2027 College Free Speech Rankings: Kirk murder adds another difficult topic to dismal climate for student expression

• The University of Chicago takes the top spot, while Texas State University, the University of Washington, and New York University sit at the bottom
• Most difficult topics for students to discuss on campus include the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, and abortion 
• Some schools fall in rankings following Charlie Kirk-related controversies
• 121 of the 261 schools ranked got an “F” for their speech climate

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2026 – The assassination of Charlie Kirk generated a wave of censorship at America’s colleges over the past year, further contributing to a climate in which too many students fear expressing themselves on campus.

Encouragingly, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s seventh annual College Free Speech Rankings found the percentage of students who said it was acceptable to shout down a speaker, block entry to a campus speech, or use violence to stop a campus speech declined slightly from last year’s record highs.

The survey’s average overall score (61.36) is the highest recorded in seven years but still corresponds to a D- on the report’s grading scale, an unacceptable state of affairs.

“At a tumultuous time for higher education, we are seeing some progress in campus free speech policies and indications that students may be less willing to tolerate shoutdowns and violence on campus compared to recent years,” said FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff. “But the overall state of free speech on campus is grim. Too many college administrators wield their power to cancel controversial speakers, cave to government or student calls for censorship, and limit academic freedom. This report emphasizes the need for colleges to embrace their constitutional obligations wholeheartedly.”

The rankings of 261 schools encompass almost 63,000 student responses to a wide array of free speech-related questions. Looming over this year’s report was the September 10, 2025, murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. At 61 of the ranked schools, over half of students say Kirk is “difficult to discuss” on campus, and nine schools that punished faculty over Kirk-related comments lost points in the rankings. Additionally, some campus chapters of Kirk’s group Turning Point USA have been denied recognition or faced calls for their derecognition as an official student organization.

“The impact of Charlie Kirk’s assassination continues to negatively reverberate on campuses across the country,” said FIRE Chief Researcher Sean Stevens. “Rather than view the tragedy as a warning about the extreme results of partisanship and inability to peacefully engage in dialogue, many college admins took it as an invitation to double down on censorship.”

The highest-ranked colleges for free speech:

1. University of Chicago
2. Claremont McKenna College
3. Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
4. Michigan Technological University
5. Vanderbilt University
6. Dartmouth College
7. Purdue University-Main Campus
8. Appalachian State University
9. University of Virginia-Main Campus
10. George Mason University

The lowest-ranked colleges for free speech: 

252. Howard University
253. University of Miami
254. Loyola University Chicago
255. Boston College
256. Indiana University-Bloomington
257. Rutgers University-New Brunswick
258. Northeastern University
259. Texas State University
260. University of Washington-Seattle Campus
261. New York University

EXPLORE THE RANKINGS

Speech controversies at the highest-rated schools are rare, and students say their administrations are more likely to support free speech. For the third time, the University of Chicago has claimed the top spot in the rankings, and the schools that improved their score the most include Harvard University and the University of California, Davis. After coming in dead last in the 2024 and 2025 rankings, Harvard’s ranking rose by only a few places last year. But this year, its ranking rose dramatically after students reported that, compared to last year, they felt their administration more strongly protects freedom of speech and that they are more comfortable expressing controversial political views on campus.

One hundred and twenty-one of the 261 schools ranked got an F for their speech climate, while only 24 schools received a speech climate grade of C or higher. The lowest-rated schools have restrictive speech policies and some of last year’s most shocking anti-free speech moments. Several incidents cited in the report include: 

• The terminations of Thomas Alter, a tenured professor of history, and Idris Robinson, a professor of philosophy by Texas State University, for off-campus protected expression.
• Multiple disruptions, attempted disruptions, and event cancellations — six in total since 2024 — at the University of Washington.
• The cancellation of a planned lecture by Raz Segal, an Israeli historian and genocide scholar, after the Northeastern University Police Department demanded a list of names of all the registered attendees.
• Students at New York University were barred by administrators from inviting multiple performers affiliated with No Music For Genocide to the university’s annual V100 concert, which is organized and planned by students and student organizations.

“Even for those schools perpetually at the bottom of the rankings, it’s never too late to right the ship,” said FIRE Vice President of Research Angela C. Erickson. “Only 40% of students said that it was ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ clear that their administration protects free speech on campus. College administrators need the humility to reform policies and systems that leave students afraid to speak their minds, and the courage to shut down deplatformings and disruptions when others try to silence them. A great education requires both: the freedom to speak and the opportunity to hear ideas you might otherwise never encounter.” 

Explore the full rankings here.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought—the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE recognizes that colleges and universities play a vital role in preserving free thought within a free society. To this end, we place a special emphasis on defending the individual rights of students and faculty members on our nation’s campuses, including freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience.

CONTACT 

Katie Stalcup, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org