Overall Score The Overall Score is made up of 12 parts. Six measure how students feel about free speech on campus. Three look at school speech policies. The last three look at how people on campus respond during speech controversies. A higher score reflects a better free speech climate.
62.7 Treanding Up
/ 100
Overall Rank The Overall Rank shows where a school stands among the 261 institutions evaluated, based on its Overall Score.
94 Treanding Up
/ 261
Overall grade The Grade is a letter based on the college's rounded Overall Score. Scores fall into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
D
Speech Controversies Controversies are campus incidents where a student, professor, or speaker faces backlash or pressure for speech that's protected by the First Amendment or academic freedom.
7
Overview
University of California, Los Angeles ranks 94 out of 261 schools in the 2027 College Free Speech Rankings with a score of 63 and a D speech climate grade, climbing 95 places and 6 points from last year. It was penalized for multiple speech controversies, including an attempted disruption of a speaking event.UCLA lands in the bottom 25 for “Comfort Expressing Ideas,” meaning students feel constrained when sharing views on controversial topics. It ranks in the bottom 50 for “Administrative Support,” signaling students doubt officials will defend free speech.
UCLA retains a “green light” Spotlight rating. It should adopt the pro-free speech Chicago Statement and an official commitment to institutional neutrality. Given its weak showing on “Administrative Support,” administrators should clearly and forcefully defend free speech whenever censorship occurs or is demanded.
Highlights
38% of students say they have self-censored on campus at least once or twice a month.
78% of students say shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
36% of students say using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
8.68:1
There are roughly 8.68 liberal students for every one conservative student.
Spotlight Rating
Green
Score over time
Student Voices
I have had several professors with very different views from me be very aggressive in their speech towards people who share the same opinions as me.
I felt I could not express my opinion during a club general meeting where we were discussing transgender and gay rights. They leaned heavily towards one opinion while I held a differing opinion. The way they approached the subject was quite passionate and hard-set that I felt uncomfortable expressing my different opinion because I thought they would definitely kick me out of the club.
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Every school's score is shaped by campus policies. Adjust the factors below to see how different policies affect the ranking for the University of California, Los Angeles.
Score Deep Dive
Inside the Score
Explore the key factors shaping this score. This section provides a detailed look at the data, policies, and student experiences that influence free speech on campus.
Overall Score The Overall Score is made up of 12 parts. Six measure how students feel about free speech on campus. Three look at school speech policies. The last three look at how people on campus respond during speech controversies. A higher score reflects a better free speech climate.
62.7 Treanding Up
/ 100
This score out of 100 reflects how open and supportive a campus is for free speech, based on student surveys, campus policies, and recent speech-related controversies.
Overall Rank The Overall Rank shows where a school stands among the 261 institutions evaluated, based on its Overall Score.
94 Treanding Up
/ 261
A comparison of 261 U.S. colleges and universities on free speech, based on overall scores from student surveys, campus policies, and speech-related controversies.
Overall grade The Grade is a letter based on the college's rounded Overall Score. Scores fall into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
D
A school’s speech climate, shown as a letter grade (A–F), based on its overall score from student surveys, campus policies, and speech-related controversies.
Speech Controversies Controversies are campus incidents where a student, professor, or speaker faces backlash or pressure for speech that's protected by the First Amendment or academic freedom.
7
Reflect recent incidents where a speaker, professor, student, or student group faced efforts to punish, disinvite, or silence them for expressing a controversial view.
Chicago Statement for Free Speech
Not Adopted
Institutional Neutrality
Not Adopted
Spotlight Rating
Green
Comfort Expressing Ideas Comfort Expressing Ideas measures how comfortable students feel sharing their views on controversial topics in different campus settings. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
D-
Disruptive Conduct Disruptive Conduct measures how acceptable students think it is to disrupt a campus speaker. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
C
Openness Openness measures how many controversial topics students feel they can openly discuss on campus. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
C-
Self-Censorship Self-Censorship measures how often students hold back their views on campus. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93–100) to F (below 60).
D
Administrative Support Administrative Support measures how clearly students think their school supports free speech and how likely the administration is to defend a speaker's rights during a controversy. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
Political Tolerance Political Tolerance measures how willing students are to allow controversial speakers — on both the left and right — to speak on campus, even if they disagree with their views. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
Speech Controversies
Speech Controversies: When Free Expression Is Challenged
Explore notable incidents where free speech was tested on campus. From speaker deplatformings to administrative actions, these events highlight the challenges — and consequences — of restricting expression.
Total Controversies Controversies are campus incidents where a student, professor, or speaker faces backlash or pressure for speech that's protected by the First Amendment or academic freedom.
7
Scholars Under Fire Scholar Controversies are campus incidents where a professor or academic staff member faces backlash or punishment for speech protected by academic freedom or the First Amendment.
0
Students Under Fire Student Controversies are campus incidents where a student or student group faces punishment or pressure from the school for speech that's protected by the First Amendment.
2
Deplatformings Deplatformings are the number of incidents where a scheduled event or speaker is canceled or prevented from taking place.
5
Honor Roll Statements Honor Roll Statements are the number of public messages from a college or university defending free speech during a campus controversy. Schools that make these statements can earn bonus points on their Overall Score for standing up for free expression when it counts.
1
Attempted Disruptions Attempted Disruptions are the number of incidents where people on campus try to stop a scheduled event or speaker.
1
New in 2026 The number of controversies that have occurred since the previous launch of the College Free Speech Rankings.
