Sorbonne Paris North University (Université Sorbonne Paris Nord)

What Sorbonne Paris North University (Université Sorbonne Paris Nord) does

Université Sorbonne Paris Nord is a French public higher education institution (Établissement Public à Caractère Scientifique, Culturel et Professionnel, EPCSCP) established in 1970 as part of the reorganization of the University of Paris, formerly known as Université Paris 13. It operates across six campuses in the Greater Paris north-eastern corridor (Villetaneuse, Bobigny, Saint-Denis, La Plaine Saint-Denis, Argenteuil, and the Condorcet campus), serving approximately 25,000-26,000 students across five Unités de Formation et de Recherche (UFR), four institutes, and a Department of Physical and Sports Activities. The institution awards Licences, Masters, BUTs (Bachelor Universitaire de Technologie), and professional licenses across sciences, humanities, health, law, economics, and technology, producing around 8,000 graduates annually and sustaining a 300,000-member alumni network.

The university operates 30 research laboratories organized under two doctoral schools (Erasme for humanities and social sciences; Galilée for sciences, technology, and health), supporting 550 doctoral students. Core academic offerings include 200+ professional disciplines, apprenticeship training programs (alternance) — including a nationally top-ranked BUT Génie Mécanique et Productique at IUT Saint-Denis (1st place, Palmarès Label Alternance 2026) — and continuing education through formation professionnelle and VAE/VAP pathways. International mobility is supported through Erasmus+, BCI-Québec, MICEFA, and bilateral exchange agreements, with a Welcome Desk holding the 'Bienvenue en France' label.

The business model is structured as a public-sector funding base: primary revenue comes from French Ministry of Higher Education and Research allocations, supplemented by regulated tuition and registration fees, national and European research grants (ANR, Horizon Europe, Erasmus+), industrial and clinical research contracts, and professional services revenue from continuing education and apprenticeship programs. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via an online enrollment portal and national admission platforms, with separate recruitment channels for teaching staff (Maîtres de Conférences, Professeurs, ATER, contract teachers) via the national ODYSSÉE platform and administrative/technical staff via competitive civil service exams. The underlying technology stack is conventional web infrastructure (WordPress with Astra Pro theme and Elementor, Matomo analytics, Google Fonts, Google Maps), with no proprietary AI/ML systems disclosed.

Name

Sorbonne Paris North University (Université Sorbonne Paris Nord)

Legal name

Université Sorbonne Paris Nord

Website

https://univ-spn.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Université Sorbonne Paris Nord is a French public university serving approximately 25,000 students across six Greater Paris campuses, offering degree programs, doctoral research across 30 laboratories, and continuing education in sciences, humanities, and health.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary) (EDAHABAA)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• Academic degree programs
• Research laboratories
• Professional training
• International exchange programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Villetaneuse

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Higher Education Funding: As a French public university, the institution is primarily funded through government subsidies from the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, covering teaching, research operations, and infrastructure.
2. Tuition and Registration Fees: Student tuition fees and registration fees for degree programs, professional certifications, continuing education (FC), and validation of prior experience (VAE/VAP).
3. Research Contracts and Grants: Funding from national research agencies (ANR), European programs (Horizon Europe, Erasmus+), and industrial/clinical research contracts.
4. Professional Services and Continuing Education: Revenue from professional development programs, alternating training (apprenticeships), and specialized short courses offered to working professionals and enterprises.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Université Sorbonne Paris Nord is a French public university providing higher education degree programs (Licences, Masters, BUTs, professional Licences, Doctorates) across sciences, humanities, health, law, economics, and technology disciplines. It conducts research across 30 laboratories organized under two doctoral schools (Erasme and Galile), and offers apprenticeship training, international exchange programs (Erasmus+, BCI, MICEFA, bilateral agreements), continuing education, and student support services including libraries, sports, language learning, and career guidance.

