The Collège de France is an institution that is unlike any other in France or anywhere else in the world. It is both a center for cutting-edge research, engaged in the major challenges of our time, and a place open to all those with a thirst for knowledge.
Founded in 1530 under King Francis I, the Collège de France was created as a place for bold new ideas where scholars could access and explore fields of knowledge beyond the traditional university framework. Today, the Collège de France remains faithful to this spirit of innovation and openness: its professors, among the world’s most renowned scholars, advance knowledge across 50 disciplines from mathematics, physics, and biology to history, the humanities, and the arts. With 700 researchers, it stands at the forefront of discovery, distinguished by 12 Nobel Prizes and 5 Fields Medals.
Each year, more than a thousand lectures, seminars, and conferences are offered to the public free of charge and shared online, reaching millions of viewers around the world, providing 14,000 hours of free courses.
Since 2008, the Fondation du Collège de France has supported both the work of professors and initiatives expanding access to learning, made possible through the generosity of its donors. Its mission is to promote independent, world-class research across all fields, expand open access to knowledge, and extend the Collège de France’s scientific and cultural reach around the world.
Through its support for all areas of research and its commitment to open access to knowledge, the Fondation du Collège de France continues to foster the intellectual creativity and excellence that have shaped the institution since its founding.
Expanding Access to Knowledge: Fondation du Collège de France plays a key role in making the institution’s lectures, conferences, and seminars accessible to everyone. Thanks to its support, all teachings are freely available online through the Collège de France website, YouTube, and major podcast platforms, allowing millions to follow the latest discoveries as they unfold. The Foundation also fosters scientific exchange by helping organize international conferences that bring together some of the world’s leading researchers to discuss the frontiers of knowledge.
Supporting Research: Through its ongoing commitment to research, the Foundation develops projects across all fields, with more than 190 initiatives funded to date. Its support provides the resources to equip laboratories and strengthen research teams, including those led by renowned scholars such as paleoanthropologist Jean-Jacques Hublin and neurobiologist Sonia Garel. By financing 180 research positions, the Foundation ensures that the Collège de France remains at the forefront of scientific excellence and innovation.
Civilizations: The Foundation contributes to the study and preservation of human heritage by funding the digitization of rare documents, such as those from the Bash Tapa Archaeological Mission in Iraqi Kurdistan. It also supports the teams of the Collège de France’s Institut des Civilisations, an international center of excellence that brings together eleven specialized libraries devoted to the social and cultural histories of the five continents.
Heritage: Fondation du Collège de France safeguards the institution’s rich collections, ensuring that exceptional archives and objects are preserved for the benefit of researchers worldwide. It is also helping to prepare for the Collège de France’s 500th anniversary in 2030 — a celebration of five centuries of free thought, curiosity, and discovery.
Supporting Emerging Scholars: The Foundation is deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of researchers across all fields of knowledge, welcoming talented scholars from around the world. By supporting the work and recruitment of doctoral and postdoctoral students at the Collège de France each year, the Foundation helps to maintain a dynamic and independent research community based on curiosity, creativity, and intellectual freedom.
U.S. donors can make tax-deductible donations in support of several projects:
Scientific research projects: The organization offers support and funding for research projects taking up scientific, technological, cultural and societal challenges of our time. It also promotes international scientific cooperation between researchers. Support includes:
Educational projects: The organization advances education in a wide range of disciplines from mathematics to the study of major civilizations, including physics, chemistry, biology and medicine, philosophy and literature, economic and social sciences, prehistory, archaeology and history, and many more. The organization also promotes dialogue between different countries and cultures by supporting the research institute on civilizations created by Collège de France.
Support includes ensuring the courses, symposia and conferences of the Collège de France are freely accessible in nearly 50 disciplines, both on site and online. Audio and video podcasts of the lectures are available for all on the Collège de France website, on YouTube and on major podcast platforms.
Heritage projects: Preserving a unique historical and scientific heritage. These include:
Cover photo: @ Patrick Imbert
In the heart of Paris’s Marais district, Ithaque gives new focus to darkroom printmaking, pairing artistic practice with social impact. The art gallery, founded in
One year after the disastrous Cyclone Chido struck Mayotte on December 14th, 2024, Fondation de France remains fully committed to helping individuals and families rebuild,
As we close our 25th anniversary year, we are proud to share a snapshot of the generosity that U.S. donors extended to our projects this