4
Students Under Fire
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | University of California, Los Angeles | Issac Jacenko | Jacenko faced a campus police investigation after he wrote a message on his own car publicizing a UCLA professor’s appearance in recently released documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Following the news, Jacenko painted “UCLA PROF. MARK TRAMO ON EPSTEIN FILES” on his car to “get the word out.” After the writing drew attention on Reddit, the UCLA Police Department said it was investigating the writing on the car, while also calling unspecified circulating claims about it “unfounded.” | -1.0 | Read More |
| 2026 | University of California, Los Angeles | Federalist Society | Administrators warned the Federalist Society that the group and/or individual members could face "campus processes" if they publicly identified students seen in videos disrupting its April 21 event with DHS General Counsel James Percival. The controversy arose after protesters repeatedly disrupted the group's event with Percival over his role in the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The next day, an assistant dean cautioned FedSoc against naming student protesters from the videos, writing that the group or its members could be “subjected to campus processes.” Following public backlash, the same administrator later sent a followup email to the group, apologizing for "any lack of clarity" and affirming that protected speech would not be punished, but without clear assurance that they would not be disciplined for identifying students who disrupted their events. | -1.0 | Read More |
Deplatformings
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | University of California, Los Angeles | Bari Weiss/Jim Newton | The university's Burkle Center for International Relations scheduled Weiss, founder of “The Free Press” and editor-in-chief of CBS News, to deliver the university's annual Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture, titled “The Future of Journalism.” Newton, a journalist, author and teacher, was scheduled to moderate the discussion. In the weeks leading up to the event, critics objected to Weiss’s selection and urged the university to rescind the invitation, including the activist group CODEPINK, which organized student opposition and called for a “don’t platform” campaign. CODEPINK also started a petition calling on the university to cancel the event, which garnered over 10,000 signatures. Weiss withdrew from the on-campus lecture due to security concerns. Burkle Center associate director Margaret Peters indicated Weiss was still interested in potentially delivering the lecture virtually, though no final decision has been made. | 0.0 | Read More |
| 2026 | University of California, Los Angeles | Gregory McNeal/James Percival | The campus chapter of the Federalist Society hosted James Percival, the Department of Homeland Security's General Counsel, for a law-school event discussing the DHS. McNeal, a law professor at Pepperdine University, was the event moderator. Before the event, the Latine Law Students Association posted a letter signed by 18 campus law student organizations condemning the decision to invite Percival and stating that giving him a platform was “legitimizing and normalizing racially discriminatory policies.” During the event, attendees protested Percival’s immigration-related positions and DHS conduct by a number of tactics, including by shouting questions, booing, holding signs/papers with anti-ICE messages, playing sound effects, and making additional noise after a law professor at the university, who introduced the event, asked them to silence their phones. The disruption affected both Percival and McNeal, but the moderated conversation continued and the event reached its conclusion. | 0.0 | Read More |
| 2024 | University of California, Los Angeles | Helena Hansen | Hansen, a psychiatrist and anthropologist who is a professor and chair of translational social science and health equity at the university known for her work examining the intersections of race, capitalism, and the opioid epidemic, was scheduled to deliver a lecture titled "Beyond Magic Bullets: Whiteness as a Structural Driver of the Opioid Crisis" to the university's Medical School. The talk was also scheduled to be broadcast via Zoom. Two days before the scheduled lecture, the university Medical School announced changes: the lecture's title was altered to "BioSocial Futures: Toward a Symbiotic, Community Ecology of Health." Additionally, UCLA restricted attendance to in-person only, removed the Zoom option, and prohibited any recording — despite the event initially being open to a broader audience. Hansen delivered the lecture to those in attendance. | -1.0 | Read More |
| 2024 | University of California, Los Angeles | Robert Spencer | Spencer was invited to campus by the UCLA Young Americans for Freedom chapter to appear at a pro-Israel event. Spencer's appearance was opposed by pro-Palestinian protesters and the university initially told UCLA YAF that its request to host Spencer on campus "would be too dangerous" because he holds views counter to the protesters on campus who had established an encampment to protest Israeli military action in Gaza. The administration later informed the UCLA YAF chairman that "there is no timeframe" for approving the request. UCLA YAF attempted to still hold the event but found the doors of their requested venue, the Bruin Viewpoint Room, locked. After contacting administrators, UCLA YAF were told that the event could not be held at the requested venue, and needed to be moved to a low-traffic, remote location. Because the relocation of the event "would have significantly impacted the event's attendance and impact," UCLA YAF says they did not hold the event. The administration disputes YAF's account and insists that the event took place. | -1.0 | Read More |
| 2024 | University of California, Los Angeles | Tzipi Livni | The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies invited Livni, an Israeli politician and lawyer, to speak at an event titled "Israel and the Middle East after the October 7 Massacre: Threats, Challenges, and Hopes." Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA organized protests of the event, accusing Livni of being a "war criminal," and Livni's talk was moved online to Zoom due to fears it could be disrupted if held in-person. Livni spoke online successfully. | -1.0 | Read More |
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More Student Voices
I can’t recall a specific time but I tend to surround myself with people who have aligning political views, and often I feel that this can create an environment that doesn’t support/isn’t open to hearing perspectives that contradict these views. Another student may be shamed for having certain views because of the strong feeling of the group having the most correct political mindset/stance.
Survey Results
Survey Results: Student Perspectives
See how students at University of California, Los Angeles perceive free speech on their campus. This section breaks down survey responses to key questions, providing insights into overall trends as well as demographic differences in how students experience free expression.
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The College Free Speech Rankings are based on student surveys, campus policies, and recent speech-related controversies.
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