Product overview

Université Sorbonne Paris Nord is a public French university offering higher education services across multiple campuses. The institution provides undergraduate and graduate degree programs across five UFRs (Unité de Formation et de Recherche), four institutes, and various departments. Core offerings include academic training (formations), research across 30 laboratories, student support services including career counseling and disability accommodations, international exchange programs (Erasmus+, BCI-Quelbec, MICEFA, bilateral exchanges), library services, sports and cultural activities, and administrative services for students and staff.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Academic Degree Programs (Formations) Academic degree programs including Licences, Masters, BUTs (Bachelor Universitaire de Technologie), professional Licences, doctoral programs, and DU (Diplômes d'Université) across sciences, humanities, health, law, economics, and technology disciplines, offered across 5 UFRs and 4 institutes.
• Research and Doctoral Training Research activities and doctoral training conducted across 30 laboratories organized under two doctoral schools (Erasme for humanities/social sciences and Galile for sciences/technology/health), covering exact sciences, biomedical sciences, and human/social sciences with 550 doctoral students.
• International Mobility Programs Exchange and mobility programs including Erasmus+ (Europe), BCI-Québec, MICEFA (USA/Canada), and bilateral exchange agreements, enabling student and staff mobility for semester or full-degree study periods.
• Apprenticeship (Alternance) Training Programs Dual vocational training programs through apprenticeship contracts, partnering with companies to deliver work-integrated learning across BUT and professional Licence tracks at IUT de Saint-Denis (ranked 1st nationally in the Label Alternance 2026 ranking for BUT Génie Mécanique et Productique).
• Continuing Education (Formation Professionnelle) Professional development and continuing education courses for employed individuals and organizations, including validation of prior experience (VAE/VAP) and specialized short courses.
• Espace Langues (Language Center) Language learning services offering language courses, certifications, conversation workshops, and the DU Passerelle program for students in exile, serving both enrolled students and external learners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25,000 enrolled students, 8,000 graduates per year, 300,000 alumni network
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Erasmus+ ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Union-funded student and staff exchange program enabling mobility within Europe. Sorbonne Paris Nord participates as both sending and hosting institution for semester-long and short-term exchanges.
• BCI – Québec (Bureau de Coopération Interuniversitaire)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExchange program between French and Québec (Canada) universities. Sorbonne Paris Nord students can spend a semester or year at partner universities in Québec.
• MICEFA – USA/CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity exchange program facilitating mobility between French and North American institutions (USA and Canada).
• Bilateral Exchange AgreementsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirect exchange agreements with international partner universities outside the Erasmus+ and BCI/MICEFA frameworks, enabling student and staff mobility on a reciprocal basis.
• Bibliothèque Universitaire Jean DaussetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Bibliothèque Universitaire Jean Dausset for the exhibition 'Histoire de L'Illustration: de l'imprimerie à l'université', showcasing the history of the Bobigny campus building.
• Campus CondorcetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration within Campus Condorcet, a major higher education and research campus project in the northern Paris metropolitan area, bringing together multiple institutions in humanities and social sciences.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Aix-Marseille Université: Largest French university by student headcount (~80,000), multi-site public research university in Provence. Comparable comprehensive offering, public funding model, and broad disciplinary mix, though distinct in Mediterranean regional positioning.
• Université de Lille: Large French public research university in Hauts-de-France (just north of Île-de-France), formed from a three-university merger. Comparable scale (~80,000 students), broad UFR structure, significant apprenticeship activity, and similar research-intensive positioning make it a strong structural peer outside the Paris region.
• Université Grenoble Alpes: Major multi-campus French public research-intensive university with a strong STEM profile and significant doctoral/research output. Comparable scale, broad academic offerings, and active European research partnerships make it a relevant peer for benchmarking research and apprenticeship performance.
• CY Cergy Paris Université: Public research university in Cergy (northwestern Île-de-France), formed in 2020 from the merger of Université de Cergy-Pontoise and EISTI. Shares the Île-de-France suburban footprint, post-merger integration dynamics, and similar mix of multi-campus academic programs and applied research.
• Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC): Public multi-campus research university in the eastern Paris suburbs (Val-de-Marne), with similar mid-size scale, broad UFR-based disciplinary structure, comparable apprenticeship and continuing-education activity, and similar regulatory and funding environment. Closely comparable in operating model.
• Université Paris-Saclay: France's largest multi-campus public research-intensive university, also in the Île-de-France region, formed from the merger of multiple faculties, grandes écoles, and research institutes. Comparable scale (~80,000+ students), broad disciplinary coverage, and dependence on public research funding make it the most direct structural peer to Sorbonne Paris Nord.
• Université Paris Cité: Paris-region multi-campus public research university created from the merger of Université Paris Descartes and Université Paris Diderot. Similar disciplinary breadth (health, sciences, humanities), similar merger/rebrand trajectory, and similar student scale (~70,000) make it a closely comparable operational peer.
• Université de Strasbourg: Historic French public research university with strong European orientation, multidisciplinary UFR structure, and significant doctoral/research activity. Comparable scale and structural model, especially as a benchmark for EU research funding capture.
• Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1: Sciences, technology, and health-focused public research university in Lyon with a strong IUT network (including DUT/BUT programs comparable to those at Sorbonne Paris Nord's IUT de Saint-Denis). Directly comparable on apprenticeship, BUT programs, and IUT-level technical training.

Broad incumbents

• Sorbonne Université: The historic central 'Sorbonne' institution formed by merging UPMC and Paris-Sorbonne; a more research-intensive, higher-prestige incumbent that owns the Sorbonne brand. Shares brand DNA with Sorbonne Paris Nord and operates in the same Paris-region market, but at materially greater scale and global ranking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/univ_spn
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Univparis13
• Facebookfacebook.com/univsorbonneparisnord
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/bavisgam-b.ed.college
• Instagraminstagram.com/univ_spn

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Sorbonne Paris North University (Université Sorbonne Paris Nord)