UC Davis leads nation in improving campus free speech ranking

Of more than 250 universities evaluated nationwide, the University of California, Davis has been identified as the campus that registered the largest improvement in its annual free speech ranking this year. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a nonprofit committed to defending free speech rights, boosted UC Davis to 24th place out of 262 universities surveyed. This marks a jump of more than 200 spots from last year’s ranking.

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In collaboration with survey research company College Pulse, FIRE published its seventh annual college free speech rankings last week. Based on a survey of college undergraduates about their perceptions and experiences regarding free speech on their campuses, the organization gives each school a score, grade and rank. This year, FIRE surveyed nearly 63,000 students about topics including how comfortable they felt expressing controversial opinions and whether their campuses welcomed speakers with provocative viewpoints. The study also took into account FIRE’s assessment of campus speech policies and how schools responded to speech controversies.

“As a public university, UC Davis is firmly committed to the First Amendment and to the free and open discourse that is essential to our educational mission and our role in a democratic society,” Chancellor Gary S. May said in a statement. “We recognize that free speech can be uncomfortable and even at times hurtful to members of our community, and we reiterate our Principles of Community to guide our culture and climate of mutual respect and caring. We appreciate FIRE’s recognition of the progress we’ve made and the difficult work we continue to do.”

Of the 27 California schools surveyed this year, UC Davis now ranks second statewide for its free speech climate. According to the evaluator, the school’s improved ranking is primarily because of its commitment to institutional neutrality and adoption of the Chicago Statement. The statement was produced by the University of Chicago more than a decade ago to protect the free expression rights of students and faculty when teaching, researching, learning and protesting. It has been endorsed at more than 80 institutions nationwide.

Specifically, the report found that students at UC Davis trust officials to defend speech and now have less hesitation in expressing themselves. However, the school ranked poorly on student acceptance of non-peaceful forms of protest.

Across the board, FIRE reported the highest average overall score in seven years this year, with the organization pointing specifically to a slight decline in the percentage of students who said it was acceptable to shout down a speaker, block entry or use violence to stop a campus speech. Still, that higher average score amounts only to a D- on FIRE’s grading scale.

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According to FIRE CEO Greg Lukianoff, the overall state of free speech on campuses remains grim as administrators “cancel controversial speakers, cave to government or student calls for censorship, and limit academic freedom.” The 2025 killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University generated a wave of censorship at American universities over the past year, FIRE said in a news release. At 61 of the ranked schools, over half the surveyed students said Kirk was “difficult to discuss” on campus. Other topics that students said were difficult to talk about openly on campus were the Israel-Palestine conflict, Donald Trump, abortion, immigration and transgender rights.

How did California schools rank

In California, the average score of the 27 ranked schools is up from last year, even as the state witnessed several recent controversies at different campuses.

Last year, a professor at San Jose State was fired over her pro-Palestinian activism, making her the first tenured faculty member to be dismissed from a US public university following nationwide campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza. Sang Hea Kil won her job back in June and is currently suing the university.

Around that same time, a California lawmaker introduced a bill aimed at reforming campus protest policies that she believed were targeting students of color and creating a chilling effect at UC and CSU schools. That bill scraped through in the final days of the legislative session last month and is now awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature.

As lawmakers, students, professors and university leaders navigate debates on free speech at higher education institutes in the state, here’s a look at FIRE’s rankings for all surveyed schools in California this year:

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1. Claremont McKenna College
2. University of California, Davis
3. Stanford University
4. University of California, Los Angeles
5. Chapman University
6. California State University, Los Angeles
7. The California Institute of Technology
8. California State University, Long Beach
9. University of California, Irvine
10. University of California, Merced
11. University of California, Riverside
12. University of California, Santa Barbara
13. University of California, Santa Cruz
14. Pitzer College
15. Scripps College
16. Harvey Mudd College
17. San Diego State University
18. University of Southern California
19. University of California, San Diego
20. California State University, Fresno
21. Santa Clara University
22. University of California, Berkeley
23. Occidental College
24. Pomona College
25. California Polytechnic State University
26. University of San Francisco
27. San Jose State University