College Free Speech Rankings: How WI Schools Performed

WISCONSIN — The University of Wisconsin-Madison was given "below average" marks in the 2025 College Free Speech Rankings, an annual report that monitors how well campuses maintain a free speech environment.

Compiled by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the report draws from more than 58,000 student responses representing over 50 colleges and universities nationwide.

Schools that ranked low had poor levels of administrative support for free speech, low levels of student comfort in expressing their views on controversial political topics, and a strong bias in favor of allowing liberal speakers on campus over conservative ones, FIRE said.

FIRE notes that its report comes as campus encampments and protests over the Israel-Hamas war put college free speech concerns at the forefront of the national conversation.

"The Middle East crisis plunged campuses into absolute chaos last academic year and administrators largely failed in their response, clamping down on free speech protections instead of fostering spaces for open dialogue," said FIRE CEO Greg Lukianoff.

"The nightmare scenarios of last spring cannot be repeated this fall. Colleges need to reassert their mantle of being marketplaces of ideas, not bubbles of groupthink and censorship."

Here's how the three Wisconsin institutions included in the rankings came out:

• 54. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee — Speech climate "average"
• 101. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire — Speech climate "average"
• 227. University of Wisconsin-Madison — Speech climate "below average"

Harvard University has been ranked the worst institution for free speech for the second year in a row.

Three schools, Harvard, Columbia University, and New York University, were given the "Abysmal" rating for their speech climates.

The best colleges for free speech, according to FIRE, are:

1. University of Virginia
2. Michigan Technological University
3. Florida State University
4. Eastern Kentucky University
5. Georgia Institute of Technology
6. Claremont McKenna College
7. North Carolina State University
8. Oregon State University
9. University of North Carolina, Charlotte
10. Mississippi State University

The worst colleges for free speech, according to FIRE, are:

1. Pomona College
2. Indiana University
3. University of Texas, Austin
4. University of Southern California
5. Syracuse University
6. Barnard College
7. University of Pennsylvania
8. New York University
9. Columbia University
10. Harvard University

Check out the full rankings here.