For the second year in a row, Harvard University’s “abysmal” free speech climate earned the lowest ranking among 251 colleges and universities scored by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
“This year, however, Harvard has company. Columbia University ranks 250, also with an overall score of 0.00,” read the report released on Friday.
New York University, the University of Pennsylvania and Barnard College rounded out the top five colleges, according to the report.
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Harvard University ranked last in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s 2025 College Free Speech Rankings. Harvard, Columbia and NYU were all accepted with “abysmal” ratings. (AP Photo/Lisa Poole, File)
FIRE, a pro-First Amendment nonprofit, worked with College Pulse to survey tens of thousands of students about the free speech environment on college campuses for its annual College Free Speech Rankings.
“We’re trying to give an indication of where students can have the best experience in college in terms of different views,” FIRE research advisor Sean Stevens told Fox News Digital.
A spokesperson for Barnard told Fox News Digital that the college is “committed to protecting academic freedom and freedom of expression, and fostering an environment where students, faculty, and staff can engage in open and respectful dialogue.”
Barnard has adopted the Chicago Principles, a free speech policy previously endorsed by FIRE, and this school year a faculty committee will develop a “Barnard-specific framework,” the spokeswoman said.
Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
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Poorly ranked universities all experience instances where speech is censored, suppressed or expelled, Stevens said. Since FIRE began ranking schools in 2020, the bottom five colleges and universities have been “persistently bad performers,” he said.
“He rarely stood up for a speech,” Stevens said. “If there is controversy, the speech is usually punished. Speakers are not invited. Faculty members are punished in a way, or student or student organizations.”
Poor performers share another notable trait, according to FIRE’s analysis.
“Most students are very upset with the way the administration has responded to protests over the past year,” Stevens said.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters set up camp on the Columbia University campus, pictured on April 29, 2024. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing war “sent shock waves through American campuses and university campuses,” according to the FIRE report. Protesters occupied Columbia’s South Lawn for about two weeks in April before police broke up the encampment.
After the start of the camp, researchers noticed a large increase in the percentage of Columbia students who said they censored themselves in class discussions or conversations with professors or other students.
On the other end of the free speech spectrum, the University of Virginia earned the highest ranking. Michigan Technological University, Florida State University, Eastern Kentucky University and Georgia Institute of Technology rounded out the top five.
The full rankings can be seen here.
Stevens notes that well-performing schools tend to have fewer controversies and, when controversy does arise, administrators typically defend free speech.
He said he hopes parents and prospective students use the FIRE ranking tool to make more informed choices. The tool also provides a look at the liberal-conservative ratio on campus, and a more in-depth look at student attitudes toward free expression.
“Experiencing open inquiry and the process, having to grapple and having a challenged view” makes students “more mature citizens of our country, once they graduate,” Stevens said.
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FIRE and College Pulse surveyed students at 257 schools in total, but excluded six from the top rankings and gave them a “warning” rating.
The private colleges, which include Pepperdine University, Hillsdale College, and Brigham Young University, all “have clear policies and have consistently stated” that they prioritize “values ​​other than their commitment to free speech,” according to the FIRE report.
