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.
50.2 Treanding Up
/ 100
Overall Rank The Overall Rank shows where a school stands among the 257 institutions evaluated, based on its Overall Score.
240 Treanding Down
/ 257
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.
4
Overview
The University of Texas at Dallas ranks 240 out of 257 schools in the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings with a score of 50, an F speech climate grade. The school had multiple speech–related controversies, including administrators canceling a FIRE staffer's talk and the university system restricting drag performances, which together cost UT Dallas a 4-point penalty. The University of Texas System recently adopted institutional neutrality — applying to the Dallas campus – but those gains were offset by a persistent “red light” Spotlight rating that continues to drag down its overall score.Students view administrative leadership harshly, placing the university in the bottom 25 for “Administrative Support,” and no surveyed area places in the top 50.
To reverse course, UT Dallas should overhaul its written speech codes to earn a “green light” Spotlight rating and align everyday practices with its newly announced neutrality principles.
Highlights
42% of students say they have self-censored on campus at least once or twice a month.
69% of students say shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
35% of students say using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
3.00:1
There are roughly 3.00 liberal students for every one conservative student.
Spotlight Rating
Red
Score over time
Student Voices
Last year, protests about the Israeli-Palestine conflict were being shut down by the police and students and even a teacher were being arrested for peacefully assembling on campus.
Happens all the time, I don't know who I can trust
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Score Calculator
'How to Improve Your School' Score Calculator
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 Texas at Dallas.
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.
50.2 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 257 institutions evaluated, based on its Overall Score.
240 Treanding Down
/ 257
A comparison of 257 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.
4
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
Adopted
Institutional Neutrality
Adopted
Spotlight Rating
Red
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.
4
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.
3
Deplatformings Deplatformings are the number of incidents where a scheduled event or speaker is canceled or prevented from taking place.
1
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 2025 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | The University of Texas at Dallas | LGBTQ+ Student Groups | One day after receiving a letter from Republican Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare calling for a system-wide ban of drag shows, chairman of the system’s board of regents, Kevin Eltife, announced that “our public university facilities, supported by taxpayers, will not serve as venues for drag shows.” Citing President Trump’s executive order stating that “federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology,” O’Hare’s letter argued that “drag shows highlight men reducing the perception of women to stereotypes and body parts.” | -1.0 | Read More |
| 2024 | The University of Texas at Dallas | Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez | Olivares Gutierrez is the editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, The Mercury. The paper claims that in retaliation for not allowing the school’s director of student media to attend their private meetings over the summer, that same administrator prohibited them from attending future student journalism conferences and called a vote to fire Olivares Gutierrez for alleged bylaw violations. A committee of faculty, students and administrators ultimately did vote to remove him, and the paper demanded that the media operating board’s bylaws be amended to prevent staff from being fired, that he be reinstated and that the position in the future become an elected position. Should their demands not be met, the paper says they will break away to form an independent outlet. | -1.0 | Read More |
| 2024 | The University of Texas at Dallas | The Mercury | Administrators fired all student staffers of The Mercury after the paper went on strike in response to the removal of its editor-in-chief. Following The Mercury’s summer coverage of administrative handling of pro-Palestine student protests, the paper experienced months of contentious relations with administrators, including being prohibited from attending journalism conferences in alleged retaliation for denying the director of student media access to summer meetings, as well as the outing of the paper’s editor-in-chief in September. In response to this, the remaining 10 members of the paper released a public statement announcing a strike until the editor-in-chief was reinstated. Several weeks later, student affairs fired all 10 members, leading the students to start their own independent paper called The Retrograde. | -2.0 | Read More |
Deplatformings
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | The University of Texas at Dallas | Dominic Coletti | University administrators canceled Coletti’s talk, titled “Why You Should Care About Free Speech on Campus,” less than 24 hours before it was set to begin. Coletti, a FIRE staff attorney, had been invited by the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL). The cancellation was triggered when a reporter from the student newspaper, The Mercury, contacted university administrators with questions about whether the event complied with school policies. This prompted administrators to investigate and ultimately revoke the student group’s room reservation. The university cited a rule prohibiting outside organizations from reserving campus space or organizing events through student groups, asserting that FIRE — not YAL — had arranged the event. FIRE contested the university’s justification, arguing that the policy was vaguely defined and selectively enforced, especially since the university had allowed other student groups to host events co-sponsored by external organizations. | -3.0 | Read More |
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More Student Voices
Our school removed the spirit rocks, where students could express freedom of speech. They also removed The Mercury, a student led newsletter. Regardless of the reasons why, these are two big events that impacted our freedom of speech. Rather than a student or professor, I am mainly concerned about how the administration would respond.
Survey Results
Survey Results: Student Perspectives
See how students at The University of Texas at Dallas 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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The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression defends and sustains the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.
