These 7 Mass. colleges ranked among the worst for free speech nationwide
Massachusetts has some of the worst campuses for free speech nationwide, according to a new ranking from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
"Massachusetts is home to some of the most speech-restrictive campuses in the country. Eliminating 'red light' policies and expanding public commitments to expressive rights would help improve their free-speech climates," FIRE said.
Sixteen Massachusetts schools were ranked out of 257 nationwide. The state had a speech climate grade of an F, matching the national average.
The 257 colleges were chosen to represent a variety of colleges in the United States, including large public universities, small private colleges, religiously-affiliated schools, and those in the Ivy League, according to the FIRE website.
While Harvard University, for the past two years, has taken last place, both Boston College and Northeastern University ranked lower than Harvard for this year.
While still not in last place, the university still lags behind most of its peers. It ranked 245 out of 257 colleges across the nation reviewed by FIRE.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth University and Yale University more dramatically improved to 7, 35 and 58. In 2024, the schools ranked 140, 224 and 155.
The highest-ranked college for free speech in Massachusetts was Amherst College at 70th overall.
The worst two schools for free speech in the country were Columbia University and Barnard College, according to the rankings.
Only 11 schools received a speech climate grade of C or higher and 166 out of the 257 colleges surveyed received a failing grade.
"This means that the vast majority of American colleges and universities are failing to protect and foster free expression. In an era when open inquiry and dissent are more essential than ever, campus speech climates are not just unhealthy — they are in free fall," the organization said in its report.
"We don't think this is too harsh for a few reasons. 1) It should be difficult to get an A; 2) Most schools aren't even doing the bare minimum — which would be having a 'green light' spotlight rating from our Policy Reform team. A lot of these schools would at least have passing grades if they revised their speech codes to obtain that rating," a FIRE spokesperson said.
How do the rankings work?
The report is based on the opinions of over 68,000 students. It is the largest survey of campus free expression ever performed, allowing people to search by state and school. The students were surveyed over the College Pulse mobile app and web portal from January 3 to June 5, 2025.
The rankings are also based on analysis of written policies and the tracking of controversies, according to FIRE .
It is the sixth year that the organization has created a free speech ranking.
Last year, Massachusetts schools' average ranking was better than this year for free speech on its campuses.
The area that decreased was political tolerance. Other areas the states' schools improved upon, including comfort expressing ideas, openness, administrative support and self-censorship. There weren't any changes for disruptive conduct.
Seventy-five percent of students in Massachusetts schools say shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
Forty-four percent of students have said they've self-censored on campus at least once or twice a month and 33% of students say using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
There are roughly 5.44 liberal students for every one conservative student in Massachusetts, according to FIRE.
What are the rankings in Mass.?
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Amherst College (#70)
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology (#82)
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Wheaton College (#110)
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Boston University (#111)
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Worcester Polytechnic Institute (#121)
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Brandeis University (#149)
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University of Massachusetts (#162)
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Williams College (#166)
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Clark University (#194)
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Wellesley College (#225)
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Tufts University (#239)
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Smith College (#241)
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Mount Holyoke College (#242)
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Harvard University (#245)
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Boston College (#251)
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Northeastern University (#253)
The full rankings can be viewed here .
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