units, and operates across multiple French campuses plus international partnership networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Government Funding: As a French public higher education and research institution (grand établissement), EHESS receives primary funding from the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research. This covers operational costs, salaries, and research infrastructure.
2. Research Contracts and Grants: EHESS generates revenue through competitive research grants from national agencies (ANR), European programs, and international funding bodies. Research contracts support specific projects and programs.
3. Continuing Education and Professional Development: Formation continue programs offering professional development and continuing education courses in social sciences disciplines.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

EHESS (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) is a French public research and higher education institution that provides graduate-only training (master's, doctoral, and diplôme programs) and conducts interdisciplinary social science research across 37 research units. It operates multiple campuses in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and Toulouse, hosts 230+ visiting international researchers annually, and disseminates knowledge through digital platforms (Didómena, OpenEdition, HAL EHESS, Savoirs), the Éditions de l'EHESS publishing house, and the annual Allez Savoir festival.

Product overview

EHESS (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) is an international research institution in social sciences that operates as a unified platform combining academic research, education, and knowledge dissemination. The institution encompasses 37 research units conducting fundamental social science research, offers master's and doctoral programs through its RCAHS and doctoral training tracks, and operates regional campuses including Marseille. Knowledge dissemination is facilitated through the annual Allez Savoir festival, the Didómena research data repository, OpenEdition electronic resources portal, HAL EHESS open archives, and the Savoirs platform. Éditions de l'EHESS handles scholarly publishing, while the Plateforme géomatique & Humanités numériques provides digital humanities infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Didómena: EHESS research data repository platform for organizing, sharing and preserving research data from EHESS research units.
• Allez Savoir
• Campus Condorcet

Products and services

• Allez Savoir Festival Annual social sciences festival created by EHESS and the Ville de Marseille, held in Marseille. Transforms the city into a laboratory of ideas with discussions, films, museum visits, performances, and educational activities.
• Didómena EHESS research data repository platform enabling research units to organize, share, and preserve data used or produced in their work. Data is described according to scientific and technical information standards.
• OpenEdition Portal providing electronic resources for humanities and social sciences research, operated in partnership with EHESS.
• HAL EHESS Open archives platform for EHESS research publications and scholarly outputs.
• Savoirs Platform dedicated to history and anthropology of knowledge and sciences, providing access to academic content.
• Plateforme géomatique & Humanités numériques Geomatic platform and digital humanities service supporting spatial analysis and computational research methods.
• Master RCAHS (Recherches comparatives en anthropologie, histoire et sociologie) Master's program in comparative social sciences research unique in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, emphasizing research practice and interdisciplinary approaches.
• Doctoral Training (Sciences sociales - Marseille) Doctoral program training in social sciences around a tri-disciplinary core (anthropology, history, sociology), with students affiliated to various research laboratories.
• Éditions de l'EHESS EHESS publishing house producing scholarly books and journals in social sciences.

Quantifiable outcome

• 250+ doctoral theses defended annually across social science disciplines
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Campus CondorcetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEHESS is a founding member of Campus Condorcet, a major international campus for humanities and social sciences. The campus enables scientific cooperation between founding members, supports research programs, and provides international-standard working conditions for researchers and students.
• Ville de MarseillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for EHESS Marseille campus and the annual Allez Savoir social sciences festival. The city supports campus operations and co-organizes the festival attracting 5,000+ participants to discuss contemporary social issues.
• Mucem (Musée des civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural partner for events and exhibitions including the Season Méditerranée 2026. Collaborates on academic programming, artist residencies, and public engagement initiatives in Mediterranean studies.
• Fondation CamargomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts and humanities foundation collaborating with EHESS Marseille on interdisciplinary research and cultural programs in the Mediterranean region.
• Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor research partner through joint research units (UMR). Multiple EHESS research units are co-hosted with CNRS, enabling collaborative social science research across disciplines.
• École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Marseille (Ensam)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on interdisciplinary projects combining architecture and social sciences, including the Season Méditerranée 2026 programming.
• Académie Aix-MarseillemajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThree-year partnership agreement (convention triennale since 2021) for educational collaboration and academic programs in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.
• La Friche La Belle de MaiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural venue partnership for art and research events, collaboration established in 2023 for creative and intellectual programming.
• Parc national des CalanquesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental research collaboration, partnerships for 2021 and 2022 on Mediterranean ecosystem studies and environmental humanities.
• EURETES - European Research Training in Social SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean research training network enabling collaborative doctoral programs and researcher exchanges across European institutions in social sciences.
• International Partner Institutions (85 agreements)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner85 international cooperation agreements with foreign institutions worldwide supporting student exchanges, joint research, and academic collaboration across all continents.
• French Ministry of Higher Education and ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary government funding body and regulatory authority for EHESS as a 'grand établissement' under the French higher education system.
• INSEAMM - Institut national supérieur d'enseignement artistique Marseille-MéditerranéeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArt education partnership established in 2022 for interdisciplinary artistic and cultural research collaborations.
• Réseau régional CSTI - Culture Scientifique, Technique & IndustrielleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional scientific culture network in Sud region for public science communication and outreach initiatives.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG): German research institute focused on social-science research on economic and political phenomena. Closely comparable in being a publicly funded, research-output-driven institution with strong international visiting-researcher programs and no large undergraduate base.
• École Normale Supérieure (ENS Paris / ENS Lyon): Elite French research and graduate-education institution with strong humanities/social-science faculties and similar competitive-admissions research-training model. Comparable on faculty profile, doctoral output, and grand établissement status.
• European University Institute (EUI): EU-level postgraduate and research institution focused on social sciences (economics, history, law, political science) with strong EU funding linkages and an exclusively international student body — directly comparable in research-training model and disciplinary scope.
• WZB Berlin Social Science Center: German public social-science research institute focused on political, sociological, and policy research with strong international research collaborations and visiting-scholar programs. Closely comparable in mission and operating model to EHESS's research units.
• London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE): Globally leading social-sciences research university with comparable graduate-only character, large international student body, and concentration of high-impact social-science research output. Closest international analog to EHESS's academic mission.
• Sciences Po: France's other premier social-sciences institution, also based in Paris with multiple campuses and a strong international footprint. Directly comparable in mission (graduate-level social-science research and education) and target student profile, though more policy-oriented.

Others

• Campus Condorcet: EHESS is a founding member of Campus Condorcet, the major French humanities and social-sciences campus hub in Aubervilliers. Comparable as the institutional ecosystem and shared infrastructure in which EHESS's research and education activities are increasingly consolidated alongside other HSS institutions.

Broad incumbents

• University of Oxford — Department of Social Sciences / Social Sciences Division: Large-established global university with a substantial social-sciences research footprint, comparable faculty profile, and large international graduate-student body. Broader in disciplinary scope than EHESS but directly competitive for top social-science doctoral talent.
• Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS): France's primary national scientific research agency and a direct operational partner — EHESS hosts joint research units (UMR) with CNRS. Comparable as the dominant French public-research counterparty in social sciences, although CNRS operates across all disciplines.

Regional players

• Bocconi University: European graduate-focused social-science and economics university with strong international student share and concentrated research output. Operates in a different geography (Italy) but follows a similar international, research-led social-science model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ehess_fr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/ehess
• Facebookfacebook.com/ehess.fr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/ehess
• Instagraminstagram.com/ehess_officiel
• TikToktiktok.com/@ehess_officiel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EHESS