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.
45.0 Treanding Down
/ 100
Overall Rank The Overall Rank shows where a school stands among the 261 institutions evaluated, based on its Overall Score.
261 Treanding Down
/ 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).
F
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.
6
Overview
New York University ranks last in the 2027 College Free Speech Rankings with a score of 45 and an F speech climate grade. Its score fell 11 points following six speech controversies.NYU lands in the bottom 25 for “Administrative Support,” showing little student trust in officials to defend speech. It ranks in the bottom 50 for “Disruptive Conduct” and “Comfort Expressing Ideas,” signaling student acceptance of non-peaceful forms of protest and discomfort when sharing views. However, its “Self-Censorship” rank jumped 122 places from last year, indicating less hesitation to speak.
NYU earns a “yellow light” Spotlight rating. It should revise student policies to earn a “green light” Spotlight rating and adopt the pro-free speech Chicago Statement and a commitment to institutional neutrality. NYU should clearly and forcefully defend free speech whenever censorship occurs or is demanded.
Highlights
55% 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.
32% of students say using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
4.17:1
There are roughly 4.17 liberal students for every one conservative student.
Spotlight Rating
Yellow
Score over time
Student Voices
I have heard in the past that people with more conservative view points will get points taken off in essays. When I was assigned an essay on more liberal ideas, I chose the safe road by writing what I knew the tecwher wanted to hear.
During the election, I felt uncomfortable sharing my views on certain topics in class/in public spaces.
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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.
45.0 Treanding Down
/ 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.
261 Treanding Down
/ 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).
F
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.
6
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
Yellow
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.
6
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.
1
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.
0
Attempted Disruptions Attempted Disruptions are the number of incidents where people on campus try to stop a scheduled event or speaker.
0
New in 2026 The number of controversies that have occurred since the previous launch of the College Free Speech Rankings.
2
Students Under Fire
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | New York University | Law Students for Justice in Palestine/Jews Against Zionism | Administrators reportedly directed Jews Against Zionism (JAZ) to “immediately remove” an Instagram post advertising a Passover Seder and investigated Law Students for Justice in Palestine (LSJP), despite the group claiming to not be involved in the event or its promotion. The controversy arose in April 2026 after JAZ promoted an anti-Zionist Passover Seder that stated it would stand in solidarity against “Jewish supremacy” and encouraged students to boycott Hillel. According to emails published by participants and reported by student media, a Vice Provost directed them to “immediately remove” the content. And according to LSJP and supporting faculty, administrators informed the group it was being investigated by the Title VI Office for "possible violations of our Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy,” even though organizers clarified that LSJP had not sponsored the event and requested removal of its logo from the advertisement. | -1.0 | Read More |
Deplatformings
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | New York University | Fontaines D.C./Oklou/Blood Orange/Faye Webster | According to a public statement from the Student Program Board and reporting by “Washington Square News,” university administrators barred the board from booking performers affiliated with No Music For Genocide for the university’s annual V100 concert. Program Board leaders said the directive blocked them from pursuing artists including Webster, Fontaines D.C., Oklou, and Blood Orange who are affiliated with No Music For Genocide. The board also said administrators did not clearly explain the restriction, other than vague concerns about protecting the university's reputation, and later offered an additional $30,000 in funding after the Program Board indicated they might not be able to proceed under the restriction. The concert ultimately went forward with a different lineup, but the administration’s intervention appears to have substantially altered the student group’s booking process and prevented it from inviting artists it otherwise wished to host. | -3.0 | Read More |
| 2025 | New York University | Ilya Shapiro | The university's law school briefly canceled a Federalist Society event featuring Shapiro, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, that had been scheduled for October 7 — the anniversary of Hamas’s 2023 attacks on Israel. The event, titled “Cancel Culture at Elite Law Schools,” was to include Shapiro, law professor Erica Goldberg of the University of Dayton, and others discussing campus free speech. Days before it was to occur, NYU Law administrators informed the student chapter that the event could not be held because of “security concerns.” The decision drew strong criticism from civil-liberties advocates, including FIRE and commentators such as David Lat, who argued that the school had effectively imposed a “heckler’s veto.” Following public backlash and media coverage, NYU reversed course and reinstated the event in a larger room with additional security. | -2.0 | Read More |
| 2025 | New York University | Lucian Wintrich/Elijah Schaffer/Sarah Stock | New York University canceled a planned panel hosted by the NYU College Republicans titled “Immigrant Invasion,” which bore the subheading, “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” The event was scheduled to feature Wintrich (press chairman of the New York Young Republican Club), BlazeTV host Elijah Schaffer, and Rift TV reporter Sarah Stock. The panel sparked immediate backlash due to its inflammatory framing and promotional materials. The flyer shared on social media included a caricature of two Black men — one wielding a knife — towering over three white figures dressed as angels. A Change.org petition calling the event “white supremacist” and “blatantly racist” garnered over 2,000 signatures and urged NYU to cancel the event. On April 9, NYU canceled the panel, citing safety concerns and what it described as a “call to arms” made by Schaffer in a now-deleted tweet. In a statement, university spokesperson John Beckman said NYU “cannot and will not be a party to anything that even comes close to calling for political violence.” Schaffer disputed the claim, calling the university's justification a misrepresentation. In a post on X, he argued that the phrase “call to arms” was metaphorical and widely used in political contexts. In a follow-up post, he stated, “There was no violence, no threats. Just a panel discussion.” | -2.0 | Read More |
| 2025 | New York University | Joanne Liu | Liu, the former international head of Doctors Without Borders, was scheduled to deliver a lecture on the ongoing conflict in Gaza and federal cuts to USAID programs. The night before the talk was scheduled to occur Liu received a call from the university’s vice-chair of the education department who informed her that the university had concerns about the content of some of her slides, including those mentioning casualties in Gaza as a result of the Israel-Hamas war, and those discussing cuts at USAID. Liu's talk was canceled. | -2.0 | Read More |
| 2024 | New York University | Rashid Khalidi/Sinan Antoon | The campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine invited Rashid Khalidi, a professor at Columbia, to discuss his book “The Hundred Years' War on Palestine” and the current conflict in Gaza with Sinan Antoon, an NYU professor. When first scheduled, the event was only open to those with an NYU affiliation. Students for Justice in Palestine asked the university to open the event to the public, but the administration rejected the request over concerns about "contentious speakers." The event was held privately, as originally scheduled. | -1.0 | Read More |
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More Student Voices
I rarely feel comfortable expressing my religious views on campus
Survey Results
Survey Results: Student Perspectives
See how students at New York University 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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